Preserving Fair Election Practices

By Lily Guzman

The elections are finally over. But I am finding it increasingly difficult to go back to my regular life, pretending that “the American people have spoken”, period! Perhaps one of the reasons why these elections were so personally frustrating is because when I understood that corruption and greed permeated television broadcasting, I abandoned my established career as television producer. I gave up.

My father was a social activist, a lawyer, a judge, a representative and, above all, a responsible citizen in the Dominican Republic. I became an American by choice, for love of a country that embraces values and dignity in the political process, a country that rewards responsible behavior.

Long ago, my father told me that the noblest inheritance for one’s offspring is not wealth or anything that can be purchased; the legacy he was talking about is delivered by parents who live a life filled with honesty, dignity and respect for others. For as long as I can remember America stands for that legacy, crossing ethnic, social, political and religious differences.

Behaviors during the recent elections, however, showed decadence in the fiber of our society, listening to statements such as: “what is there for me?” “I will not have to pay for healthcare,” “I will not have to worry about paying my mortgage,” “my social security benefits will increase.”

I married a soldier stationed in North Carolina when I was 17 years old. Two years later, my parents came for the birth of my fist child. I was then caretaker of a KOA campground; after his morning walk, dad noticed a jar full of money on the table next to an open refrigerator located at the entrance of the building. Reasonably alarmed, he pointed at the astounding discovery. I calmly responded that the owners instituted the honor system, leaving essentials like milk, bread and other items in the refrigerator, readily available for late arrivals. My father jumped, “this is a trap! They are testing you….” When I explained that this was regular procedure and the money in the jar was usually a few pennies over, he literally fell down on his knees saying “This is a Country! I never expected to find a place like this…. If I die here, bury me in this land, a land that can sustain civility and a functional democracy in ways I never dreamt possible….I lived my life hating the United States as a symbol of imperialism, without getting to know her…you have found a real country…I hope you learn to appreciate it.” That was the beginning of my love affair with America.

Thirty five years later, during the elections, I was troubled by several things; above all, the realization that the media can and will dictate without remorse, who wins elections. This is wrong! The fourth power, as the print media was known before the French Revolution, suggesting its influence, has become the ruling power in America. The media, the production houses and the marketing agencies are the only winners in these elections. We, the people, are defeated and taken into account only as statistics for the evening news, at best. People are geared up to vote in The American Idol contest but ill prepared to decide about government; naively continuing to expect trustworthy information from media networks, newspapers and respectable magazines.

Media’s blatant resistance to question Obama is cause for concern; few have dared to discuss the inconsistencies in his memoirs and speeches. Joe Biden stayed unchallenged flaunting Marxist rhetoric and the portrayal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s television addresses during the great depression, despite the fact that television started broadcasting 10 years later. Katie Couric overlooked Biden’s mistakes, but later belittled Governor Sarah Palin, for hesitating during her questioning; incomprehensible double standards based on ideology, not logic.

In June 2008, now President-elect Obama reversed his earlier promise to use public funds in his campaign, thus tricking his opponents into a disadvantageous position from the get-go; while this is not illegal, it is unethical. People need open discussions on issues of concern; the public vents and learns in the process. To keep the public informed is the job of the media.

Candidates must be held accountable; and their campaigns must follow all election rules. I bet, however, that the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) is not going to audit Obama’s fund raising. Although I don’t want to embarrass our president-elect and I wish him well, FEC must be held accountable for keeping the virtue of the processes in place.

In the spirit of the law, why have Internet contributions with undisclosed IP addresses been allowed by FEC? Only U.S. citizens can contribute to presidential campaigns. Where are FEC and the media on this issue? Why aren’t more people demanding the list of donors? Citizens have the right to know who contributed to each presidential candidate. The rules can’t change in the middle of the game.

Campaign financing rules need to be enforced across party lines, assessing penalties on those who overlooked foreign contributions, accepted unlimited donations and disobeyed other election rules. Americans need to see these developments play in the media, in order to keep our hopes alive and be encouraged to obey the rules of the land, because in America the law applies to everyone.

In-kind contributions, including media promotions, have a cap. However, by its support, the media donated millions of dollars to Obama, unaccounted for. The only way the media could ethically get away with this is by giving other candidates the same consideration. All candidates should be treated equally. The media has the responsibility to objectively present the qualities and flaws of all candidates on the ballot; eight presidential candidates were listed in the November 4th ballot, only two were widely recognized, but from the start, the media rooted for only one, Barack Obama.

During the election we rarely heard about the community organizing group that was accused of committing voter fraud. Few mentioned the fact that this group, the Association for Community Organizers Now, or Acorn, is linked to the “media favorite” candidate, President-elect Obama, who represented Acorn in a 1995 lawsuit. We, the citizens, were kept in the dark. Acorn votes were counted anyway. Silence is the tip of the iceberg of distortion and foul play.

The same media that refuses to discuss Acorn’s voter registration practices goes to great length to destroy the character of a regular citizen who dares to ask the media’s candidate a simple question. Intimidation, therefore, becomes synonymous with repression. Right now, anyone has grounds to fear repercussions for expressing their opinion; I don’t know who will start a surreptitious investigation on me, for example, just for opening my mouth.

Candidates are not products like soft drinks or deodorants in a promotional campaign. We are talking about the presidency of the United States, every elected office in the land, and the fate of our democracy. When the public is swayed by advertisements, without anyone guarding the people’s opportunity to raise legitimate questions, it is time for concern. We cannot resign ourselves to be treated like cattle responding to the bell, we are not zombies; although we are acting like it. We are the bearers of the flame of democracy, trustees of the most admired country in the world. Are we willing to disgrace our inheritance by dismissing our obligation to be informed? Our democracy depends on our capacity to think, investigate and discern.

A major component of a healthy campaign in the United States, which has served as the model of democracy around the world since Alexis de Tocqueville wrote Democracy in America in the 1830’s, is whether the media is doing a good job conducting independent, unbiased investigations of the candidates. When issues are openly discussed, candidates don’t resort to embarrassing, misinforming and distorting forms of campaigning.

While I believe the election of a black person is a milestone in American history, the accomplishment becomes null and void in light of the premeditated detachment from basic ethics and election rules, murdering the trust of the American people in the process.

The Democratic Party’s elite betrayed women in America by denying the nomination of Senator Hillary Clinton based on popular vs. electoral votes, the same argument they used against President George W. Bush four years earlier. In a quest for political correctness the DNC elite capriciously tipped the balance because they saw a very attractive and eloquent African American and wanted to have the first African American elected, at any cost.

To improve conditions we need to institute strict campaign reforms, reinstate respect for ethics, election rules, and the constitution. We need to promote dignified campaigns for the sake of the American people and open forums during all campaigns, dispensing knowledge and doable solutions rather than rhetoric. This will provide the American people the opportunity to elect a president, rather than buy one under the pressure of the media.

Lily Guzman is an International Business Consultant in Orange City, FL.