When the national horizon is filled with rising trouble, the panic-stricken public votes for the candidate who is the best snake oil salesman. The real time issues get obliterated in the feel-good speech of many politicians.
Politician Bingo Games to the Rescue
If every single candidate had a personal bingo card, and a different fake elixir statement was written on each of the bingo balls, the politician with the fewest marked spaces would win the game. However, in real life, the public has a penchant for voting into office the Bingo! Candidate, who is the first to fill up their card with empty and charming words. At the Chicago Tribune, writer Eric Zorn invented Pat Quinn Bingo. Governor Quinn is fond of certain friendly phrases, such as Land of Lincoln, working families and People of Illinois. The first to mark a full row with Quinn’s forgettable statements, wins.
As the statewide campaigns head toward the November 6 finish line, many new phrases are being added to the “Candidate Bingo” cards. Statements about reaching across party lines, intent to discuss all pertinent issues with everyone, working to fix the broken parts of all problems, have no real meaning. The candidate who fails to thoroughly discuss the sources and current direction of, and viable proposals for alleviating, the very real difficulties facing the State of Illinois and its citizens should not receive the public’s vote.
Balancing the State Budget
The economic ill health of Illinois must be addressed. The state is carrying a $200 billion deficit. Over $12.5 million is added to that shortfall daily via the failure to fund the state’s pension responsibility. A larger picture involves the road of fiscal collapse on which the U.S. appears to be traveling. The entire fault for campaign platitudes is not sitting in the lap of the politician. The public at large must share some of Candidate Bingo’s burden. People really do not want to become aware of the dire situation facing their state and country. The everyday person has enough of their own problems to contend with. Fake elixirs are much more pleasant than dire issues. The problem lies in the aftermath of an election. When voters elect glib talkers, the prior difficulties become precipitously worse.
Political Gameplay and Bingo Action
Everyone has options. In a democracy like America, voters can choose to make it their business to elect candidates who address the issues facing the state and the nation. Candidates worthy of votes are those who discuss in depth the historic causes of the situation and the specifics of future policies should they get elected. The voters of Illinois have the right to know what budget cuts will be made in addressing the huge deficit, and the reasonably expected economic impact of those cutbacks.
Former Governor John Engler of Michigan turned generations of dole takers on Aid to Dependent Families into productive employees. The vast majority of Michigan residents believed that Governor Engler’s decision to place a short time limit on the receipt of aid, was cruel. Engler’s policy, forcing young mothers to either get an education or go to work, in actuality enhanced the lives of all involved, and saved the State of Michigan billions of dollars in the process.
Vote to Play Candidate Bingo
Voters do not have to settle for Candidate Bingo. Citizens can wisely challenge the snake charmer and vote for substantial politicians who are willing and capable of taking the bold steps necessary to address statewide and nationwide chasms.
The result of electing officials who are able to turn negative into positive is: Bingo!
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