Time for a Revolution

by George T. Thompson

Dear Americans,

"I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore!" That quote was never more relevant as it is today. Depending on who you talk to, the level of discord has been off the charts for nearly ten years. We look to our political leaders to show us the way and they seem to fail us at every turn. The idea of our civil servants functioning as "servants acting civilly" is all but gone. Our democracy was designed in such a way that our political leaders would leave home temporarily and serve their constituents. After they did their duty, they came back home and picked up where they left off. Fast forward to today and you see career politicians who have turned our representative form of government into a retirement plan.

On November 6, there will be 33 seats in the Senate and 435 seats in the House up for reelection. This is an important election. Democrats and Republicans are trying to figure out how they can use this election to their advantage. If things hold true to form, little will change and the divisive nature of government will continue to fracture this country. As we look around the country and the world, the sides seem to have a divide between them that is so large, there is even talk of a civil war not being too far behind. How do Americans fix this? The first way to begin the healing is to stop the partisanship in the government. The only way to accomplish this is by taking back our democracy and vote out every single incumbent in the upcoming election.

Why should Americans take this drastic step? Quite honestly, nothing else has worked to unify this country. In fact, the rift has gotten wider and the animosity has gotten crazier. Our government leaders, seemingly, have refused to find common ground and work with each other. For example, republican senators and congressmen stalled Supreme Court nominations during the Obama Administration because they thought it was best to wait until after the next president was elected. They got their wish. Fast forward to today and the republicans don't want to wait for the upcoming November election to nominate the next Supreme Court justice. What changed? The republicans have the numbers to get the person they want now. Both sides are doing stunts like this in order to get what they want. This is not what's best for the country.

Our political leaders have forgotten who they work for. Part of the reason is the silent majority of eligible voters who have become disinterested with the political process. According to the United States Election Project, nearly half of the eligible voters in America didn't vote in the last presidential election. Considering both Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton got less than 27 percent of the vote apiece, the silent majority won the election. There is huge power in those numbers, but they aren't coming out to vote for the status quo. What can we do to pull them off the bench and get them to play in the game?

Here's the bottom line, folks. The career politicians have no motivation to do what's right. They are there for the money. It's time for a revolution in this country. We need to organize and commit to voting out every single congressman and senator in the next elections. By voting them out, we remind them who's the boss. The only reason we don't have term limits for the Legislative Branch is because they don't want it. Why should they? Reelection rates for senators and congressmen has averaged over 80 percent for decades.

We need to send a message that says we will no longer allow both parties to ignore what's right when it comes to making political decisions. The end-fighting needs to cease immediately. The Legislative Branch needs to vote for an amendment that will give them term limits. Senators and congressmen can no longer be allowed to stay in office for life. Between retirement benefits and money taken from lobbyists, we have legislators that have a net worth in the tens of millions of dollars.

In order for this to succeed, we need to rally as many new voters as possible. We also need to wake up the silent majority and bring them back to the polls with the promise of a new day in government. The country looks to our governmental leaders for guidance and they have failed miserably. We can't do any worse with a new injection of leaders who know what the expectations are from us. If they refuse to honor our wishes, we vote them out too. Let's take back our country! Who's with me? #votethemallout