Presidential Election 2012: Announcing My Candidacy For President of the United States

Oh my goodness, the vitriol is flowing this year. According to many we have the election between the bleeding heart liar and the rich liar who cheats on his taxes, or so you would be led to believe if you listened to the rhetoric that is ramping up on the political scene. The battle is being waged between Fox and MSNBC, and it is being waged in every tavern, every neighborhood, every workplace and seemingly every family.

Good vs Evil, with the outcome meaning the salvation of this once great country. Who is best suited to lead the U.S. back to world leadership? Who will ignite the personal fires within us, and inspire us, as a nation, to reach for the stars once again? Who will be able to rise above the differences that divide us and be a voice of reason and solution? Who will be able to unite Congress and pass meaningful legislation that will help the entire country and not just those who have the financial resources to buy change and favor?

Well, in truth, neither of our candidates has those abilities. When all the banner and flag waving is over, and when the last vote is counted in November, it will be business as usual in the United States. You see, it is the political system that is our worst enemy. No, I’m not speaking of Democracy! There is nothing wrong with Democracy and there is everything right with it. I am speaking, rather, of a system that is bought and paid for by special interest groups, the wolves who prowl the Halls of Congress, influencing votes and in so doing insure more decades of the same quagmire.

No one man, or woman, can change that, and certainly not a single person who must deal with a divided Congress. Gone are the days of backroom compromise; now all we hear is rhetoric shouted from the nearest microphone, and demands, and threats, and divisive blaming that only fuels the hatred and fear among the populace.

So it is time for a new approach! I do believe it is time for me to run for the Presidency!

It started with a daydream. Knowing that millions of people now camp out on social media, I wondered aloud what would happen if an average citizen ran for President on a write-in platform, using nothing but Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social sites. No campaign treasure chest at all; just a grassroots effort on the computer; what would happen?

In this daydream, the impossible is possible! There are millions of dissatisfied voters out there, average people who feel no hope in the upcoming election; what is to prevent them from joining a revolution that would turn this political system upside down? What a sight that would be!

Since I have always been a dreamer, a believer in the impossible, I decided it was time to test my theory! With that in mind, today I announce my candidacy for President of the United States!

Of course, a person does not run for the highest office in the land without a political platform, so allow me to give you my platform in condensed form. Please, don’t bother me with comments telling me why it won’t work. This is my daydream and as such I can wax poetic all I want. If you don’t like my platform then don’t vote for me; better yet, construct your own platform and follow my lead; run for President against me and let’s see who comes out on top. God knows I love a challenge! There are millions of Americans just like me who are fed up; we comprise the bottom 80% of this country and because of that, we are a formidable force to be reckoned with. It is high time we stand up and be heard.

I am tired of the lobbyists in Washington D.C. and I believe it is time for them to fade into obscurity. In the last ten years they have spend over $28 billion influencing votes. I say goodbye to them all! Oil lobbyists….goodbye! Banking lobbyists….goodbye! You are no longer allowed to walk the corridors of power in this country. From this day forward not a penny of your money will be allowed to buy votes in Congress. How do you like them apples?

Our representatives are supposed to represent us; not Exxon, not Chase, and not Wall Street! Slither back into the dark alleys from whence you came for you are no longer allowed in our nation’s capitol.

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of the United States playing second fiddle to the orchestrated sounds of China, and I’m tired of a trade deficit in the trillions. Manufacturing, which was once the backbone of our economy, has now become a distant memory, and it is going to change under my administration. I have no problem with buying a billion dollars worth of Chinese products, as long as they purchase a billion dollars worth of American products.

I’m a fair-minded guy; if a million jobs are outsourced to China, or Mexico, or India, then I want a million Chinese, or Mexican, or Indian jobs outsourced to the United States. Fair is fair, right? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, so let’s make this playing field truly level, or we’ll take our ball and go home, which is where we should be concentrating our efforts anyway.

Under my platform, every United States citizen who wants to work will have the opportunity to work, and I’m not talking about jobs that pay a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, which is the current Federal minimum wage in this country. I would love to see the fat cats in D.C. live on $7.25 per hour.

No my friends, we are going to create jobs, much the same as Roosevelt did during the Great Depression. We are going to upgrade our infrastructure. We are going to repair roads, bridges, highways and schools. We are going to build a mass-transit system that connects every major city in this country. We are going to put people back to work and give them hope in the future.

How, you say, are we going to pay for it all? We will find a way! Any nation that can find funds for pork belly projects favoring influential congressmen can find funds that help the average citizen. Any country that can fuel China’s economy can find funds to fuel its own economy. I think it is time we adopt a new slogan….America First! If our citizens buy Japanese cars because of their superior craftsmanship and fuel economy, then we need to raise the standards of United States car manufacturing. We once led the world in auto manufacturing, and we can do so again. We once led the world in manufacturing period, and we can do it again.

You will all love this! I propose we pay members of Congress the same amount that the average American citizen makes. The average per capita income is $27,334. If you want to see significant change in the United States, start paying members of Congress that amount. We will find out very quickly who wants to bring about meaningful social change and who is only in it for the prestige and power trip.

It is time to abolish this ineffectual department. It has been a dismal failure and the states are quite capable of handling their own education system.

We were once the best-educated country in the world, and we can return to those days, but not until the Federal Government relinquishes control. If Americans want quality education then let them pay for it at the local level, free from the bureaucratic wrangling in Washington D.C.

Do not tell me this won’t work in the United States. It works quite well in other nations, and a country that claims to be the most powerful on earth cannot have citizens unable to afford adequate health care. This should never be a political issue; this is a basic human rights issue. If we can find money for a Star Wars defense system then we can find money to pay for medical care for the poor. We are only as strong as our weakest link and right now we have far too many weak links.

We have the technology to do this tomorrow; as a nation we have chosen not to do so. Personally, I

wish the best for Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and all other suppliers of oil, but I want nothing to do with them regarding trade. If they consider us infidels, then they can do without our dollars, and they can live their lives without our interference.

In today’s global society it is impossible to return to an isolationist dogma, but that does not mean we have to be dependent upon others for our well-being and survival. The greatest industrial nation on this planet should not depend on nations whose political leaders hate us for economic survival; it is madness to do so and it is time to end it.

Oh, I have so much more to say, but we will stop for today. Again, if you don’t agree, then don’t vote for me. The beauty of this daydream is that anyone who wants to run a write-in campaign can do so.

I have a vision for this country, and the vision is based on equality and justice for all citizens, and not just for the top 1%. This country will return to greatness when every man, woman, and child has the opportunity to succeed and prosper.

What do you say? Are you ready for a real change? Then vote Bill Holland for President of the United States!

I now need to go check in at the group home for my medications!

2012 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)