Do you hear that noise? Yeah, the one that sounds like wind in the willows. That’s Rick Scott exhaling.
In spite of the win, which was surprisingly big win over McCollum, and a close one, I bet he’s saying “Soooosieeee, you got some splainin’ to do.” I’m also betting he expected a little more from Susie Wiles, his campaign manager, than three points for his approximately forty million. If you hadn’t heard that was just the money he spent. According to the Florida Division of Elections another $11.3 million was thrown in from various sources with $50.2 million being the total tally. Judging from today’s attack ads on Alex Sink, I guessing he’ll again pull out the big bucks soon. And that’s what scares me.
Scott should still be reeling over the $1.7 billion he spent on Medicare fraud charges in 1997 with Colombia/HCA (even BP execs are wincing at that), which is the largest ever by the way, but it appears “them’s some kinda deep, deep pockets”. Even thirteen years later that’s gotta be something that sticks in memory, but that’s what Scott thinks about money.
He just smiled and said, “we did it.” No kidding? That means he has spent about a quarter of his advertised net worth. I have to ask why? Is there more to this, or is Rick Scott just the political version of Kevin Costner in “Tin Cup”?
That’s an awful amount of money for a primary candidate to spend from his own cookie jar. What that says to me is there’s some nature of brass ring out there and he just bought his own merry – go – round to get it. $1.7 billion in fraud charges…$38 million or so out of his own pocket…hmmmm. When asked if there was a limit to his spending he was clear in his “no”. The connotations are rather endless. That elephant in the room is just too easy. I’m sure he’s just altruistic and just wants to help Florida…yeah, that’s the ticket.
But I hear you say, “Lee…what about the other candidates?” I’m glad you asked.
Alex Sink seems to have things clearly in hand at this point, and that would appear to be due to her quick dispatch of her Republican opponent, Brian Moore, which was token resistance at best. The best thing she has going for her is Bud Chiles running who will likely take enough of Scott’s Republican backing to…well …Sink his bid for governor. As of today she is leading Scott by seven points according to the polls.
Bud Chiles has a mere eight percent, but what if he wasn’t there? Where would those eight points go? Kinda makes it a sporting challenge doesn’t it, having an intriguing variable in the mix?
Today we have independents, and Crist shows that’s a workable choice, along with the Tea Party who is making a statement in politics across the country as well, and various other previously unknown factions. How does this fit into politics into today’s day and age?
Two Party History
To answer that question let’s start with a bit of history. Why do we even have a two party system? Simplicity seems to be the answer.
A lot of people seem to think the Declaration of Independence was the start of this country, and in some ways they’re right, but all that did was say we were mad and not gonna take it anymore. We still had a war to fight before we were truly independent. Until we won that war we were just treasonists to the English. Not until 1783 did we truly have a freedom to be a country and true independence wasn’t ours until then. We were just naughty little upstarts and lawbreakers.
The 1776 Declaration of Independence was mostly for show but gave us the power to make worldwide alliances, with the French most notably. We became a confederacy and started on our five year journey to the “U.S. Articles of Confederation”, which was technically the first U.S. Constitution, but many of the politicians of the time just didn’t think the Articles were set in hard enough stone. As a result, in 1789, the U.S. Constitution was written.
During this literary experiment the seed of the two party system was forged. Two opinions became the platform for the new parties, although they weren’t called parties at the time. The Federalists wanted a strong union, of course at a federal level, to protect all the states and unify the people of the new country. The Anti-Federalists however wanted to keep the states mostly independent and with individual state rights. Enter “The Bill of Rights”. This seemed to settle everyone down for a while. Still though, there wasn’t technically party affiliation, and George Washington, although opinionated more as a Federalist, was party-less.
During his two administrations the tempests begin to brew, and at the vortex were two big political names of the day, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was a member of the interestingly named Democratic – Republican party. The name was almost passive – aggressive in its derivation. Democratic followers believed in the power of the people, and the Republicans believed in the power of the law. The Democratic – Republican party seemed to be the best of both worlds and from 1800 they ruled the Presidency for twenty – eight years. Andrew Jackson changed that slightly in 1828 by dropping the Republican part of the moniker.
With the exception of one term, the Democrats stayed in power for thirty – two years. With Jackson’s administration the people ruled until 1860. The evolution had begun and the lines were being drawn. It was becoming the people against the government and the people were clearly winning election after election.
The wheels of that same evolution continued to turn and the Abolitionists gave way to what we now know to be the Republicans. The most famous of their party, and one of the most famous presidents ever, Abe Lincoln, started a succession of anti – slavery/pro – business leaders that remained in power into the twentieth century, Grover Cleveland notwithstanding. Abe was elected in 1860 and 1864 is considered the clear start of America’s two party system.
The Great Depression signaled the Republican’s demise. Business had failed the people miserably and the Republican’s were being held responsible. The people were angry and the people’s party stepped in and through a world war and other conflicts, the Democrats ruled almost exclusively until the late sixties. During that time, both parties changed, and consequently so did politics, or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe it was a chicken versus the egg.
As America started really living its independent stature and settling in on policies, the differences of opinion became clearer and “the people” versus “the law” became more vague as each administration passed. Money was a big topic as we tried to pay debt. World War I took it’s toll and whether we would join the war or mind our own business was the topic of the day. Then the big one smacked the U.S. in the face as the Great Depression made “the people” join together against the party of the wealthy, the Republicans. The classes still are completely divided and now, more than ever, probably, the line in the sand is drawn and with low tide it doesn’t look like the line will be washed away any time soon.
Is America Ripe for a Three Party System?
The U.S. still holds on desperately to the idea of a two – party system, but let’s face it, Americans are feeling pretty alienated by both parties. Both parties seem to have lost the faith of the people, and people are starting to pay attention again. America seems to be in shambles, and there’s plenty of blame to go around. The Republicans blame the Democrats and vice – versa, and of course that’s nothing new. People are fed up with it and the door is open. I mean wide open.
This open door, and pointed opportunity is not missed by some. The political landscape is changing dramatically before our eyes. The question is, who is paying attention at the voting booth. We have been apathetic for so long we don’t see these changes, and don’t seem to care. Let me tell you who does notice, and who is capable of manipulating that apathy…the candidates.
In spite of discord on both sides of the political valley, a lot of people seem to be hesitant to step off the party precipice. Voting still primarily remains in that political void of picking “the lesser of the two evils”. The simple fact the term evil is used should draw the ire of the populace. But no, that’s not happening on a national basis on a level one would think should be associated with the lesser of the evils choice. People just can’t let go of the idea they will be wasting their vote, and both the big parties foster that in an effort to remain in power.
Crist has taken a decidedly calculated risk that may just work for him, and yes, across the country, independents are cropping up, primarily as Republican moderates. The Tea Party makes a pointed statement about the state of Republican affairs because they also appear to be encroaching on the Republican vote. All the while this bolsters the Democratic Party, but yet the Democratic voters aren’t really happy either, and are eyeing the various other candidates with less bias.
Independents aren’t the only candidates out there with the Tea Party. Of course, there have always been fringe candidates, but now the fringe is becoming more focused. Although the valley is still deep and the mountains high, the fringe parties are gaining momentum.
The Libertarians, the Green Party, and the Constitution Party all are gaining some notice in the voting booth, but it still remains minor notice. There are those candidates out there with third party leanings but are running as primary party choices. We may see more candidates doing the Crist twist and jumping ship after getting a name for themselves. This would give credence to third party alternatives and widen the field for voters. This would also make candidates much more open as mud targets since changing parties immediately makes one question whether the platform has been a lie.
All of this points to something I have said before…do your homework. It is time we as voters take the power from the power brokers. It’s time we tell the two parties they are not the only game in town. It’s time we make it known we are not happy little voters and we will no longer be bullied. There ARE other choices and it is up to the voters to make sure they have their shot. We need to take money out of the equation, and put voting power back in the hands of the people. The only way that will ever become a reality though, is when people educate themselves about the candidate. We must take the voting booth back.
It is up to us to examine all the choices and make informed selections. It is up to us to stand up, no longer being lazy, and do our homework. It is time for us to really look deeply at the ads, the lies, and the propaganda, to really make the choice that means something to us. Only then will the political system start to correct itself.
Right now the system is a runaway train of power brokers and money. The average person can’t fathom $38 million dollars much less spending it on a political primary. It got the upstart Scott elected though, didn’t it?
Maybe he is the best candidate, and a good choice for Florida, but no matter how you look at this, he bought the primary. Maybe he will be the best governor we’ve ever seen, but what I see is a political locomotive racing down the track too fast for us to get out of the way. I am in no way endorsing Alex Sink or any other candidate, but I am gonna make sure I don’t get caught on anyone’s tracks.
