Posted: 01/05/07

"Operation Turnover" Revisited

The elections have been over for about sixty days, the new Congress is seated and now the 2008 Presidential election cycle is under way. Didn't we used to get a break from all this politicking?

Earlier last year, I brought up the idea of "Operation Turnover." This is my proposal that we vote out every incumbent in both the United States House and Senate. After decades of the same old thing, it seems this drastic measure may be the only way to truly get our leaders' attention. Nothing else seems to work.

What we really need is a viable third party that offers a genuine alternative to what we have, but that isn't going to happen any time soon. There are a few excellent third party organizations out there now but they just aren't getting much traction. I truly wish they were. I long to not have to choose between losing and losing slower.[1]

The fact is that politicians in general ignore the people's wishes. The people are only important to them during the election cycle. What I am about to say about the Democrats is not meant to be partisan politics because Republicans are equally guilty, in their own way, of ignoring the people. It's just that now the Democrats are in power.

Let's be honest, both parties lie. They tell us exactly what we want to hear and we buy it year after year. We are just like Charlie Brown who each year trusted Lucy to hold the football for him. Each year she moved the ball at the last moment causing Charlie Brown to land flat on his back. Good ol' Charlie Brown. He will let her hold the football next year too and we will believe whatever our politicians tell us.

The real truth is that it isn't them that are the problem. It's us. We elected them. They simply reflect us and personally I don't like what I see.

The Democrats promised many things during the recent election campaign. They've been in power only days and are already breaking those promises one by one. Remember when Bill Clinton promised us a tax reduction only to renege immediately upon being elected. I don't know why we keep on believing these people.

I don't want to drone on about this. I think each reader knows how it is. The point is that we need change. We need genuine change and not just a switch from Republican to Democrat or visa versa. We need to get new blood in Congress. We need to get old blood out. We especially need to get old blood out. Do you realize that some of our legislators have been in office for decades?  This is not what the founding fathers had in mind. It wasn't supposed to be a career.

So, again, as we enter this new election cycle, I ask you to consider "Operation Turnover." Vote them out. Vote them all out. This will send a fear through their souls like nothing they have ever even considered. To them this is impossible and certainly unthinkable.

Right now, our leaders know you have nowhere to go. You either vote Republican or Democrat. Most of the time we are forced to vote for the lesser of two evils. It shouldn't be this way. There are some good people out there who could make a great difference in our world.

Pray about Operation Turnover. Tell others about it and let's get started getting the word out now while we have time to get the momentum going. If our leaders really thought we were serious about this they would do something desperate like represent us.

I invite you to blog me in response to this article. Let me know what you really think. The bottom line: I'm ready for a real change. I hope you are too.

Happy New Year!

Ralph C. Barker

cruiseone@mindspring.com

By Ralph C. Barker Click here for bio and archived articles