WE deserve our own political party right now

With a love of political science dating way back to my elementary school days, I must confess that I don’t follow a lot of the national and international issues.

It seems that there are plenty of issues and problems existing within the boundaries of Bullitt County. That’s a full-time job.

But from the days of running for class president to writing a paper on Richard Nixon back in elementary school, politics has been fascinating.

If I were to ever get out of this great profession, politics could be my next stop.

Since I don’t imagine that happening for another 20-30 years (sorry, folks), I do have a great idea.

How about coming up with a new political party?

I listened Saturday to the Democratic Party leaders talk about the virtues of their philosophies.

I listened to some of the Republican Party ideology over the years.

And I listened to the Tea Party discussions earlier this summer.

A lot of good stuff. Of course, talk is cheap.

While listening to some great stories from state House speaker Greg Stumbo and some really good stuff from Congressional hopeful Ed Marksberry, I jotted down two words - We Party.

Kind of playing off the Tea Party, for some reason I wrote down We Party.

Not the Wee Party. Or not the Wii Party. It’s the We Party.

So what would this We Party be about?

That part I really haven’t had a lot of time to think about. But I’m looking to you to help.

I would envision the We Party to have a lot of the principles of all the existing parties, including the Tea Party advocates.

In talking with candidates during the primary, almost everyone confessed that they really didn’t always align themselves with the actions of their respective national party.

They all understood that the people were upset and wanted some changes.

However, what change would you want?

For years, I proposed getting rid of the party system and just have people for the best candidate. Of course, everyone would reject that.

So, with that idea out the window, what’s next?

The We Party.

Let’s think of some philosophies that might be appropriate for the We Party.

*WE want elected officials who will vote for what is right - no matter who is lining their pockets with contributions

*WE want officials who will actually study the legislative actions placed before them instead of going with the party lines. This would slow down the process. Instead of passing hundreds of bills (or ordinances when it comes to city and county government), legislators would have time to actually understand all the ramifications - including those things tacked on at the tail of the bill.

*WE want our leaders to be honest. Don’t tell us what we want to hear. Tell us what is right and what is realistic. A former local official used to tell people that he would see what he would do for the constituent. Good answer with no commitment. However, the constituent walks away thinking something WILL be done.

Honestly is tough. It is not that anyone is lying. It is just a human desire to not disappoint anyone.

If Highway 44 will not be widened in 10 years, tell us. If the community college is a pipe dream not to be fulfilled for five years, just let us know.

Keeping that hope balloon alive is great. But just be realistic with people.

*WE don’t want politicians who get on television and talk about their opponents. We want candidates who will come to our communities, talk with our people and tell them what they plan to do to make our lives better.

We also want that honestly thing to remain alive and don’t just make promises that have no chance of becoming reality.

And we don’t want political action groups to run TV ads that may or may not be the view of the person they are supporting, although there is that crazy disclaimer about supporting the message.

*WE want politicians who will not bring back pork projects just because they are trying to appease their constituents. We want leaders who will look at the available money and to spend it properly across the nation.

Former U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis once proposed having a one-year moratorium on any new grants or programs. Of course, that got shot down without a second thought.

*WE believe in term limits for our state and national offices. Of course, the commonwealth of Kentucky has the two-term limits in the statewide offices. That is good.

We don’t believe that it would be unfair or unwise to allow state representatives and senators to serve 12 years in office. There is some value in experience.

However, we know that it is very, very difficult to unseat long-sitting incumbents. At the Congressional level, it is almost impossible.

Lewis ran his initial race on term limits. Well, the idea was OK but he probably didn’t feel he should follow it if nobody else did.

Federal or state appropriations should not be determined by who has the most power or the most tenure in office.

*WE believe candidates should have common sense and run their offices like a business.

If you need one aide, have one aide. But why have 100 when you need half of that. We understand that governmental jobs are important for the workforce and the economy.

States, like Kentucky, have had to cut jobs due to necessity. Of course, it is often the people on the lower part of the food chain who suffer. And they are often the ones who do a lot of the work.

*WE want people who will stand up for what is right. No matter the party. No matter the pressure from supporters. We want people who will actually vote the voice of their constituents.

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WE want you to tell others some of your thoughts about the WE Party. E-mail me at editor@pioneernews.net with your ideas on some of the doctrine of this new party.

Send me your ideas over the next week and I’ll include those in a future issue. Put your name to the suggestion because you should be proud to have a voice in this new “party”.