Guest Column in Orlando Sentinel

In the past I have posted letters to the editor or guest columns that the Orlando Sentinel has been kind enough to publish- on to this blog.    I was so busy last fall I never got around to posting this one that I wrote right before the election.  Then, when Romney lost I became ambivalent about the whole thing.    In the column (published as a "My Word"column in which everyday folk get to yammer on)  I was implying Romney would be the better choice because I felt he'd be better at compromising with the Democrats., but I was not obvious about that opinion.  I think that's why they published it, subtle is always better in the mainstream world.  Make no mistake, I believe both parties have lost so many moderates that they can no longer govern, but I did think Romney had a better chance of "mending" things than Obama.

Anyway, here is the letter... I feel the overall point is still vital;  the parties stranglehold on power needs to stop.

Published Oct. 31, 2012.... Boo !  :)  

My Word: An independent's view of the election

October 31, 2012|By Charles E. Marshall

As we Americans ponder the election of our next round of leaders, we're said to be further apart politically than ever before. But is this true?

An ever-growing percentage of the population is unaffiliated with any party, so perhaps the country is coming together more than tearing apart. What would be more accurate is that the political parties are further apart than ever. As more moderate thinkers of each party abandon their affiliation, the parties are becoming less capable of ruling with consensus.

As an independent, I would say this is a good thing, but this lack of bipartisan communication between the parties is making our government weak and ineffective because the parties still run the show.

As we choose candidates in these races — both presidential and congressional — it has never been more important that we elect leaders who are willing and capable of reaching across the aisle. It's only with a strong and cooperative leadership that we can overcome the problems we face: the national deficit, unemployment, an unstable Middle East and an increasingly aggressive China and Russia.

But in this divided government, the parties are lurching toward the dire institution that President Washington warned about in his farewell address in 1796:

"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

Another four years of a divided government could be detrimental to our country. We are, unfortunately, stuck with the Democrats and Republicans running the process of governing, but we still have the power to vote for the candidates who we feel are most willing to compromise in the interest of our country. We must demand fair and intelligent leadership that is ready and willing to govern all citizens no matter their political persuasion, even if that means sacrificing some of the ideals that their respective parties hold dear.

After their election, they are no longer representing Republicans or Democrats; they are representing all Americans and anything else is a subversion of the power of the people.

Charles E. Marshall lives in Clermont.