FORGET THE PARTY, VOTE THE PERSON

Since I can't text anymore while I driving, I tend to amuse myself thinking about potential blog entries. And for those about to scream at me about texting while driving, I was only kidding, I actually surf the Internet with my laptop propped on my dash. I find the laptop is much quicker than typing with my thumbs.

Seriously though, I was thinking today what would our political system be like with actual individuals rather than party puppets?

I amused myself thinking how different the race for US Senate would be if the party affiliations were reversed. Democrat Linda McMahon would probably be a shining example of the Democratic Party where even women can excel and build a multi-million dollar business. Democrat McMahon would be held up as an example of what America should be and could be if only the voters would give her a chance.

And imagine if Richard Blumenthal were a Republican. I know, I know, the thought alone would scare the heck out of him, but for the sake of argument, just imagine Dick as a proud member of the GOP. Blumenthal, the law and order Republican, standing up for the people of Connecticut, fighting for the little guy. A formidable candidate racking up votes on the campaign trail.

Then, when everything was looking good for Republican Blumenthal, a video appeared where he claims he "misspoke". The media and public opinion turned on him overnight. How could a Republican candidate lie about his military service and claim he served in Vietnam when he didn't? Don't those Republican's remember how many young American men went to Vietnam and died for their country?

Republican Blumenthal was forced to drop out of the race due to the outrage over his lies. That's the way Republicans are handled, just ask former Senator

At last nights debate between the candidates for the 1st Congressional District, neither major party candidate was willing to speak about corruption, especially in Hartford, even when the opportunity was presented to them on a silver platter.Only one candidate, Ken Krayeske of the Green Party was willing to talk about the blind eye turned to corruption by Hartford's politicians. He spoke of the corruption of Eddie Perez and his conviction and the current allegations and investigation of Hector Robles.

It would have been a perfect opportunity for Congressman Larson to state clearly that he doesn't condone corruption, even in a "generic" type of message, but he remained silent when it came to his buddies Eddie and Hector.

I wonder how our elected officials would change if they weren't chained to a symbol of a donkey or an elephant. Imagine if they actually had to prove to us who they were and what they stood for rather than just proclaiming their allegiance to Republican or Democrat party machines.

One perfect example is in Hartford's south-end for the 1st State Senate District Race. Probably one of the best candidates running for the Connecticut Legislature has almost no chance of winning. As much as I hate saying it, Barbara Ruhe, a Republican, is running in a heavily Democratic district and she will unfortunately most likely be steamrolled by someone who has lost his "leadership" compass and has no business in the Senate. John Fonfara has lost sight of why he is there and who his constituents are.

Barbara Ruhe seems to realize exactly what the role of a Senator should be. Yesterday a southend resident and a Democrat called me complaining that she has left eleven messages (yes, you read that right, eleven) for Senator Fonfara, and not one has been returned.

With Barbara Ruhe, you really don't need to call her because the odds are good that you would see her somewhere in the community within a few days and be able to speak with her personally. And it is not only at election time you see her. She really seems to share the interests of the people in her district and beyond and it is a shame she won't get elected. Not because she isn't qualified. Not because she doesn't know how to campaign. Not because she can't be found. Simply because she has an "R" after her name she most likely won't have the title "Senator" after November 2nd.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could get rid of the tunnel vision and actually look at our candidates for who they are and what they actually do and who has the most potential. Instead we continue for the worst candidates only because they are the right party or the right nationality or the right race.

It would also be nice if we chose our candidates based on who knows how to remain civil to their opponents. In this election cycle, only a handful can say that. There is a big difference between pointing out facts and going into the gutter politics.

Denise Nappier, Jerry Farrell and Denise Merrill (I might have missed a couple others) should all be commended for their upbeat commercials and letting us know what they are about as opposed to showing us how much they can bruise their opponents.

I think most people are tired of the finger pointing. We don't care if it is the Democrats or Republicans that created the mess, we just want elected officials who care more about fixing the problem than continuing to be part of the problem.

Imagine a Senate full of Barbara Ruhe's, maybe some Republican, maybe some Democrat and maybe even a couple of Green or Working Family members to keep them all honest.