Representative Democracy Is Worth Saving

In every state people go to the polls and elect representatives who will make their issues heard. What they are not aware of is that organized minorities entrenched in the government do not want the people’s input. In fact, what the majority of citizens want is often intentionally blocked. The agenda of those in control of the government can supersede any issue that comes from the people. The minority in power is able to defeat the intent of our Federal and State Constitutions. The voice of the people is choked-off by the few who have taken power to run things for their own benefit.

This misdirection of our political system has been exploited by – those who want access to the tax dollars we pay for services. They want to profit from our schools, prisons, transportation systems, and every service for which government taxes are collected. They want a piece of the action through privatization. They create a system where certain groups are allowed to profit from our tax dollars.

This misdirection of our political system has been exploited by – those who have published intentions to destroy public schools, privatize prisons, destroy worker representation, and create racial inequity. This is the mantra of the Koch Brothers, The American Legislative Executive Council (ALEC), groups like the Goldwater Institute, and dozens of so-called think tanks and political action committees. When they control states, they are in position to starve public schools, create partial schools that duplicate services taxpayers are already paying for, manipulate budgets by cutting taxes for corporations, and weaken programs that support workers.

In a healthy representative government, communities organize and work with the elected officials they send to the capitol to express the will of the communities. This is how the system works, right? We learn that in civics class. America is a Representative Democracy.

Idealism is good, but the reality is that your representatives’ voices are not allowed by the small group of people who set themselves above the people. They only consider issues that serve their masters, the well-organized minority in control of the government; those whose minions hold the purse strings. Be aware that your representatives, if they take a stand for those who elected them, are punished, and must go along if they are to be effective in any way.

Can a system of Representative Democracy be restored? Yes, and restoration is easier than one might imagine. The minority that has taken over states has been working for decades to place their ilk in government. They have almost succeeded, but they can be countered.

1) Work with those of your elected officials who have demonstrated that they will represent their communities and those who elected them. It is important to identify past representatives who were burned by the minority who control legislation. Get their input. Identify, by name and photograph, those in government who represent the interests of the minority. It is all about public relationships and holding individuals accountable.
2) In most states, the politicians who control the budget – the state treasurers and the budget committees – represent the powers behind perverted government. Publish their names and hold them to the light. These bought and placed politicians only flourish in the dark. In states like Arizona, there is now a direct line of succession between the State Treasurer and the Governor.
3) Identify those powerful minorities that block the input of The People and serve other masters. Identify the links they have to legislators whom they have bought and placed. Examine voting records that show their willingness to starve public schools, require standardized education and standardized tests, and support the school choice scam. Expose those in government who work to end the separation of church and state and hijack tax dollars for their particular religion. Expose their voting records on cuts to human services. Expose the “representatives” who vote to expand state expenditures on private prisons. Check this list carefully. Contact the legislators and quiz them. Shine the public spotlight on them. Expose them.
4) Make public the lists and photographs of those in government who ignore the will of the people. Organize through community organizations and get the word out that these individuals must be voted out.
5) As new candidates emerge, grill them and find out who they work for. Circumvent ALEC, the Koch Brothers organizations, and other powerful minorities who have used the primaries and their money to eliminate candidates that can not be bought.

For more insights read: Arizona Strangled By An Organized Minority. www.edwardfberger.com.
And, Splintering And Shattering Our Communities. www.edwardfberger.com.