Many simply don't want to be bothered with any more campaigns yet the major campaigns for all the power positions in legislative branches across the country are taking place right now. by Gary Wood
(conservative)
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Are you paying attention to the political news these days or are you simply glad the elections are over? Many simply don't want to be bothered with any more campaigns yet the major campaigns for all the power positions in legislative branches across the country are taking place right now. It does not matter if you consider yourself an independent voter or if you do not want your representatives (agents and trustees) to play party politics because the campaigns and elections being held now do not care about you, these elections are all about power!
On November 2nd many wanted to know what influence the Tea Party was going to have. Many were concerned with casting a ballot for someone, anyone, who may actually uphold their Oath of Office. You remember the oath, right? It is the one where each agent swears to defend the U.S. Constitution. A few defenders of the Constitution were able to get elected at different levels of government, which is a good thing. Yet now there is the traditional campaign for the all-important party leadership positions within the Democratic Caucus and the Republican Conference, are you watching those? Do you know how these results will trump individual representatives' efforts?
It is a ritual repeated every two years, the one that determines what the agenda will really be and who the new agents will have to answer to if they wish to get anything done. After all, unless a freshman representative happens to get a good committee assignment there is little expectation of them getting significant legislation introduced, let alone passed? Hey, they're rookies after all, with a lot to learn if they want to survive their first term and return for a chance to be a wee bit more important their second. Which block they vote with will also be important because if they vote for the wrong block and their block do not gain the coveted power positions the powers that be know it.
Don't rush out to your mailbox to see if your absentee ballot has arrived. Don't concern yourself with where your polling location is or what district you're in. For the true power positions you are not invited to participate. This traditional struggle is closed to citizens; we must rely on our agents. If we are "lucky enough" to have a favored agent with seniority we may cheer for them to get elected to an important post, with an equally important title. Those who sent freshmen need not worry about backing them for a favored title; they will not be on the ballot because new players need not apply.
However, they will vote for one party or the other unless they are independent in which case they are not invited to the voting either. Fortunately for We the People there are not too many independent or third-party people in elected office since they cannot vote for the power anyway. All they can do is decide which party they will choose to caucus with, or remove themselves to the desert island of caucusing with no party at all. Now you understand it is fortunate we mainly stick to these two major parties, isn't it? A third-party or independent cannot play anyway so why send them to the game.
This rich tradition has been around a long time, formally organized a hundred years ago. It has insured the two major parties have their power no matter how any election turns out. The system has permeated every legislative branch in the United States with the people clearly watching with anticipation of who the chosen ones will be this year. Newly elected officials understand they are mere freshmen' and even those who claim an embrace of the Constitution accept their role. The senior power brokers never bother to tell a freshman their constituents are now nothing more than freshmen citizens. Yet, these senior representatives do not concern themselves with the citizens, the party is first. Are you a freshman citizen this year? Or are you a citizen hoping your senior agent will finally gain the power?
Once our representatives arrive they are classified by committee and sent to do this or that without a major concern for their constituents back home. Posturing for committee assignments begins early. Now comes the time to select the true pecking order. It is a better year if the title given has a majority in front of it but a minority tag works almost as well since both are exchanged in a tag-team fashion at fairly regular intervals. New representatives will be trained in the art of earmark, the method of choice for providing largess to their districts. This will help them in the next campaign season but for now they must understand their role is minor, they must learn their place.
We have all heard the reasoning for reelecting an agent to retain his/her experience and seniority. If reelected for a third or fourth term then it is possible to begin maneuvering for power. Perhaps it will be time enough to become an assistant to the minority whip or gain the chairmanship of the committee on tissue. Now the campaign rhetoric can be cranked higher since, after all, people want their representative to be important, to have the power necessary for change. So goes the systemic method of taking a fired up newbie and teaching them the ways of power among the inner circle. Titles and largess can be theirs; even an occasional special-interest project for their district can be secured, once the rules of the true game are learned and practiced.
Freshman citizens, are you aware of this traditional method used to maintain two-party control? Have you ever cast your ballot for the coveted position of House Majority Leader? What about the all-important Senate Minority Leader? Are you aware of the struggles going on to gain the title of Majority Whip or Assistant Minority Whip? Do you even know where the term whip' comes from and the real job of those fortunate enough to carry the title? Is this a tradition you embrace and enjoy, or is it one you even pay any attention to at all? Your representatives pay very close attention, as does our media, and the more you reelect them the better they get at playing this game; the power shuffle.
Some reading this little rant may be thinking this tradition cannot be constitutional yet there is nothing unconstitutional about it. Article 1, Section 2 & 3 simply states "other Officers" without any thought these two party caucuses would find a way to maintain control by such a scheme as has evolved. The good news for We the People is these positions are only tradition. No amendments or laws are necessary for the voters to unite in their voice and tell the two parties it is time to stop. What would the look of the Congress be without these traditional titles and structure? We'll discuss that moving forward.
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