Matt Fecteau: Rhode Island, Damn it, Just Vote
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
I’ve been getting into cooking lately.
I cooked almost everything, but my passion lately is beef stew. However, I can become complacent. When I start to make my stew, I walk away for a couple minutes and do something else. I let the stew simmer far too long, and what is left burns. As a result, I ruin my dinner, and end up getting Subway.
I have been getting better with my stews, but on occasion, I need my stew to burn as a wake up call. This is what happens when you are complacent, and lethargic.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRhode Island is just like my stew, and eventually, it too will burn.
If Rhode Island is like my stew, the people who passively stand by while our state slowly deteriorates before our eyes are the malfeasant chefs. Voting has become a right few exercise. While everyone has their own reasons, whether lack of time, lack of interest, or just plain disgust with the system, we cannot change the political climate without expressing our discontent with the political system.
Rhode Island voters need their own wake up call. The situation becomes direr every day with people leaving our beautiful state, and lack of any worthwhile opportunity. With less and less revenue, Rhode Island is becoming the slum of the east coast. Most of my friends and relatives have moved out.
After all, with such high taxes, so few services, and no jobs, why not?
We seem capable of blaming our political leadership. I am not saying they are not at fault. I am no fan of the Democratic machine that monopolized, and abused Rhode Island’s political system for decades.
However, who is really at fault? The criminal for committing the crime or society for letting him or her rob the bank with no penalty. It has become common to see a state representative in handcuffs, but will voters hold these candidates accountable? As we’ve witnessed, the backroom deal that evolved into the PawSox relocation to Providence is tragic, but will anyone face heat in the upcoming elections in 2016? Because no one votes, there is no accountability.
The only iota of accountability is the US Department of Justice and the Rhode Island Attorney General. However, with so little transparency, the chances of limiting corruption are inadequate at best. With corruption permeating our state, it would be suspicious if they didn’t catch anyone.
Make no mistake: there are a small amount of constituents that are very good at electing vapid, nearly identical political candidates each year. These candidates seek to feed their own ego; they talk about fighting for the middle class and working poor, but this is merely demagogic nonsense meant to appeal to us ‘simple minded’ people.
As a result, we end up with a state and federal government that carter to the few that vote, and crafts laws that benefit a select, affluent few. This is how the game is played, and we, the people, continue to lose every year.
If this bleeding of people continues, in the next census, Rhode Island could forfeit one of its two federal House seats further diluting its influence on the federal stage creating even more problems down the road.
Eventually, we will reach a breaking point where enough is enough. Something needs to get people to the polls or we are faced generational stagnation. I am not saying I hope for a crisis. My concern is that we will sit on our hands for far too long.
Some of you may say: I don’t vote so it isn’t my problem. Well, you are just as guilty. You de facto vote for the status quo when you don’t vote damning us all to listen to particularly boring politicians whom I wouldn’t trust to pump my gasoline. You cannot change the system if you aren’t willing to express yourself.
For the good of our future, Rhode Island, damn it, just vote.
Matt Fecteau ([email protected]), of Pawtucket, lost to U.S. Rep. David Cicilline in last year’s Democratic primary. He was a White House national security intern and captain in the US Army with two tours to Iraq. Twitter: @MatthewFecteau
Related Slideshow: See How Much Each Candidate Spent Per Vote
Below is a ranking of how much candidates for state office and Providence mayor spent per vote. Only candidates who had competitive primaries are listed. The cost per vote was calculated by taking total campaign spending since 2013 and dividing by the number of votes received in the primary. Data was obtained from the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Candidates are listed in order of lowest spending per vote to highest.
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