The Republican Party likes to get behind closed doors, choose among themselves who has the best shot at winning and then rallies the establishment behind that candidate.
The Democrats, on the other hand, is an open, inclusive party and allows even Joe Q. Public run for office. So when it’s time for the people to decide, they will look at all the potential candidates and see for themselves that the GOP candidate seems better spoken, seems to be in command of the issues and just an all-round better candidate, i.e, truly a man for the people, for a particular office. Perception is everything in politics and the Republicans are masters at this game.
However, once a GOP-supported candidate gets into office, he or she offers nothing new to govern maybe except proffer ideas on how to make it more “business-friendly” to certain select businesses that this person might actually go work for, once they leave office.
Democrats do not fare much better. They need contributors and donors as running for office is an expensive proposition. And if they do win, they will try to legislate some fairness into the market but are quickly hounded by corporatists who will castigate them for being business-unfriendly. So, nothing substantive ever happens. For instance, since President Obama has proposed financial regulatory reform, banks and other financial institutions who received bailout money from the Obama White House, are now shifting their corporate donations focus to the GOP. Apparently, the Republicans are fine with another looming meltdown, this time from which there will be no come-back.
How could democracy survive when corporations that make all the profits but do not carry risks of failure, call the shots, be it in the states, on Guam, or anywhere else for that matter?
MATT PHILIPS
Mangilao, Guam
