Watching the recent Republican debate made clear the incredible damage done by the conservatives’ 30-year campaign against government. Since Ronald Reagan their mantra has been “government is bad and incompetent.” They have pushed the idea that government takes “your” money and gives it to “those people,” thereby fostering resentment and division in the country.

When many of those candidates touted that they were not “professional politicians,” it made me wonder if when they need surgery they say, “I don’t want a professional doctor.” Professionalism is not a bad thing. However, its abuse is.

In the private sector, companies are responsible to make a profit for their shareholders and the board of directors keeps close watch on that. The COO is the coordinator of the effort. In government, we are the shareholders and the government’s purpose is to make our lives better through legislation.

Our president is our COO. The problem comes when we vote people onto the board of directors (Congress) or presidency who don’t believe in government in the first place. Too often in the Citizens United world their loyalty is not to us but to the big donors who fill their campaign coffers. Statistics have shown that legislators listen to the desires of the limited number of oligarchs over the desires of their vastly larger number of constituents, clear evidence that campaign finance reform is vital if we wish to keep our democracy.

The next time a candidate who is running for president or any other office tells you that government is bad, be aware that you (and we) are the government and if they get into office with that philosophy, you will be the loser.

JoAnn D. Claps


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