Governor national issues dominate ad wars

Too many elected leaders are putting fundraising, partisanship and re-election ahead of their country. They believe lobbyists and special interests dominate our democracy and they are right. Polls show that Americans feel left out of the legislative process and say that their views are ignored. Angus King, an Independent from Maine, said is that, вЂњCampaigns are no longer fought out between the candidates, they are battles between outside money groups on both sides.вЂќ He added, вЂњThe candidates are almost a second thought.вЂќ Every election cycle, special interests use legal loopholes to hide their political spending. Leadership roles on the most powerful congressional committees, which oversee critical areas of our economy like health care, energy and the financial sector, are awarded too often simply based on ideology and fundraising ability, not merit or expertise.ДЄccess to the legislative process has a price tag that makes it accessible mostly to the richest citizens in our country. A majority of members of Congress spend too much time fundraising and not enough on their legislative responsibilities. The so-called вЂњenemyвЂќ in this scenario is the opposing party, and there are billions of dollars supporting this domestic arms race in our elections.Д¬ronyism and the influence of special interests in both our politics and policymaking contaminates our government. One of the greatest threats to our experiment in self-government is the growing division within our own country and the dysfunctional Congress. Yet these outside threats are not the only dangers facing the United States. Clearly, national security threats continue to challenge us.

Still, we face a plethora of difficult issues, including a rapidly spreading ISIS, cyberattacks, North Korean nuclear proliferation, Russian interference in Western elections and the invasion of Ukraine, an increasingly aggressive China, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These reforms were passed after nearly two years of work, when the 10 members of the 9/11 Commission set aside politics to strengthen American democracy and our national security.ДЄs a result, we are no longer as vulnerable as we were on the morning of 9/11. This significant accomplishment was made possible because of the 41 bipartisan recommendations passed into law, the service of countless men and women in our military, intelligence officials who personally sacrificed to make our country safer and the dedicated work of the families of that fateful day. 11, 2001, and in the 16 years since, there has not been another successful major terrorist attack on our homeland. This month, Americans should pause a moment to reflect: It has been 16 years since the devastating and tragic attacks of Sept.

Governor national issues dominate ad wars