What I Look For in a Political Candidate
By Theresa Camoriano
Many Americans have buyer’s remorse after voting for Obama, who promised “change” and “hope”. He seemed like such a nice young man, and he was so “hip” and “cool”. People hoped he would put an end to the arguing and disagreements and would usher in a new era of cooperation, prosperity, and transparency. Instead, he has refused to listen to any point of view other than his own and has ridiculed and harassed people who disagreed with him. He has rammed his healthcare plan down the throats of the American people despite the fact that the majority of Americans oppose it. He has cranked up government spending to unsustainable levels and has deepened the recession and increased unemployment. Instead of the promised transparency, he has rushed two-thousand page bills through before people even had a chance to read them! He has bungled the BP oil spill, the Ground Zero mosque issue, foreign affairs, and virtually everything he has touched. If voters had paid closer attention, they would have known better.
Voters need to recognize that it is very important for the elected official to recognize that he is not God, to have some humility, and to respect the right of people to make their own decisions and live their lives with little interference from the government. If the politician promises that he can solve all your problems, and if he is very puffed up and full of himself, that is not a good sign.
Our current congressman, John Yarmuth, seems like a pleasant enough fellow, but if you listen closely to what he says and watch what he does, you will soon realize that he considers himself to be superior to his constituents and thinks the government elite should be running our lives for us, since we are too stupid or ill-informed to do it ourselves. That is why he voted in favor of government control of our health care, in favor of “cap and trade”, which would make energy much more expensive and would do great harm to Kentucky’s coal industry, and in favor of virtually all of Nancy Pelosi’s left-wing agenda. He is an arrogant man who treats his constituents with disdain, not with respect.
Many people voted for Obama because they thought he was cool and “hip”. Not a good reason to vote for someone. In fact, I much prefer someone who is considered uncool. Some of our best elected officials have been pretty bland and uncool. Many have been ridiculed by the “elites” as being dumb or boring. Take, for example, Calvin Coolidge, who is ridiculed as being bland and dull and as not talking much. In fact, he cut the size of government in half during a severe recession, unleashing the creativity and productivity of the American people and ushering in a decade of prosperity. He also kept us out of war. If only today’s politicians would shut up, stop playing God, and allow the people to flourish again as Coolidge did!
In more recent history, the media ridiculed Ronald Reagan as being dumb. Of course, he was instrumental in ushering in a decade of prosperity, and he led us to victory over Russia in the cold war without firing a shot. Now, the media are ridiculing Sarah Palin in the same way, calling her stupid and ill-informed. Yes, she rooted out corruption in Alaska and succeeded where others had failed in negotiating a pipeline deal that will bring prosperity to her state, but that doesn’t count, because she is not an elitist who wants to dictate to the people. How very uncool. Gosh, maybe we should consider “uncoolness” and disdain by the media to be a major asset in a political figure!
Yes, we certainly could use a lot more bland, humble, “uncool” elected officials who will reduce the burdens of government on us and treat us with respect instead of trying to dictate to us and control our lives. Is it possible that the MTV generation and others who have voted for “hip” and “cool” have learned that lesson? I certainly hope so.
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