Screw the President (whoever he or she might be). Screw your Congressman. Hell, screw your governor and your state representative. Screw all those distant douchebags who count their constituents by the hundred-thousand, and sell their policy positions at $10,000 a plate.
Let's talk local! Let's talk city council districts! Let's talk about a democratic election where money counts for less, and your voice and your vote count for a hell of a lot more. Let's talk about politics close to home. Let's talk about politics where, if you cared enough about an issue, you personally could make a difference.
Let's talk city council. I'll go first.
Escondido City Council - District 2
I voted for Paul Masson. Is he Republican? Democrat? He doesn't say, and I don't care. What I do care about is this:
That last point is interesting because it highlights something I've been saying for a while about money in politics. Which is, basically, that we as a nation need to return to local politics. We need to stop investing so much of our political identity and effort in trying to govern each other at the national level. We need to stop making it So. Damn. Profitable. for special interests to spend millions of dollars lobbying some assclown in Washington, D.C. to sell us out.
Prop H is being pushed by a real estate developer out of LA. He's got deep pockets, and he's thrown a ton of money at this project, and at this election, trying to clear the way for his business plan. But the magic of local politics is that his money only goes so far. Even if he bought the Mayor and everyone on the City Council, that'd still be only a handful of voices. It'd still be only a handful of votes.
The owner of the coffee shop I patronize every morning is against Prop H, and her voice rings a lot louder in my district than the mayor's. The one-dollar "No on H" in her shop window counts for more in this election than a thousand dollars spent by the developer.
So let's talk local. What's your local race? What's the political contest that will affect your daily life the most? What's the political contest in which your voice, and your vote will actually matter--if you want it to?
Let's talk local! Let's talk city council districts! Let's talk about a democratic election where money counts for less, and your voice and your vote count for a hell of a lot more. Let's talk about politics close to home. Let's talk about politics where, if you cared enough about an issue, you personally could make a difference.
Let's talk city council. I'll go first.
Escondido City Council - District 2
I voted for Paul Masson. Is he Republican? Democrat? He doesn't say, and I don't care. What I do care about is this:
- He's an incumbent, and I'm in an incumbent kinda mood this cycle.
- The city's fiscal situation has improved in the past couple of years. As an incumbent, he's been part of the dynamic that made that happen. I can't point to any specific thing he did to make that happen, but I like the dynamic and I'd like to see him stay a part of it.
- He's an Escondido native, and I think local roots counts for a lot in local politics.
- He's against Proposition H - the Lakes Specific Plan. This is a land development proposal that would have a major--and I think negative--impact on my neighborhood. I'm against it, and I'm for a council member who's against it too. As a ballot measure, he won't be able to do much to stop it if it passes, but at least he didn't endorse it!
That last point is interesting because it highlights something I've been saying for a while about money in politics. Which is, basically, that we as a nation need to return to local politics. We need to stop investing so much of our political identity and effort in trying to govern each other at the national level. We need to stop making it So. Damn. Profitable. for special interests to spend millions of dollars lobbying some assclown in Washington, D.C. to sell us out.
Prop H is being pushed by a real estate developer out of LA. He's got deep pockets, and he's thrown a ton of money at this project, and at this election, trying to clear the way for his business plan. But the magic of local politics is that his money only goes so far. Even if he bought the Mayor and everyone on the City Council, that'd still be only a handful of voices. It'd still be only a handful of votes.
The owner of the coffee shop I patronize every morning is against Prop H, and her voice rings a lot louder in my district than the mayor's. The one-dollar "No on H" in her shop window counts for more in this election than a thousand dollars spent by the developer.
So let's talk local. What's your local race? What's the political contest that will affect your daily life the most? What's the political contest in which your voice, and your vote will actually matter--if you want it to?
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1qbk0um
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