eAmerica Decides: Land of opportunity or entitlements?

Day 517, 13:06 • Published in USA USA • by Ananias

A short while back on the eUS Forums, Justinious McWalburgson III put forth an idea of restructuring our government to support what he referred to as a “House of Lords”, ostensibly to provide the opportunity for several respected individuals to maintain influence and input into the governing process by being allowed to bypass voter accountability through the congressional election process. There were many perspectives shared, from outrage to support of the systematic re-structuring of our democracy to form a bicameral oligarchy/democracy blend. While I considered it an interesting debate, I am strongly against the reformation of the eUnited States of America into a feudal system complete with landed titles.

At the beginning of this congressional term, I personally experienced surprising and extraordinary backlash when I put forth the idea that the citizens of Rhode Island should be permitted a voice in our democracy because of the extenuating circumstances of their election, in which mexidus won the congressional election but Rhode Island was unable to seat a congressional representative due to mexidus’ banning from eRepublik allegedly for the use of multis during the election.

Currently the media and the eUS forums are receiving their monthly dose of outraged articles from all segments of the eUS political spectrum over the USWP’s determination, my determination, to provide as many opportunities to run for Congress by our members prior to endorsing non-USWP members. I believe it is my responsibility to provide opportunity and advocate for USWP members, I also believe it is my responsibility to educate and support those members in a manner which will reflect well on the USWP as an organization. That is the role that I was elected to, and no amount of angry PMs are going to dissuade me from my focused efforts to provide the eUnited States of America with qualified choices on the congressional ballot, Saturday, April 25th, 2009

While I’m not surprised at some of the response to that effort, I am surprised by the vehemence and sources of the extremely negative rhetoric being passed off as “protecting the integrity of the eUS electoral system”. I feel that it is important to point out to all eAmericans that the sources of much of the rhetoric are spurred not by fear regarding the quality of the 17th Congress or concern for the success of the eUS, the are instead spurred by a keenly developed sense of personal entitlement.

They feel that they are entitled to their position as your representatives rather than accountable to the eAmerican people for their performance in that position, they would prefer to be ordained rather than risking their perceived entitlement by performing on their commitments to their constituents. For all of the anti-monarchal rhetoric on display in the “House of Lords” thread, from so many different segments, the reality remains that those that berate the USWP for providing additional quality choices for the citizens of the eUnited States of America (which I am sure will escalate to an even more fevered pitch after the publication of this article) subscribe to the notion of entitlement over performance.

Recently an article was written by Cromstar regarding the establishment of a coalition of party members that represent the ideological “right”, which appears to be a direct response to the efforts of the USWP to offer more quality choices to the eUS voters…and frankly, as a three term congressman currently representing Florida, as the Party President of the USWP and, most importantly, as a citizen of the eUnited States of America…

I could not be more delighted.

I think that any effort undertaken to provide additional quality candidates to the ballot in every region of the eUS is a win for the eUS citizens.

Does is mean that many competitive races are going to spring up across the country? Absolutely.

Does is mean that the USWP and non-USWP candidates that run under our banner will have to focus their efforts and clarify their platform to educate voters on their distinction from the competition? Absolutely.

Will it require all incumbent congressmen seeking re-election to clearly identify their performance in relationship to their campaign commitments for the citizens of their state to review and decide for whom they will vote? Absolutely.

And that is the way it should be.

Those that embrace entitlement over performance will, of course, follow up with allegations that game mechanics negate the value of offering qualified and quality choices to eAmericans; when that does not work they will begin the process of demonizing those that support the efforts to provide those choices, and with it accountability, to the voters; when that does not work, they will begin withdrawing from Congress or contention in the races as some form of “punishment” to the voters for embracing more choices…

And, perhaps the most disappointing part of the effort will be that, those congressional representatives that are performing fabulously for their constituents will decide that the effort to campaign based on their proven accomplishments during this term, will instead support the promoters of entitlements and “House of Lords” ideas, rather than promoting their extraordinary performance while in Congress.

While it appears not to be a uniformly shared political campaign philosophy, I seek to be accountable for my performance in representing Florida. That is why I will provide an article this week to my constituents to share my successes and those items still to be done on my “to do list” for the next term, if elected. However, I also recognize that on the 26th I may not be returning to Congress if the voters do not agree that my performance in Congress matches their expectations. Will I be disappointed if I fail in my re-election bid? Of course. Will I be angry at the voters of Florida if they choose not to return me to Congress? No.

I am accountable to the voters for my performance, not entitled to my congressional seat.

So to those that would like to berate (or hate) the USWP for providing more choices this election, I would encourage you instead to berate (or hate) me (which from the PMs I have received is already taking place), because I have unilaterally made the decision to foster opportunity, choice and accountability to the voters, and I reject the institution of contemporary feudalism and landed titles in the eUnited States of America.

To conclude, I want to remind all the congressional candidates seeking election on April 25th, 2009: A congressional seat is not an entitlement, it is a responsibility to the citizens of the region state you represent, and by extension the eUnited States of America.

Do not take it for granted.

Ananias – Congressman for Florida
Proud member of the United States Workers Party