Next year will be my ten-year
reunion from high school. At twenty-seven years old, I’ve been apart of many
campaigns, have attended two inaugurations, have attended a political
convention, and have demonstrated in a major Supreme Court case that ended in
the favor of which I was demonstrating for given the case. I have also run for,
unsuccessfully, office twice. I do like
campaigns and I do like fighting for what I believe what is right; at some
point I will be elected and when I do, I hope that I will able to make the
decisions that represent all of my constituents. Until then, I will continue to
work on campaigns and be hold an active role in shaping the political
landscape, both on the state and national levels.
It really don’t surprise me that
Congressman John Dingle, democrat representing the constituents of the twelfth
district of Michigan, is retiring from the United States House of
Representatives. He was first elected to congress back in the 1950s…1955 to be
exact. To date, this retirement marks
the ninth one for the democrats and the republicans are not immune to
retirement, as eleven of their members will not see re-election. While some
will be missed for their service, if not all of them, it paves the way for the
up-and-coming generations to take their place.
Another important point is that it provides opportunities for Congress
to truly be more representative of the country. With all of these retirements
unfold, and I don’t believe they are over as I image at least five more members
will not seek re-election, it will only boost the profiles of women, Hispanics,
and other minorities (of both race and beliefs) will be elected to office. In fact, we are already seeing “the
establishment” starting to evolve into younger and more diverse candidates and
their points of views regarding the best course for the United States. In fact, states are even breaking traditions
and we will see by the end of the night of the 2014 Election Day. Hopefully,
there will be more candidates elected to office that are of a third party as
the current political parties can’t seem to agree on anything except no raising
of taxes and continuing resolutions.
The midterms will hopefully break up the
“lame duck” status that has frozen Washington into a stalemate. Since Congress
is unwilling to work with the President (which is interesting because the past
shows that Congress manages to work with the President regardless of
administration) and trying to say just enough to get re-elected, it only make
sense for this President to use his Presidential authority to get things done
that benefit the people he represents. The republicans can’t afford to
jeopardize their already minimal relationship with the general public;
furthermore, they cannot go into upcoming presidential election cycle with high
partisanship and old century ideas. The democrats could also learn that
partisanship is just as bad for them as their friends across the aisle – the
best course is to talk and explain one’s position instead of looking at someone
and going, “well, they are a republican so they must be stupid and don’t (or
won’t) understand my position on this issue.” Going back to the republicans for
a minute, they have to understand that not every American is living in the
earlier part of the previous century. In
the twenty-first century, people are tired of partisan bickering. They want
real solutions to the problems facing the country they live in and are proud of
since their childhood. Let the new generation of politics come crashing in by
the end of the 2014 midterms!
