Bob Haase’s Another Can Of Worms

Power of the Party and Power of the People

I have written about this more than once and will continue to write about it because I think it is one of the greatest problems facing our country today.  Throughout our history there has always been disagreement and fighting between the Republican and Democratic parties on what they thought was right for our country.  The main difference I see now is that the focus has changed to what is right for the party rather than what is right for the people.

When either party goes into caucus before going into session, they usually tell their members how they should vote on specific issues.  This is usually based on how it will affect the power of the party rather than on what the people want.  It seems like the strength of the party is more important than the wishes of the people they represent.

I have seen this in Madison and also on the national level where poll numbers show what the people want but neither party votes based on the results of what the people want.  Neither party want to compromise to what the people want because the results may not be in the best interest of the party.  If any of our elected representatives votes based on the wants of the people rather than the directive of the party they are ostracized and can ultimately become inaffective. I think both parties have forgotten that the representatives are elected to represent the people not the party.

The real problem is that we the people forget that we have the power to replace our representatives when they no longer represent us.  We have this right and responsibility during every election.  The problem with this is that most people do not take the time to find out how their representatives voted on issues of concern.  When they go to the polls to vote it is usually based on campaign propaganda which may or may not be true and at best is misleading.

It is not election time right now so why am I writing about this now.  The reason is that we need to take some time during the year to follow how our representatives voted on issues that concern us.  We also need to take the time to let our representatives know how we feel about the issues they are voting on and follow it up with the way they cast their vote. 

There are issues concerning health care, jobs, the environment, citizenship, individual rights and freedoms, national security, the national debt, and many other things we should be concerned about.  Most people spend little time reading and researching the bills that written and voted on by our representatives.  There are often things hidden in the bills that make it a bad bill and we wonder why our representatives voted for or against it.   

Politics is more confusing than ever, but it is also more important than ever for us to get more involved.  We will continue to see the power of the parties until people care enough to show the parties the power of the people.

Bob Haase is the host of “Outdoors Thursday” heard Thursday mornings at 9:10 a.m. on News-Talk 1450 KFIZ.