A politician's job, in theory, is to represent the opinions, needs, and best interests of their constituents. Sadly, in reality, a politician's job is more often pandering, making money and looking good. It is therefore no surprise that politics, especially in the United States, has devolved into temper tantrums and mudslinging. The result has been the dominance of dirty politics.
What is dirty politics? The answer is not easy to come by. It truly depends on the location, political climate, and time. Dirty politics may include bringing up marital issues, attacking family members of a politician, misconstruing affiliations with unsavory characters, or attempting to otherwise smear the character of a candidate in an unjustified manner. Dirty politics may also include negative actions that a politician themselves take, from taking bribes to failing to really pay attention to or read through legislation that they are voting on. These are all examples of politics gone astray, which is the most concise way to define dirty politics as a whole.
Why do people resort to dirty politics? This is also a difficult question to answer. Sometimes it is a matter of greed. People will choose to engage in smear tactics because they want to win an election for the fame and perks. Politicians will put wealth over a nation's prosperity, and in the process, sell out their values. However, greed is not the only contributing factor. Sometimes, these efforts are an act of desperation. While the pay for a Senator or Representative is usually more than adequate, some politicians will find themselves in a large amount of debt in their pursuit of keeping up with the Joneses. As a result, they find themselves more susceptible to bullying forces. Others may be at a loss for how to win an election. Faced with dire numbers in the polls, a large amount of their finances riding on the results, and unable to compete any other way, these politicians may turn to smear tactics to try to make themselves look more favorable. A final component of dirty politics may be sheer laziness. Instead of putting in the time to read through hundreds of pages of legislation, or even having an aide do so, these politicians will instead barter away their vote in an effort to gain easy support for something that will help them win a re-election bid. No matter how you cut it, though, it is unacceptable.
How can we combat dirty politics? The key part of any solution has to be accountability. With recent rulings by the Supreme Court removing prior restrictions on big business and campaign donations, we find ourselves in a precarious situation. We have to demand transparency from the people who are representing us. Ask for full disclosure of voting records, financial affairs and evidence for their campaign attacks. If we don't require our politicians to be honest, dirty politics will prevail. Our vote is a powerful thing. We should use it to the best of our ability.