My own private Obameter March 20, 2010

The vote is upon us, we're told. The vote on health care reform. Devoid of "just add water" solutions like the public option, which is essentially government-guaranteed health care (I vote yes, by the way), is this the bill we want? Oh, who knows. Our particular, peculiar democracy uses elected representatives; we have 300 million residents, for goodness sakes. Elected representatives (including senators) are supposed to be sufficiently policy-wonkish to decide, objectively, without distortion, the merits of the proposals put before them; and in favor of the electorate, not special interests. Oooops! New discouraging word, i.e., poll, from the Wall Street Journal/NBC: About half the U.S. electorate would be happiest if ... Congress, are you listening? those mid-terms are coming ... our ENTIRE Congress disappeared overnight, to be replaced by new elected officials. We're talking visceral hate. Think of elected congressional representatives as car mechanics. And if you do, you realize that, for the last little while, since the Obama election, they've been really BAAAAAD car mechanics, the kind of car mechanics you're thrilled to warn your friends away from. You know what was the weirdest finding in the same poll? Though HALF of Americans felt Congress as a deliberative body totally sucked and should be recarpeted with newly elected officials ... on the other hand (isn't there always?) most voters felt that THEIR very own particular, personal U.S. Congressperson was doing pretty good. Sigh? Sigh. Look, most U.S. voters are supposed to be "independents" now. Vote independently. Vote against every incumbent. There's your bumper sticker. No charge. It is the only way the electorate can overcome the moneyed influence of special interests.