I don’t know politics that well. As a matter of fact, I hate politics. No one seems to care what is right or wrong. They are only worried about making the people happy who give them stuff. The most annoying thing is tha fact we don’t even use the system properly.

A group of people, let’s say the population of a state, wants someone who believes what they believe to help voice their concerns in Congress. They want someone who will fight for them. They want someone who will uphold the law, and pass the laws which will really help the country (and their home state). So, those people vote on a person to send to Washington (or three or four people… w/e).

Now they have a voice in the federal government. If something is going wrong, these people can call or write their Senators and Representatives to let them know what they want done about it. If new rules need to be made, the people of the state call their Congressmen. If our water is getting tainted, if we are spending too much time fighting a lost war, if new laws need to be passed, if bad laws need to be overturned – we can call our Congressmen and they are supposed to do something about it.

However, they can always choose not to. Afterall, just because the people of a state are calling for something doesn’t mean it’s right. Nor does it mean it would ever work. The Congressmen must be able to act on their own. But we elected them because they made promises to us. They told us they would vote for this or fight for that. We believed them and voted for them. Now they have the job and we expect them to do it – and do it to the best of their ability. If they are worried about getting re-elected then they need to prove themselves by doing the job we elected them to do.

Even if this happened there is one more piece to the puzzle; which doesn’t even fit well. It’s one of those pieces that you’re pretty sure came from a different puzzle, but you just cut it and shoved it in anyway. I’m talking about the Lobbyists. Their sole job is to bombard legislators and leaders with deals, promises, perks, and money. The only thing they want is everything to go their way. You see, a lobbyist usually works for one of those big companies whose investors and directors don’t feel like they make enough money because the government is wasting time trying to save the planet. Who needs a spotted owl anyway, right? Big companies hire people to shell out promises and money to legislators in exchange for a promise. The legislators must promise to pass laws which work in favor of these big companies.

Now, I’m no law student, but doesn’t it seem like political malpractice to be writing law for a specific business just because they bought you a summer home in Prague? Not to mention, these lobbyists are undermining the people for whom the legislators are supposed to be serving. I’m pretty sure we would be treading on thin constitutional ice here, but lobbyists need to be outlawed. I know, I know – first amendment rights and all that. These lobbyists and the companies they work for have every right to speak their mind. They also have every right to speak to these Congressmen as the people who put them in office. And I guess, since politicians can lie on the campaign trail, these lobbyists have every right to lie to them about the effects of oil drilling, or plight of the working man, or how tax breaks for a large corporation will trickle down to lower prices for the consumer.

If we outlawed the lobbyist, maybe the legislators could focus on doing actual work. Of course, there is the side I don’t want to admit: the legislators don’t have to give in. They don’t have to accept gifts and do what the big corporations want. They can grow   a backbone and do the right thing, even if it’s not popular with the rest of the old fogies taking up space at the Capitol. They have every right not to listen to lobbyists. They have it in their power to ignore these so-called “perks” and focus on what the people of their state want, need, and ask for.

But I guess life isn’t ideal, anyway. So why would I think politics should be?