Shaping a party-free American Political Vision/Mission Statement

As the back end of a Nash truck disintegrates on the western prairie, I wonder about things like political promises and ambition and goals. Perhaps you can answer this: when political candidates clash, what exactly is it they are clashing about? Have they or their parties articulated a clear vision for America's future? A mission statement, if you will?

Mission statements are meant to be articulated simply and clearly so that the public understands what they are all about. They should define the party, its hopes and vision, who it excludes and who it includes within the scope of this vision, where it is willing to be flexible, where it is not willing to compromise, how it differs from its competition, how its efforts can be evaluated so that shareholders can evaluate its successful achievement of its goals.

One would imagine the Parties have as their mission statements the furtherance of Constitution objectives Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Surely the Bill of Rights would play into their defined visions.

The Department of State has as its mission statement, Create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community.

Clarifying this they explain, "American diplomacy in the 21^st century is based on fundamental beliefs: our freedom is best protected by ensuring that others are free; our prosperity depends on the prosperity of others; and our security relies on a global effort to secure the rights of all. The history of the American people is the chronicle of our efforts to live up to our ideals. In this moment in history, we recognize that the United States has an immense responsibility to use its power constructively to advance security, democracy, and prosperity around the globe. We will pursue these interests and remain faithful to our beliefs."

Have the parties articulated what they are targeting? We hear a lot about what each individual candidate wants to do with our banks and our taxes and laws, but what is their point? Is there a Party Mission statement that these candidates adhere to? If not, what is the bottom line for my voting yes or no in regard to these candidates?

I don't mean what is their platform. I know that the parties each have platforms for each and every issue that man has created in his short time on the planet. I know Republicans used to stand for State rights and local control, but certainly GW diffused that definition. I know Democrats used to be about centralized control but Clinton was an anomaly here. Republicans used to be the party of the white collar worker and Democrats the party of the blue. But that, too has changed as the parties embrace more than white males.

SO, what is the unifying belief system beneath each of these platform decisions? What keeps them pressing forward? Do these parties and these candidates have an articulated vision for America in the World?

Here are some interesting American Mission Statements:

• The Department of Faith: President George W. Bush signed an executive order establishing the United States Department of Faith(DOF). The DOF's mission is to infuse traditional Christian values into American politics and thereby keep in check "compassion," which, when left unmonitored, destabilizes the delicate balance envisioned by Mr. Bush's call for "compassionate conservatism." The DOF has been entrusted with overseeing disbursement of millions of taxpayer dollars to religious charities. In determining which organization(s) shall receive this Treasury money, the DOF does not discriminate against any particular religion, making funds available to both Baptist churches and other churches or organizations that recognize Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

• The Department of Labor fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements. In carrying out this mission, the Department administers a variety of Federal labor laws including those that guarantee workers’ rights to safe and healthful working conditions; a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay; freedom from employment discrimination; unemployment insurance; and other income support.

• The mission of the United States Secret Service is to safeguard the nation's financial infrastructure and payment systems to preserve the integrity of the economy, and to protect national leaders, visiting heads of state and government, designated sites and National Special Security Events.
• Mission Statement for Iraq: FULL COVERAGE OF THE WAR IN IRAQ: For over a decade, Presidents Bush waited patiently to invade the sovereign nation of Iraq and topple the tin pot dictator who personally slighted them. Today, with their righteous crusade still gloriously unfolding, True Patriots stand advised to seek refuge from the America-hating historical revisionism of the non-FOX liberal media by visiting this page (and ONLY this page) to gain a patriotically comprehensive understanding of their brave and utterly necessary campaign to take out Evil-Doer #1.

So, what underlies Political Party decisions, i.e., are they consistent with OF the People?

We have a Constitution, "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America..."

...but evidently that is not fixed any more than the Bible is. There are upwards of 34,000 Christian interpretations of the Bible. And according to Wikipedia, "As of January 2009, a total of 3,168 individuals had been appointed to federal judgeships, including 2,645 district court judges, 687 courts of appeals judges, 50 judges to the now-extinct circuit courts, and the 110 Supreme Court justices. This adds up to 3,492 total appointments; a substantial number of appellate judges (including Supreme Court justices) had previously served on the lower court bench.There are currently 875 authorized Article III judgeships: nine on the Supreme Court, 179 on the courts of appeals, and 9 on the court of international trade and 678 for the district courts. Although the number of Supreme Court Justices has remained the same for well over a century, the number of court of appeals judges has more than doubled since 1950, and the number of district court judges has increased more than three times in that period."

These judges obviously hold nuanced interpretations of our law, and do not always agree on what the Constitution means for US.

Which brings me back to my title, Shaping an American Political Vision. How does a candidate shape his or her American political vision? Is it based on a personal agenda or a political party agenda? Is there an the underlying vision for each of the parties in the US?

And what about this observation... "As people do better, they start voting like Republicans, unless they have too much education. Then they vote Democratic, which proves that there can be too much of a good thing. After all, it is easier to govern sheep because they don't have to think."

--As quoted by George W. Bush, at the National Oil and Power Company Convention, Dallas, TX., 1999.