Lou Dobbs Doesn't Get It

I must admit that I am a CNN junkie. It is on my television most times of the day, even as I am scanning their website and reading stories of relevance to me. Jack Cafferty, Anderson Cooper, even Lou Dobbs do an excellent job bringing interesting views to the light for us. I appreciate their efforts. BUT....that said, Lou Dobbs simply is wrong with his efforts to get voters to drop out of the two main political parties. I am a life-long Democrat and will continue to be a Democrat. Do I always agree 100% with my party leaders? No, of course not. Then again, do I always agree 100% with my wife and children? Not even close. The answer is not to quit and drop out of the process but to work hard to reform from within.

With my wife, I've learned the most important negotiating tool in two short words, "Yes, dear." However, I do not advocate the same approach in our political parties. Instead, if we really disagree with the direction our party is headed, it is our duty to work from within to effect change. I do recognize the frustrations involved with such a tactic, but the alternative as promoted by Dobbs is to remove ourselves from the process altogether in the assumption that somehow those left behind will be influenced by our absence. On the face of it, the option is absurd. The idea that the problem with our political process is that it is too partisan is naive and childish.

People act out of their own self-interest. Always have and always will. It is the base of human behavior. That said, we must recognize that the two political parties represent distinctly perspectives on governing society. To believe that the Walton's will act from a position that is in the best interest of their workers is ludicrous and without merit. They have accumulated an enormous fortune while at the same time crushing all attempts at unionizing any Wal-Mart. They do this out of their own self-interest and the workers have allowed it to happen against their own needs.

This political season has been refreshing because of the large turn out of new voters in the process. The more people we have involved in the process, the less likely that special interest groups will be able to have an undue influence on the outcome of public policy. Hopefully Lou will figure this out soon. It appears millions in our nation already have.