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• Tuesday, January 13, 2009 11:11 AM

  We should be aware when our leaders are getting off task

  I thought the purpose of the political party, or the particular politician, was to work for us. It's a myth, but it's our myth...

  But, in order to understand what we'd like our representatives to do for us, we should argue about, chat over, and generally debate, all the aspects of what we need, or want, and how best to get those things done.

  Armed with a fair to middlin understanding of what our direction should be, inevitably, we should be able to tell when our leaders are not doing what we think they should be. So, when Obama isn't doing what he's supposed to be, we have to tell him. We have to argue for what we think is in our best interests. For someone to say that we ought not give him such direction is surely undemocratic from a very deep level.

  The problem is the Democrats are torn. They are asked by their corporate donors, those with really deep pockets, to go one way, and their base consisting of most of the voters, are asking them to go in a completely other direction.

  The corporations want to preserve the status quo involving insurance companies getting their cut. The people would like a single payer health care system. The corporations want the government to spend a lot on military hardware. The people don't want the waste involved and the wars used to justify the continual expenditures for guns instead of butter. The corporations want gov. handouts when they are going under. This does not seem to leave any money left for the people when they are going under.

  And Glenn seems to be pointing out other such tensions.

  —steven andresen Read steven andresen's other letters
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