The point I was trying to make was the great American masses know that it is their civic duty to participate in government, but they choose not to. It is not American Idol 'getting in their way'.

Better left.... When I send a letter to my representatives, I get a form letter shoved down my throat. When a company with unlimited resources contacts a representative, the representative gets steak and lobster shoved down theirs. And if American Idol is getting in the way of a persons' civic duty, our schools are NOT doing their job! Your own words have proven my point!

this does not surprise me, i get 4 emails and 2 letters a month, begging for campain money. my unemployment check does not come close to his salary, but yet they keep asking the working class for money.

"I am not sure it is in the county's best interest to have everyone actually involved, especially considering the level of intelligence often displayed when normal citizens make their voices heard."
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Interesting...

Good bye RUSS

wahoo_35,
how exactly is the "system not working" and what do you propose to fix it?

First of all, I am not sure that voting the way RetiredAirforce reports is backing down from issues. Increased costs does not necessarily equal not delivering health care. On the same note, voting for the health care reform while being against some of the spending found within it seems to be a case of compromise, although many people seem to forget what that means.
I also disagree with oldtimer when he/she claims we are losing our freedoms one by one. To begin with we don't really have that many. With that said, I do not see where we are losing any of our "freedom". I know some of you may quote some interesting sources claiming 'X' or 'Y', but really, politics now is simply maintaining the status quo, not taking our freedoms away.
I do agree that many of the young (and old for that matter) people are far too consumed by television to care about politics beyond what it costs them. However, I am not sure it is in the county's best interest to have everyone actually involved, especially considering the level of intelligence often displayed when normal citizens make their voices heard.
And finally, you can disagree at length I am sure, but when talking politics in America it is a Democrat Republican thing. Maybe not when talking about how "fed up" some are, but when talking about actual change (not in the Obama way, but actual change) it will come down to the two parties. There is not enough willpower within the people to change it, especially when those who want change often come off as crazy uneducated radicals who simply want less taxes.

It does not matter what you stand for to get elected, it is how much money you have. No wonder the system doesn't work.

criticalthinking,
ryan has $1,565,450 on hand.

feingold has repeatedly told us wisconsin rubes that he is against most of the taxes in obamacare. yet he voted for it.
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so, he has 3.65 million in his coffers -- mccain feingold at work!

critical, pointing fingers never solved a problem, you are losing your freedoms one by one and the politicins are to blame, wake up it is not a republican democrat thing. people are getting fed up with politicans period.

"I say, good job Feingold, at least there has been one senator in Washington that does not back down on serious issues."
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Really? This same senator who stated on a local radio show "veterans health benefits should be provided as promised", on Jan 14th. http://www.gazettextra.com/news/2010/jan...

Two weeks prior, he voted on the Senate version of healthcare reform. That bill contained increased costs to all tricare (past and present military members) recipients...increasing costs to the military members while he says on a radio show something completely different.

How is that not backing down from serious issues? Looks more like a typical politician, saying one than while voting a different way.

This is typical situation. The incumbent always has a huge advantage in fund raising. It is not a Democrat versus Republican thing. However, if the other side thinks someone is vulnerable to loosing a seat, the money will really start flowing.

As far as not having a say as AndrewJackson suggests, I disagree. How many letters does the average person send to his congressmen each year? I am guessing that the averaege number is near 0. The schools do teach our kids that political involvement is our civic duty. For most people, there just is not enough time after watching American Idol.

Yes, it is very tough to get elected, but that does not mean you don't have any voice at all. Americans need to express their voice through every means necessary, not just by running for congress themselves.

Comparing one political whore to another isn't the point, the point is that the regular paycheck guy doesn't have the time, energy or political pull to make a difference. He or she is to busy trying to make a life for themselves and their families, and the pols know it. Educating people at an earlier age that POLITICAL INCLUSION is one of the most important rights in this country would be a great start!

To those of you who think Feingold is bad for raising so much money you should look at Paul Ryan's warchest from the last election as it too was bulging. I also believe Feingold was in favor of capping campaign spending, however, that was blocked by the Republicans and did not go through. With that in mind, how can anyone blame him for going in with as much money as people are willing to give him.
Also, there is no correlation between how much money was raised and "doing the work of the people." That comment simply does not hold water. Attacking Feingold over the amount of money he has raised is ridiculous, especially if the attackers vote republican and are from Ryan's district. I say, good job Feingold, at least there has been one senator in Washington that does not back down on serious issues.

WOW! people have no money to make ends meet but he has money to keep his job, maybe we the people should take half of that money and donate it to the state to help fund the schools that are recieving less!! There is a idea!!!

And he was at the helm of the last campaign finance reform legislation. What a joke. Lets cap fiance spending at $200,000 for senate races and limit them to two terms.

We the people should start voting in the candidate with the least amount of filthy campaign cash. What does a $3.5 million warchest have in common with a job that pays around $100,000 a year? We are fools and being played BIG TIME!