Letters from Linden
by JACK LINDEN
Texans are now engaged in primary elections, with the usual name calling. At this time, Republican Party members, with more races than Democrats, are calling each other names and criticizing incumbents and vilifying one another.
Unfortunately, many people are influenced by political ads on television or in newspapers. They really don’t know what they want and, as a result, do not know what questions to ask of candidates. A lot of empty but nice sounding slogans fill the airwaves, but do they mean anything? What does the candidate really mean when he or she “balanced the budget without raising taxes?” Our question to the candidate should not be whether he or she balanced the budget. Instead, the question is – How did you, the candidate, personally balance the budget?
Another cliché soundbite is, “I will return our government to our values.” What? Whose values are you talking about? What values have been lost and who took them? Nobody ever asks these questions; consequently, candidates go about screaming these soundbites at the top of their lungs.
Government is too large, according to most Republican candidates. But what part of government is too large? Of all those policies they say are restricting the growth of business – what specific policies are they talking about? What policies are they planning to take away and, more importantly, do they have the power to take them away?
Something is happening in American politics that is being overlooked by the American people. Thomas Jefferson said, “Government that governs best governs least.” He believed the closer the government was to the people, the better governed the people would be. But local governments are taking away freedoms quickly, and citizens are not noticing.
Local governments are usurping national level policies and legislation – interfering with doctor/patient relationships, passing laws regulating unions and the right to strike. It is the local governments which are restricting land use and taking land for tax purposes under the guise of the right of eminent domain. Too often, the local government is functioning almost as an autocratic body. Unfortunately, it is then up to the federal government to protect the rights of the people.
The flaw of not questioning candidates happens at the local level, too. No one asks specifically what the local candidate will do to help his or her community progress. What is the candidate’s view on specific topics? Most of them would be hard pressed to give an answer.
One of the leading questions in small- and medium-sized communities should be, “What kind of jobs would candidates attempt to bring to the community. Is the candidate willing to accept any manufacturer or job creator that is paying at or slightly above the minimum wage? Is that the future that you want your community to have?
If the candidate believes your community should have more than minimum wage jobs, is the candidate going to push for education, public libraries and facilities for continuing education? If your candidate is not planning for the future of your city, that person will hold back your town.
The 21st century is here. We do not need local officials talking about restoring the past. We need local officials who are looking to the future and are willing to gather like-minded people who will make our communities better. Ask the questions and demand an answer – not a slogan.
