When the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations started I figured they would last for a few days and then fizzle out, but they have been going for a month now. I had no faith because about half the voting population has no idea, if the polls are to be believed, exactly who or what they're voting for. Why are people so determined to vote for candidates who couldn't care less about them or their concerns?
Take the current Republican frontrunner, Mitt "I never met an issue I couldn't flip-flop on" Romney. He claims he knows how to create jobs, but how exactly did Mitt make his millions? Anyone ever hear of a leveraged buyout? Mitt went around taking over companies that were in trouble, cleaned their assets out and sold them, cutting as many jobs in the process as he could. Does this sound to you like someone who cares about middle-class unemployment?
Then there's Herman "Let 'em eat cake" Cain, the CEO of Godfather's Pizza. According to him, if you're not rich it's your fault. You're just "not working hard enough.". OK, Mr. Cain... I'd like to see you say that to a room full of firefighters, or teachers, or police officers. How about our men and women in uniform? Do you think they're not working hard enough? And what about his so-called 9-9-9 tax plan? Quite frankly I'm amazed anyone in the media is taking it with more than one tiny grain of salt, considering it's the most half-assed idea I've heard of in a long time. But then it does meet the Republican criteria for tax reform... make sure you give a big tax break to the wealthy while raising taxes on the middle class and the poor. It's even better is if you make it sound as though what you're doing is actually the opposite!
Rick "Really, I'm not George Bush!" Perry likes to tout his job creation record as governor of Texas. But if you look at the numbers you realize the bulk of those jobs came from an addition of jobs for the state and federal government, many paid for by the stimulus plan Republicans claim to loathe. Oops! His newest big plan for job creation? Drill, baby, drill! That's right - he wants to drill for "abundant" (it's not) oil in Alaska, and for more natural gas (ever seen someone light their tap water on fire)?
I could say something also about Michelle "I will single-handedly get gas back down to $2 a gallon" Bachmann, but suffice it to say I've figured out that she is just this year's obligatory female Republican presidential candidate designed to make us women think the GOP is serious about actually nominating one. In reality I think they just like to have one around that, just like last year's model, is attractive but dumb as a box of rocks. Oh, and did Ms. Bachmann mention all the federal money she and her husband have taken in? And how about the farm subsidies?
When Jon Huntsman jumped in the race I thought he would be big trouble for Obama, but instead he's been relegated to the back of the pack. It seems no one who votes Republican wants a moderate who knows how to work with Democrats. Huh, imagine that.
If the Occupy Wall Street protestors want to change things, then they need to stop voting for people who have done everything in their power to protect the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and the poor. They need to stop voting for people who put money ahead of the health of the environment. They need to stop voting for people who protect big corporations because that's where their campaign contributions come from. They need to stop voting for people who don't give a damn about them. I'm just not sure when, or if, enough of the people out there protesting are going to get it.
