As I’ve noted before, I’ve narrowed my United States Senate campaign down to four things I want for our country. Today I’d like the talk about the fourth, an empowered American electorate.
An empowered American electorate will make the other three tenets – an America at peace inside and outside her borders, an American economy anchored in low taxes and free markets and an America that does not convict the innocent – possible.
Empowered American voters will make America great again. Right now we don’t have an empowered American electorate. We have an electorate that has accepted what its government does without holding it accountable at the ballot box.
More than anything, we have an electorate that says they want change but deep down really doesn’t. This was illustrated perfectly by the 2014 midterms when 96 percent of incumbents were reelected to a United States House and Senate that had an eleven percent approval rating. Eleven percent! Loan sharks, who at least keep the economy moving, have higher approval ratings than Congress.
Our message in 2014 was as clear as it was mixed:
We don’t like our government. We are unwilling to do anything about it.
Unwilling, but not unable. It may not seem like it, but a great America is there for the taking. Every two years the entire House of Representatives and about a third of the United States Senate is elected and every four years we elect a president and every federal election we stick with the status quo and we keep getting the same results.
This will never change, either. If it was going to change, if the status quo as going to bring significant change to our country, they would have already done so.
The difference we are looking for is not going to come from those we’ve already elected; the difference is only going to come from us. Nothing will change until we start demanding it at the ballot box. We can blame incumbency, the media and lobbyists only so much. There comes a time when we must look at ourselves. That time is now.
The best part is empowerment is there for the taking. All we have to do, literally, is decide we want it.
We must be demanding and participating citizens. When we become demanding and participating citizens we become empowered. When you and me – we the people – collectively start demanding better government on Election Day, we will get the government we deserve and America will be on her way to being great again.
We cannot expect more out of our country until we start expecting more out of ourselves.
Friends, we are the only barrier between us and the government we want. The country we want is there for the taking this November. All we have to do is go get it.
