Are candidates missing an opportunity to connect with voters on open government issues? In my opinion, that answer would be yes, the candidates are missing an opportunity to connect with voters on open government issues. However, this happens in all elections. The candidates, the party and significant members of government, potential delegates/superdelegates and significant members of the business and journalism community as well as other important world leaders are the ones that establish what the important issues are and how the candidates should structure their answers. Not only that but we as citizens allow the candidates to run their process the way that is relevant to important members of society whether foreign or domestic rather than deciding what is relevant to us and holding their feet to the fire in addressing our concerns.

The other part of this is that we as citizens do not know what is important to us. We do not know what we want the government to do or not to do. We are reduced to the opinions of the "people that we think should know" rather than what is affecting our ideals, our children, our livelihood, our mental and physical well-being, our daily lives, our every day get up in the morning and go to work life. We want people who sound good, look good and say stuff that others say are good for us, however, we will not hold accountable what would make our country run well for all the people. Though we are a government that is elected by the people in the popular votes, the real voters are the electoral college that can cast their votes in contrast to the people's wants.

We live in a very rich country that has resources that were unlimited. We throw money at a lot of different things. Some that are of benefit and some that are not. Some things that were beneficial to a lot of middle or lower income people and their families have gone by the wayside to make way for other items that waste money and resources. People who run our country are not people that are usually from the grassroots of society. They are from a long line of families who were in office before and when they get there, they seem to stay no matter what they do. When we hold them accountable for what they say they are going to do and for what our needs are as a whole, we began to take the control of the government that is within the rights of a government by the people, for the people and of the people. The issues we have become issues of the candidates. How they then address the method of solving those issues become who we elect and hold accountable for what they promised that they will do. For example, anyone who thinks that there is an easy answer to the gas prices crisis, the mortgage issues, jobs being shipped outside to increase profits, inflation, merging companies who layoff thousands, educational priority, etc and do not think we will have to take some drastic steps, is not living in reality.

So, are the candidates missing an opportunity to connect with voters on open government issues. Yes they are. Who should decided what issues are open? The people, not the government. Who should decided what issues are relevant? The people, not the government. The government and the candidates should take their lead from what the people of this country's needs and wants are. We as a people need to know what is relevant and how what we think affects the rest of the world an not just our country. Until that happens, the candidates will keep sidestepping the real open issues that affect our every day life and until we become acquainted with what the real issues are, everything will remain the same.

Learn more about this author, A.R. Rob.
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