Religion in Politics

Religion, A part of politics.


Religion in Politics is a part of our Political Machine. Additionally, the 1st amendment gives citizens of the United States the freedom of Religion, press, expression of speech as stated below. This is vital in both international politics and local politics and the basis for voters questioning a presidential candidate’s belief system.

“Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

There is currently a voiced concern over a presidential candidate being a Mormon. The others are Christian and a Catholic. Candidates are currently telling citizens that their religion and politics will not interfere with the way they govern and people should not be concerned. However, if following international politics and a Muslim was a moving force in directing our political machine there would be great concern among citizens voting in the primary or general election for 2008. The fact that Islam has a reputation of having radical Muslims in both politics and religion promotes questioning of the political candidates religious beliefs when they decide to run for presidency, even though this religion is increasing in international politics across several countries.

The fact is when voting for a president whether in a general election or in a primary the individual automatically opens their life up to scrutiny or questioning of beliefs be it family beliefs, financial beliefs or religious beliefs. The realism is, politician beliefs as well as citizen beliefs help form their opinions and how they chose to approach every situation. This the total package of what makes a person who they are both good and bad. This explains how candidates come up with their decision or solution when navigating the political machine? It is a responsible voter who questions ones beliefs about the candidate’s religious beliefs as it is regarding their beliefs about fiscal responsibility and government’s role in the process. Additionally, the United States should never consider a law that prevents any religion for seeking office of presidency, not only because it’s in our first amendment and would violate our constitution but also because as religions spread so does the total restructuring of beliefs of the voter both in international politics and local politics.

The final decision of who will be elected in the United States will always end up on the shoulders of the voters and the Electoral College, thus the voter still drives the political machine as long as democracy still has control.

In the end people do not have to choose to be in politics. If they choose not to be in politics their religious beliefs should not be questioned as long as their beliefs do not provoke violence among non-believers. If the politicians religious beliefs are so strong, be it international politics or local politics they do not want to share or are unable to discuss their views then the candidate should not ask to represent me or the citizens of the United States.

Lieberman and McCain

Lieberman and McCain on Terrorism

Lieberman and McCain. If you’re reading this most likely you already realize Lieberman a former Democrat who won his senate chair running on an independent ticket has thrown his support to a Republican. Lieberman was quoted as stating that McCain has “the best chance of uniting the country in its fight against Islamic terrorism."



Although this comforting to see Joe Lieberman support McCain for the very fact that Lieberman is tied to neither a Democratic party or Republican party. This being said Lieberman does not have to comply along party line politics. Lieberman’s is an independent and is only one of two Senators to change their party affiliation since 1989. The last winning senator that switched party affiliation was from Vermont. He switched to run and win as an Independent .

A voter should be happy to see Lieberman and McCain willing to work together. However, with McCain’s backing the fight on terrorism we should also ask what is the extent of Lieberman and McCain actions, and what would they be willing to do to continue the fight on terrorism? This is important because our citizens need to know McCain intent if he becomes president. Will McCain endeavor to keep our troops in Iraq? If so, what will he use to measure success on the war on terrorism? The most important question other than the amount of lives it will cost is how much will the United State continue to pay to fight and endless war.

The creed of the United States military and our elected officials is to protect our country from harm both foreign and domestic. Yes, I am sure most Americans already know this; however, what if the attack is a subverted domestic attack on the financial stability of the United States? Easy indicators are: the dollar is week, energy prices continue to skyrocket and the middle class continues to shrink and unemployment continues to rise. Lieberman and McCain are aware of this as they have given speeches on these subjects. However, is McCain and Lieberman unknowingly supporting an attack on United States financial system?

I am not saying Lieberman and McCain are domestic terrorists. On the contrary, both Lieberman and McCain are fiscally conservative. However, I believe a point should be made on fiscal responsibility to help prevent a possible underlying plan from foreign terrorists to help bring down the United States financially.

Lieberman and McCain have proven their dedication to the Senate and the United States. Lieberman’s dedication was shown by his desire to run for his seat as an independent when his own party to tried to blackball him, causing him to lose the democratic primary nomination. McCain's obvious service and sacrifice as a prisoner of war and his continued service in the Senate are obvious indicators of his dedication to the United States.
These are only conspiracy theories on how it is possible for a plan to be created. This is supported by the World Trade Center attacks, a financial center for the United States and other countries, which was also attacked more than one time with the final conclusion of the Twin Towers collapsing on 9/11.
This can only lead to a conclusion that Lieberman and McCain should be aware of an attack on the fiscal stability of the United States.

Researching your politician

When I refer to the political machine I not only consider politicians a part of the machine I also consider the host of spin doctors, campaign contributors and the host of people hired to influence our government by their lobbying. However, while these influences help clog the arteries of our government they also bring valuable information to assist a congressman or senator. They obviously are not experts in everything. Politicians do not have time to fully research every detail.

The biggest problem in the political machine is the voter. How can this be? The problems stem from not knowing what your elected official is doing or has done previously. Hence, the old proverb that those who do not know history or have learned from history's mistakes are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. Thus, what is the history of your elected official. Such as their voting record etc.

The problem stems from lack of participation and availability of key metrics to make informed decisions before casting your ballot. Obviously, holding our elected officials or politicians to a standard worth or equal to their salary and stature is a must for our country to remain successful.

It would seem our politicians need management skills to direct their staff on what to research and then to draw from their education and past experience to make the right choice on legislation. Additionally, politicians need to do a better job reaching out to their constituents and relaying information about their voting record. A example, a congressman voting down a bill to help children. One might think that is obscene not helping our children. However, after talking to your representative the voter may find that the bill was full of pork and did very little to help children.

This is where it is our job to read these bills. Below is how you do it and where to go to find this information. So, how do we make informed decisions.

To judge or politicians voters first need to find out who our elected official is? It’s easy if you know where to look. When starting to research you can start by searching your own states website or you can start with the federal government.

http://www.usa.gov/

Lets type "Senators" in the search box.


Now we can obviously see there is a link to find your local politician or to be more exact our senator at: http://www.senate.gov/

Here we can see who the sponsor is and “Sen. Frank R Lautenberg of NJ. Interesting enough they had 41 Cosponors.

Now let’s click on the CRS summary and see if we agree that our senators should have voted Yea?

Hmm, it looks like Title IV requires Improved Rails Security which leads the TSA and Homeland security to farm out work most likely to private contractors (our tax money).? Which leads to companies initiate lobbying campaigns to acquire contracts from congress? This is just a quick look at how to find your senator and their voting records and what the voted on. Remember we can go for a ride on the political machine or we can research and make informed decisions to drive the political Machine.

Politicians

Welcome to Politicians uncovered. My intention for the future of this Blog is to eventually provide rankings on our congressmen/women and how effective they are in their districts.

The question:

Is our elected officials a part of a broken political machine, or are they an effective representative? Is the congressman/woman you elected successful in politics or are they just collecting a pay check until the next election?