New numbers from a CBS News-New York Times poll indicate that only 8% of Americans want their representative in Congress re-elected. That's staggering. That's the American people saying it's time for a revolution.
This is what a revolution in a democracy looks like, where the voters throw everyone out of office. The number one concern people have is that these politicians represent special interests instead of their constituents. An overwhelming 80% of people think that and only 13% think politicians are representing the voters. And they are absolutely right.
So, why are Congressional numbers now lower than they have ever been? My theory is that some people actually believed that the Democrats were going to make a difference. They got sold a bill of goods on hope and change. And when the Democrats sold out to special interests just like the Republicans, there was profound disappointment and hopelessness. That leads to the attitude of they're all bums, throw them all out.
Now, this presents a great opportunity. If you just wait for the general elections, the ironic winner of this trend will be the Republican Party, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America. They're proud of it; they even recently bragged about how they can sell out to Wall Street better than Democrats can. They'll benefit from this general atmosphere though because there are more Democratic incumbents to get tossed out than there are Republican incumbents.
But we don't have to wait to the general elections. If ever there was a time for primaries, it's now! Almost every Democrat running for re-election should get a primary challenge. This is our best chance at a progressive revolution. You know who should run? Teachers, farmers, dentists, moms, small business owners, cops, butchers, bakers and candlestick-makers. And anyone else with a shred of integrity who actually cares about our democracy.
Normally, you need a boat load of cash to run against a member of Congress. Hence, you need special interests behind you. And hence, all of our members of Congress are sell-outs to special interests. Hence, only 8% of people want to re-elect them. But right now might be one of those moments in a democracy where the people stand up and roar. Right now, all you might need is to just not be an incumbent.
I know this is a bit hopeful, but we don't get opportunities like this very often. And if some real Americans win these seats, the first order of business has to be campaign finance reform. Otherwise the cesspool starts all over again. They will only have a short period of time before they get infected. They need to do campaign finance reform first, so they can set everyone else free and cleanse the system.
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