In the upcoming elections many voters will be casting ballots for candidates who they feel are the lesser of two evils. What many don’t realize is that by simply voting a little more strategically a lot can be accomplished. One way to do this is voting for gridlock by voting Democrat in the upcoming elections and voting Democrat for president and Republican for Congress in 2008. In the past 50 years, one party has controlled both branches only three times, 1960-68, 1976-80, and 2000-06. Those periods have a few things in common: (1) Embarrassing foreign conflicts like the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, the Iran hostage crisis, and, of course, the second Iraq war; (2) Uncontrolled deficit spending, like LBJ’s “Great Society” and Bush’s deficit; (3) Inflation, which was awful under Carter and is becoming more and more of an issue today. Eliminating single party control would increase accountability in each branch because both sides would be quick to point out the others failings. Additionally, legislation will be put under greater scrutiny, cutting pork barrel spending and increasing quality. In an optimal situation a Democrat would control the Executive, the Republicans would control the House, and the Senate would be evenly divided. The President would not cut taxes and implement a more careful foreign policy and Congress would focus and limiting spending. A great example of this optimal situation is the late 90s, an era that where the U.S. enjoyed greater international prestige, a budget surplus, low inflation, and unparalleled economic growth.
Voting for gridlock would eliminate
Daily Emerald
October 3, 2006
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