How can we avoid criminals being the only choice we have when nominated for office?

Question

Don't you think each party nominates he who is most connected? And he who is most connected usually means he has fallen toward the dark side and has a hidden agenda just as Bush wants to make his family rich through his oil ties? History shows us that a lot of presidents have these evil ties. How can we trust ANYONE?

Ultimately, do the PEOPLE have ANY control over who is president? Seems to me the choice is made long before the electoral process even begins!

Answer 1

Congratulations. You've already grasped a bigger piece of truth than many of your friends will absorb in their entire lifetime.
So - now - the question for YOU is...
If politicians are all crooked as a dog's hind leg -
(They are - with VERY few exceptions)
And if the REAL decisions are made by unknown and unelected powers who play politicians like marionettes -
(I can't prove it but it's almost certainly true)
And if elections are a sop to make the ignorant masses think they have some influence on their government -
(They are - at least on the national level)
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Then -
How does a wise man respond?
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Now - THAT's the question.

Answer 2

I think that you are jumping to conclusions that can't be substantiated.

Your premise is that all of the candidates for president are criminals. That's ridiculous.

You've been reading those radical political websites too much.

In today's environment, anyone with a dark agenda will be outed before he is officially nominated.

I need only one counter example to refute your claim, but I'll give you a few.

Take Jimmy Carter. What was his agenda? I have never read anywhere of anyone claiming that Carter had any agenda of any kind. He was an intelligent man, but his proficiency as commander in chief was atrocious. He is the one who gave the Islamic terrorists hope that they could take down America. Yes, he was incompetent. But, no, he had no secret agenda.

Take Bill Clinton. What agenda did he have before he made it to the White House? He won the election with exceptional communication skills to which the electorate responded.

Now, after Bill got into office, he may have become enamored with several agendas which were outside the norm. However, if that was the case, he was corrupted by the power of the office, not the power of any provocateurs.

But, back to your basic question. We cannot really trust anyone completely anyway. Life is a crapshoot.

However, I think that we can get better candidates if we make one basic change to the current political process.

First, during the election process, anything goes. But, after a person is elected to office, he should command the respect of his peers in both parties and the working press.

Of course, his job performance and his decisions can and should be second guessed by everyone. However, we cannot allow a political party to embarrass a sitting president by impeaching him for lying about a personal indescretion.

And, we cannot allow major news organizations to attempt to embarrass the sitting president by introducing bogus proof of major malfeasance without penalizing that organization.

A potential candidate needs to know that he will be judged by the quality of his decisions and not by the unscrupulous attacks by his political enemies.

Answer 3

People dont have control over who is president. Our political system is controlled and locked by the Dems and Reps making 3rd parties insuffiecient and dismissable. I would have to say that these people that get nominated would have to be well connected in good/bad ways to actually keep and maintain a certain percentage of America blindly following. No way to really prosecute when eveidence is so distrubt and power is held by the criminals. Trust is as blind as blind is, there is not trust but a lesser of two evils concept here. If you have to choose between a person that will cut your head off or a person that will cut a finger off, you know what you would choose, why, because at least you'll still be alive.

Answer 4

We need to do away with the electoral college - there is too much room for manipulation there. With today's technology, we have the ability to count each persons' vote.
I agree with you. I have a hard time voting because I don't like any of the candidates, and I think they are all in it for some sort of self-serving interest rather than the interests of the people they govern. I am trying to find a political party I could call myself a member of, but no luck.
It was once said that presidential candidates should wear suits like race car drivers, with patches from each of their sponsors so we really know what it is we are voting for.
I still vote, always for what I feel to be the lesser of two evils. I often wonder how we can give government back to the people it is meant to govern.

Answer 5

Make the elections public financed only. Make the networks carry the election process for free, after all it was the taxpayers who put those satellites in orbit and the airwaves do belong to all the people. The networks could bid to carry the debates like they bid for who carries the Superbowl. Make the politicians go door to door and collect $5.to $10 dollars a person, make that the limit of the amount that they can collect from any donor period. Do not allow corporations or lobbyist donate to their party lines. It they want to donate, let them donate to the needs of the people of this country, stop them from buying our government.

Answer 6

Who ever wins electoral majority should be president, but only for two years if they do get majority of popular vote.

Free broadcasting network similar to Cs-pan set up and every register voter given free receiver and recorder. Instead of war producing employment in tel- communication. Lets have war against one aspect of corruption. People would never again have excuses: I needed to hit up corporation X to get my message out or defend myself. When all candidates still take current bribes add two lines to voting: No vote and None of the above. Get rid of the blanking party machines, which not only help but pay candidates to run by being able to say come up with different candidates.

Answer 7

Wow a lot of long wordy answers! Simple truth is : The people who are TRULY qualified and would do a good job would not have the job! The a$$ holes they would have to deal with would render them ineffective! Who would put up with the corruption and "god old boy" bull$hit. They would want to surround they selves with people they trust! In our form of government there is no such thing as trust!

Answer 8

If you are so upset with the quality of candidates, then run for office yourself. If you're not willing to step up to the mark, and others like you who, supposedly are squeaky clean, then quit complaining. Not all politicians are corrupt, including, I might add, George Bush. You sound like another one who is duped by the Main Stream press and believe anything they say.

Answer 9

The best chance we have to avoid criminals being the only choice we have for political office is to seriously consider the words of nigelbestpeace.

Answer 10

Read Michael Parenti