What can we do to kick out house and senate members

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: eskimospy

Originally posted by: jdjbuffalo
We do need to overhaul several areas of government. The only way to do the congress is by instituting term limits, as discussed above, and making lobbying illegal. To do this properly you need an amendment(s) to the constitution. The term limits and lobbying would need to be done at the same time to be most effective.

How do you suggest we make lobbying illegal? It's completely impossible even with a constitutional amendment. (not to mention undesirable)

You can't make it illegal as you point out, but we could take alot of the money out of it with serious campaign finance reform, and we could restrict the type of lobbying. I agree with jdjbuffalo in that we will never fix Congress as long as they serve 2 constituences, we HAVE to somehow remove or dilute the influence of the second constituency. Our founding fathers never invisioned this, and the influence of Senators and Congressmen should be returned 100% to the people of their districts, not the company with the deepest pocket.

Cap campaign spending and level the playing field. And change the rules so that contributions in excess of the cap go to charity or the general fund, not into the reps war chest. Aren't we all tired of the months and months of mega campaign media blitzes?
How many billions are wasted in this country each year campaigning? It's absolutely ridiculous on all levels.

 

[dbk]

term limits seem like the most reasonable measure.
:thumbsup:

 

[Lemon law]

Maybe we need to go after the supreme court instead, after all they are the Turkeys who voted to equate money in political campaigns with free speech.

And for a Senator or a congressman to mount a credible re-election campaign, takes an inordinate amount of money to be raised each and every day. Last stat I heard was something like $35,000 a day for a house member, and that stat is very dated.

Since good citizens are unwilling to pay for good government, lobbyists are more than willing to step up to the plate and pay for bad government.

 

[dammitgibs]

I look at it this way; America has been an experiment from the beginning to see if the people could govern themselves with a government that is not overpowering and overreaching, but for the people by the people. If the people continue to elect officials (both democrat and republican) that bring us closer and closer to socialism and a nanny state government then that just proves the experiment has failed, and we are not capable of governing ourselves.

I agree that having term limits would help get rid of a lot of the career politicians. I also think the media also plays a big role in keeping away "good politicians" and makes way for the "look good politicians." The whole treatment of Sarah Palin really opened my eyes up to this, not that I supported her as a candidate for VP, but in hind-sight seeing the treatment of her and her family really embarrassed me as an American. I think the ideal politician should be respected as someone who is doing a service for their country but not free from criticism, similar to someone who serves in the military, instead they are celebrities to be mocked, worshiped, and gossiped about (both the media's and the politician's fault). I try and think of the kind of person who would subject themselves to that kind of treatment in an effort to do what they think is best for the country.

Back to my original statement, at the end of the day it's not the elected officials I am beginning to doubt so much as the American people who elect them. Maybe it is all a failed experiment.

 

[fskimospy]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: eskimospy

Originally posted by: jdjbuffalo
We do need to overhaul several areas of government. The only way to do the congress is by instituting term limits, as discussed above, and making lobbying illegal. To do this properly you need an amendment(s) to the constitution. The term limits and lobbying would need to be done at the same time to be most effective.

How do you suggest we make lobbying illegal? It's completely impossible even with a constitutional amendment. (not to mention undesirable)

You can't make it illegal as you point out, but we could take alot of the money out of it with serious campaign finance reform, and we could restrict the type of lobbying. I agree with jdjbuffalo in that we will never fix Congress as long as they serve 2 constituences, we HAVE to somehow remove or dilute the influence of the second constituency. Our founding fathers never invisioned this, and the influence of Senators and Congressmen should be returned 100% to the people of their districts, not the company with the deepest pocket.

Cap campaign spending and level the playing field. And change the rules so that contributions in excess of the cap go to charity or the general fund, not into the reps war chest. Aren't we all tired of the months and months of mega campaign media blitzes?
How many billions are wasted in this country each year campaigning? It's absolutely ridiculous on all levels.

Well campaign finance reform has been tried many times in the past, and it's failed pretty miserably. There are just too many ways around it. Cap spending? Whose spending? If I have money can I run ads about issues I care about? It's nigh impossible to restrict this sort of advocacy without destroying the right to free speech.

In a perfect world I would love to see campaign finance reform, I just don't see how we can accomplish it.

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: eskimospy

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: eskimospy

Originally posted by: jdjbuffalo
We do need to overhaul several areas of government. The only way to do the congress is by instituting term limits, as discussed above, and making lobbying illegal. To do this properly you need an amendment(s) to the constitution. The term limits and lobbying would need to be done at the same time to be most effective.

How do you suggest we make lobbying illegal? It's completely impossible even with a constitutional amendment. (not to mention undesirable)

You can't make it illegal as you point out, but we could take alot of the money out of it with serious campaign finance reform, and we could restrict the type of lobbying. I agree with jdjbuffalo in that we will never fix Congress as long as they serve 2 constituences, we HAVE to somehow remove or dilute the influence of the second constituency. Our founding fathers never invisioned this, and the influence of Senators and Congressmen should be returned 100% to the people of their districts, not the company with the deepest pocket.

Cap campaign spending and level the playing field. And change the rules so that contributions in excess of the cap go to charity or the general fund, not into the reps war chest. Aren't we all tired of the months and months of mega campaign media blitzes?
How many billions are wasted in this country each year campaigning? It's absolutely ridiculous on all levels.

Well campaign finance reform has been tried many times in the past, and it's failed pretty miserably. There are just too many ways around it. Cap spending? Whose spending? If I have money can I run ads about issues I care about? It's nigh impossible to restrict this sort of advocacy without destroying the right to free speech.

In a perfect world I would love to see campaign finance reform, I just don't see how we can accomplish it.

A constitutional amendment that says speech isn't money and corporations aren't people.

 

[Mani]

Approval ratings for congress are utterly meaningless. It's like having an approval rating for "government". Somehow I doubt you would be asking this question in say, 2004 though.

 

[retrospooty]

Originally posted by: her209
Ban lobbyists.

ding ding ding... thats about it.

More than just that thought, we have to make it mandatory to have every financial transaction monitored. Its illegal for lobbyists to pay congress directly, but when a company gives a congressmans sister a mansion in martha's vinyard it goes un-noticed. In turn , this congressman votes for the companies better interests.... Welcome to America