I have had a good time following Gov. Buddy Roemer on Twitter as well as his appearances on MSNBC. I did not know much about him until very recently, but I have to say, I am rather intrigued. If you don't know who he is, he is one of the many republican presidential candidates. He is, however, shut out of the debates. And, as he explains it, the rules for his ability to enter are always changing. Here is a guy who was a Governor and a Congressman, (beyond being a Harvard trained economist) but yet a pizza guy who was an embarrassment to the very fundamentals of our democratic process, was invited, nay, courted in.
While I am sure Gov. Roemer and I do not agree on much, for one, his stance on gay marriage, what I do appreciate is his is laser focus on getting money out of politics. For one, he will not take a donation over $100. Some may call him naive, or at least, a certain loser in the presidential race, but if he is anything, and for sure he is more than that, he is a man guided by sound conviction; which I submit is very much lacking on both sides of the aisle.
I worry about our state of affairs. I do not buy into the narrative that our politics are any more divisive today than in the past. Things have always been rough and personal. But I get the sense that somewhere along the line the battle to get ones ideas to the fore has fundamentally damaged our nation's ability to govern.
And it really all comes down to money. The amount of money people have to raise to run for office is insane!! President Obama is talking about raising 1 billion dollars for his reelection campaign. Imagine if that money was put to work for those that need it? Imagine if people gave hand over fist to help their neighbor in this way? What if these big donors invested that money into their local community or a community that needed it? It just does not seem right that when we get to the point where we need someone to lead they are already asking us to believe that they can still lead in the future, even if they did not do so well in the present.
This is not a problem that is exclusive to one party or another - Obama was well backed by Wall Street - rather it is systemic since money become the deciding factor between winning and losing elections.
Gov. Roemer has it right, for sure, but I worry that he will get shut out because he is not flush with money. I am not saying I want him as president, but I would not mind his voice to be more prominent in the race, so others could answer these simple questions...where do you get your money from? And why do you need so much?
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Presently Listening to: While I am sure Gov. Roemer and I do not agree on much, for one, his stance on gay marriage, what I do appreciate is his is laser focus on getting money out of politics. For one, he will not take a donation over $100. Some may call him naive, or at least, a certain loser in the presidential race, but if he is anything, and for sure he is more than that, he is a man guided by sound conviction; which I submit is very much lacking on both sides of the aisle.
I worry about our state of affairs. I do not buy into the narrative that our politics are any more divisive today than in the past. Things have always been rough and personal. But I get the sense that somewhere along the line the battle to get ones ideas to the fore has fundamentally damaged our nation's ability to govern.
And it really all comes down to money. The amount of money people have to raise to run for office is insane!! President Obama is talking about raising 1 billion dollars for his reelection campaign. Imagine if that money was put to work for those that need it? Imagine if people gave hand over fist to help their neighbor in this way? What if these big donors invested that money into their local community or a community that needed it? It just does not seem right that when we get to the point where we need someone to lead they are already asking us to believe that they can still lead in the future, even if they did not do so well in the present.
This is not a problem that is exclusive to one party or another - Obama was well backed by Wall Street - rather it is systemic since money become the deciding factor between winning and losing elections.
Gov. Roemer has it right, for sure, but I worry that he will get shut out because he is not flush with money. I am not saying I want him as president, but I would not mind his voice to be more prominent in the race, so others could answer these simple questions...where do you get your money from? And why do you need so much?
Tweet
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