Monday, March 24, 2008

Reformation in American Political Campaigns

Reformation in American Political Campaigns

What America needs today, is not more lawyers, millionaires and professional politicians in office. What America needs is honest debate and grassroots campaigning which will bring more citizens to elected office. Charles Fowler is in the process of launching a campaign of fresh ideas in his bid to succeed retiring Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. It is this kind of campaign that will bring the American voters back to the polling place and insure the words of President Abraham Lincoln: "A government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth."

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (PRWEB) April 10, 2004

I was just toying with the idea of launching a Senate Campaign until I received a letter from a fellow Republican. I understood the premise of this letter and took no offense. But there was one sentence that bothered me.

"It is no longer ideals and issues that win political races in America, it is name recognition and big money."

Now what is troubling about this most, is that it is true. The fact that candidates are elected without ideals, without vision and without having to take a clear stand on any issue. When I began to think about that statement is when I determined to follow through with a campaign of fresh ideas and call for a reformation in American political campaigns.

This election is one of the most crucial elections in our nation's history. And it is already proving to be one of the most impassioned. Unfortunately across America in our Congressional races, we are hearing alot of "talking points" with very little debate. We are hearing the sound of echoes across the country, the echoes of marketing consultants, policy advisors and political pollsters. We are still hearing the echo of the debate from years past. Unfortunately, what we are not hearing, are the voices of clarity, of vision and the exchange of new concepts and fresh ideas.

Politics is big business, but where are the voices of real honest debate on the issues? Where are the candidates with any specifics to offer the American people? Where are the innovative ideas that will guide America into the future? It seems that most professional politicians lack the courage to take a real stand on most issues. They want to try to play it safe until election day and just hope the other party stays home.

Oh I know, they all have the same list of the same issues on their menu, but it is all so ambiguous. The political pros in this business are very generalized with nothing specific, nothing of substance to offer the American voter. Many of their stances are so unclear with nothing definitive that they can easily waffle around these issues at election time. I guess that is why they are called "politicians."

But what actually alarms me the most is that they offer no new ideas, nothing fresh, nothing creative. With no new proposals for the future of America the voters are bored to complacency and just stay home on election day. So many Americans lack the motivation to exercise our most funadmental freedom, the right to vote. Why do so many never even bother to even register to vote?

Personally, I do not think it is actually the voters fault. I lay the blame squarely at the feet of the many lawyers, Senate millionaires and professional politicians who seem to be the only choices for Americans in the polling place these days.

Well, since I have proposed a sort of reformation in American politics, let me offer a few specific proposals of my own:

First of all, we can and should find more funding for our Colleges and Universities in America. There is more than enough government waste that can be slashed in order to accomplish this goal. If we don't accomplish anything else, we must find the funds to help lower tuition rates and offer practical scholarships, grants and loans for our students. This must be a real priority for Colorado in the future and not just a campaign slogan. It is the future of our children that is at stake.

I would also propose that any and all tuition payments from College entry, all the way to Doctoral Programs would be completely tax deductible. It is time the government took the tax burden off of students and promoted higher education again.

In addition I would propose a Rural Education Bill that would guarantee kids in rural areas the same quality of education available in other school districts and insure the funding is there to protect the salaries of our public school teachers. If vouchers are the wave of the future, then we must also guarantee our public schools have a level playing field and that all educators have equal opportunity, whether in public schools or private.

It is also time for us to promote goods and products that are made in America. I would support tax breaks and other incentives for retailers who sell products that are "Made in the U. S.A." I would support every effort to bring home jobs and create new and better jobs for all Americans.

It is also time to limit malpractice claims and put a stop to all of this needless civil litigation. We are losing too many good medical professionals because of these out of control law suits. But I have to be honest with you, Tort Reform will only come when we stop electing all of these lawyers to public office. This is another reason we need citizen legislators. How do you think we got into this mess to begin with?

Next on my agenda would be to fight for military pay raises and insist that Congress break this deadlock and give our active duty military the kind of pay increases that they deserve.

Listen, we ask our troops to risk their lives in battle to protect our freedoms, so it is our God given responsibility to make sure that our veterans have excellence in health care, are given more than adequate benefits and retirement in order to enjoy a quality of life that their service to our country has merited. We can no longer allow Congress to play political games with this, for this issue must also become a real priority.

Last but not least, and certainly not the end of my list of priorities for America; are our civil liberties. It is now time to fix the USA PATRIOT ACT and defend our civil liberties and the Bill of Rights at home. I will join Senators Larry Craig, Mike Crapo, John Sununu and others in support of the SAFE ACT which will significantly modify the USA PATRIOT ACT to not only protect our country against terrorism, but also protect the Constitution of the United States by defending our civil liberties at the same time.

The First Amendment survived the Civil War and many other times of national crisis and the First Amendment will survive this War on Terror also.

It is my firm belief that the best leadership for the future of this country will be found in citizen legislators who are supported by grassroots campaigns and who will go to Washington and take issue by issue with great caution and care on behalf of their constituencies. And with that kind of direction we can guarantee the faith declaration of one of our great American Presidents:

"A government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth."

Abraham Lincoln

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Charles Fowler for Colorado

Post Office Box 5532

Colorado Springs, Colorado 80931-5532

719-392-1823

Http://www. charlesfowler. com (http://www. charlesfowler. com)