This Is Why I Am Not in Politics

This week I enjoyed the hypocrisy of the American political system.  I say hypocrisy not because I have a structured, logical, intelligent opinion of how the system should work. I don't understand our system.  I did understand it back in 11th grade PIG (Participation in government for those of us who are too old to remember back to high school). On paper, this democracy works, makes sense, and is inspiring.  When I listen to the news and read the newspapers, it makes no sense. It seems that what we as citizens say we need and who we vote for are not in sync. We say we want change, but maybe we are too afraid to deviate from the status quo when it comes time to cast our ballot.  Hence the hypocrisy.

Let's take a look at the governor's race in this great state of New York.  Not because it was the most interesting but because as far as I knew, that was the only election there was. Imagine my surprise when I went to vote and I had to vote for no less than 10 other positions.  Yes I had heard the campaign commercials with other names being thrown around other than Cuomo and Paladino, but I heard, not listened.  I voted for who I wanted for governor and the rest I asked my kids which circle I should fill in.  It's important for kids to partake in the political system. (That's my story and I am sticking to it).  So the NY governor election had 2 main candidates: Carl Paladino and Andrew Cuomo.  This is what I know. NYS sucks right now. We are over budget, people who don't deserve a handout live for free, people who desperately need help can't get it, our education system is demanding more of our children than they are mentally capable of, and I pay higher taxes on my humble home than my counterparts in California.  So what do I want from a governor? Someone that is DIFFERENT than what we have now. Someone who is DIFFERENT than what we have had before now.  Someone who thinks like me.  Someone who has similar challenges as I do. 

Now let me tell you what I know about the 2 candidates. Carl Paladino is a local businessman.  Andrew Cuomo is the son of the ex-New York State governor, Mario Cuomo.  Stop right there. In my mind, this is all I need to know.  The definition of insanity is to do what you have always done and expect a different outcome.  (I heard that somewhere, many times).  So WHY ON EARTH would we vote in the offspring of what got us here in the first place.  Nevermind democrat or republican. I don't know what it means.  I like to think I, and the politicians who represent me, have the freedom to choose the correct course of action each and every time a problem is posed, not decide the course of action based on what my party-line says I should.  And no label can ever accurately define my values, and I don't expect it to define my respresentation's either. 

Many people believe that Carl Paladino had the governor position at hand at the time of the primaries in early fall, but lost his strong hold due to some public displays that swayed the popular opinion.  I didn't follow these stories closely, but one incident involved a "violent" confrontation with the media.  In this confrontation, Carl yelled back to a reporter that he sent his "goons" out to get his daughter and that he would "get him".  Of course, everyone translated "get him" into a threat and the shit hit the fan.  If you read the whole article, you will see that Paladino was agitated because a reporter went to the home of this 10 year old daughter and took photos of her practicing for her school dance through her bedroom window. I don't care if this man made the choice to put his life on display by running for governor. At no time should his decisions put the welfare and privacy of a child at risk. I believe that Carl's reaction was lame compared to what I would do in a similar situation.  People said he "showed a violent streak".  I don't want anyone to be my governor that would roll over and take it when the media violated his family.  Come on, our media is going too far and he called them out on it.  Good for him. I refer back to my previous paragraph, I want a governor who has the same values and me and thinks like me.

Then another criticism of this guy is that he forwarded on an email that depicted President Obama as a pimp and the first lady as a whore.  Oh my gosh, this man forwarded on a political satire email! Oh the horror!  Again, someone who thinks like me.  The emails that I have received over the years.... and the emails I have forwarded on. Some were in very poor taste.  Some I am ashamed of, but for goodness sakes I am a human. Is there anyone who is reading this who can honestly say that they are proud of every correspondence they have sent out? Can you say you have never laughed at a humor that was inappropriate?  I sure can't.  This man was a human, when he got a funny email, even though inappropriate, he shared it. Even better, he shared it with people he was close with, people he trusted, people who betrayed him and gave this information to parties who used it against him.

So I ramble on here about nothing.  I don't know anything about Andrew Cuomo except that he is Mario Cuomo's son. I really don't know anything about Carl Paladino except that he is not a polician and he says the wrong thing at the wrong time sometimes.  (Remember George W. Bush?) So I am not writing this to make a case for Paladino winning, which if you didn't follow, he did not.  I am simply mapping out my thought process in this election.  I am sure there are many citizens who are much more in the know about all the candidates and what they stand for.  I am sure there are plenty of citizens who didn't even know we had elections this week.

So what's the point of this post? Here it is. The New York population has spoken.  Our cry for no more politics as usual and a new Albany has ended with us electing the son of 1980's NY governor Mario Cuomo.  I am sure 60% of NY's population had a good reason for doing this. Maybe he has good ideas on how to fix our state of affairs.  I listened to his acceptance speech. I don't trust him. He reminds me of a preacher, and not the good kind that is all lovey and kind.  At the very fundamental level, we voted in the son of an ex-governor. Tell me how this will not be politics as usual? This is why I am not in politics.

*Disclaimer - I know NOTHING about politics (hence my title).  This article just shows how ignorant I really am about politics. This is purely the opinion of an American who is not really in the know.  If you are entrenched in real, honest politics (smirk smirk) you will probably be offended by this article.  By all means, feel free to leave your comments about why I am wrong. I can use the education!