American voters 'sit out' election with no choices

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The national elections last month demonstrated a glaring contradiction in American politics. Millions of people expressed deep dissatisfaction with our politicians, they wanted to "throw the rascals out," but they voted nearly all the rascals in again.

The new Congress will be almost identical with the old. The Republicans lost only one seat in the Senate. The Democrats gained only nine seats in the House.

Voters have long suspected that their representatives are more concerned with getting re-elected than with solving national problems. The recent budget crisis has turned suspicion into certainty-shift the blame was the name of the game.

With the election in mind, the "friend of the rich" Republicans flayed the "tax and spend" Democrats. Meanwhile, the Democrats assumed the mantle of "champion of the poor," which fitted badly as they put new taxes on workers' gasoline, beer, and cigarettes and called for sacrifices by veterans and the elderly.

President Bush set the tone for the game of political one-up-manship. Facing a 1990 deficit of $220 billion, he set his first priority on a capital gain tax cut for the wealthy. When tax increases became inevitable, he told Congress to draw up the budget-and take the blame.

When 176 Republicans voted down his compromise package, he flipped and flopped, changing his mind on taxes five times in three days. "In the resulting chaos in Washington," Time magazine reported, "the entire government seemed to be a Bush League of stumblebums who couldn't manage their basic business."

This is the administration that is plunging us into a war in the desert with no discernable end!

Big business buys services When all is said and done, the most absorbing concern of Congress members is their own political futures. It takes millions of dollars to run for Congress. These millions have to come from people who have millions. The S&L scandal demonstrates how big business can buy the services of even the most eminent Senators.

The eyes of legislators glaze over when topics of homelessness or healthcare are raised. But they respond immediately when General Motors or some other big contributor demands action on special legislation to benefit them.

No wonder average citizens feel they are ignored by the politicians they've put in office. Democrats are no better than Republicans. The S&L crooks bought politicians of both varieties.

Both parties are concerned merely with preserving the status quo that rewards them so well. Party lines are strictly drawn only when the spoils of office are to be divided. Chairmanships of key committees and other political plums go to the majority party. This is how the two parties keep their members in line.

Bernie Sanders, the avowed socialist elected from Vermont, says he will have to join the Democratic caucus to play any role in Congress. How much "socialism" will he be able to espouse then?

The Republicans and Democrats are unable to point to differences on major policies. • There are none. Campaigns have degenerated into negative mud-slinging contests to see which candidate can be made to appear more loathsome.

Here is the dilemma of the voters in 1990. They have no real choice. Both candidates appear loathsome to them. They would like to vote "none of the above." In desperation, they vote to limit their terms in office. Or more often, they simply stay home-along with 65 percent of the qualified voters.

Build a labor party!

Voting for "sincere" candidates who promise to "represent all the people" will never serve the poor when their parties are on the payroll of the rich. The American capitalist class has two parties. The working class has none.

This situation cannot last forever. Too many desperate people with too many unmet needs are seeking a way out. Minorities, welfare mothers, the sick and indigent, and the homeless have already turned their backs on the two old parties.

They have only to realize the need to build a party of their own. The labor movement, with the right leadership, could form the framework for such a party. With a labor party, the vast majority of the American people will find the way to exert their overwhelming power and end the disgraceful charades American elections have become.