Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has been stressing that he is spearheading a revolution on behalf of the American people. Thing is, that is not going to happen in the White House, but it sure as hell NEEDS to happen in Congress.
Congress no longer is beholden to the voters--they haven't been, not for a long time now. When Congress is constantly out panhandling for money to finance their next campaign, how can we possibly be surprised that our laws are written by--and for and to benefit--their corporate masters?
Just look at how are laws are passed today. There is no such thing as partisanship anymore.
Riders are hidden away, tucked safely AND sneakily inside where Congress hopes no one will notice. One way to rectify this is giving the President line-item veto, but that is never ever going to happen.
Recently, Michigan legislators faced the prospects of rectifying a horrible injustice unleashed upon the citizens of Flint, Michigan (by the governor) AND instead, what did these brave Michigan state Republicans do? They passed a law outlawing sodomy and oral sex! Yes, children, that pressing need demanded immediate attention to save their state from oblivion.
And speaking of Flint's water crisis, when Governor Rick Snyder was summoned to Washington to testify about the situation, he declined.
I ask you, since when can a governor refuse a federal summons to stand before Congress? Believe me, if Congress was not packed with one party firmly in control, and that said governor was not of that same party, he (or she) would never have gotten away with this. Mind you, if Snyder were a Democrat, he would have been slapped with a contempt of congress citation--and why has he not yet resigned?
A dirty little secret in our town halls, state houses and in Washington is that today's legislation is largely written not by our elected leaders, but by rich corporations and their paid lobbyists.
Corporations write the bills with their interests in mind and hand it off to our leaders--be it on a local, state or national level--and the pretense of addressing our needs is done with a wink and a nod.
Recently, both Michigan and Indiana states legislators have worked to pass laws making it impossible for Tesla to establish dealerships in these two states. Who do you think pressed for such legislation? General Motors, that's who.
I guess GM can't stand the heat of competition, something the GOP claims to publicly encourage (bah!). One has to wonder how much money GM has given to our elected officials to see their bidding done.
Think of it this way. Imagine that Congress is Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown. With each election, we see our candidates (of both parties) dangling the hopes and prospects that they will act on our interests. Charlie Brown charges the football (our hopes) only to have his dreams dashed as Lucy yanks the ball away at the last second. This IS how Congress operates today, don't you know?
It is imperative we demand that lobbyists with their seemingly unlimited bankroll get out of Washington (and out of the courts, too).
Until this happens, change benefitting the common man is just a pipe dream. Bernie Sanders is right. A revolution is coming.
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