Editorial by John Backer

Let me define the phrase for those that may not be familiar with it; Go along to get along – “To conform to general expectations so as not to disrupt or endanger one’s sense of security or belonging”

There is a verbal change in the political climate in all facets of political races. There is a lot of anger and disappointment at the corruption of our political leaders presenting themselves in speeches and public appearances as working for their constituent’s behalf but when their voting record is checked against their public rhetoric the two do not match up.

When looking for answers one can blame lobbyist, PAC’s and Super PAC’s all you want but these “entities” did not put the elected officials into office. The “entities” though monetary incentives certainly seem to have an influence on how our elected officials vote but ultimately the politician obtained the office through our voting process by gathering the most votes. Whether we voted for the candidate or not the candidate has a moral obligation to represent his/her constituents and not the “entities” who knock on their door, with funding to persuade “go along to get along”.

This behavior of not representing constituents is not only happening on the national and state level but it is right here in front of us with some of our locally elected officials. How many of us have voted for elected officials based upon their political rhetoric and discovered that once elected the candidate has a selective memory of what they promised in their political platform and became part of the go along to get along crowd? What ever happened to an open discussion of ideas in a public forum? When did we descend down to; illegal quorums/meetings in hallways/offices; holding backroom executive sessions; making million dollar decisions in private to spend the public’s money with no citizen involvement.

Electing candidates should never be about popularity, name recognition, stature in the community or a candidate’s charisma. Elections should be about the candidate’s character and their ability to follow through on their promises, after all, we are entrusting the candidate not only with a voice but with the keys to the vault and fiduciary responsibility of our current and future (public) funds.

We need to stop electing officials who “go along to get along”. We need elected officials who will ask the hard questions when it comes to the public’s use of money, officials that will put their constituent’s needs in front of their own personal needs and egos. We need every voter to ask themselves the real reason they are choosing one candidate over another.

No candidate is perfect, we all make mistakes, and making a mistake does not make them a bad person. The difference is admitting to the error and learning from it moving forward.   Take the time to evaluate and ask yourself about the true character of the candidates on the ballot before you step into the booth to vote. Please stop going along to get along when you vote and vote for a candidate that will represent us!

 

John Backer is a resident of Orange. He can be reached at editorial@orangeleader.com