What can we do to kick out house and senate members

[lupi]

While we still have idiots like those that have admitted such on these very forums that vote per the letter in front of the candidates name regardless of how piss poor their actual performance, the situation while not change.

 

[0marTheZealot]

Originally posted by: boomerang
Realistically, all that can be done is to vote them out. Difficult to do and there is no guarantee of better results with someone new in the office. Congress as a whole is a steaming cesspool of corruption on numerous levels. The newcomers come in all wide eyed, intent on doing some good with honesty and integrity. They quickly are shown the ropes. That to truly get anything done, they must learn the rules and play by the rules. To get anything done within the system, they must conform to that system.

Revolution is the only answer. But groups have been targeted by the system. The poor, the rich and those in between. Groups have been placated or led to believe that their only hope is to support the status quo. Support the very system that has its foot on their neck. Revolution by the people at a level that would be required to actually make the changes needed is a pipe dream. One that will never materialize IMO. The system is too corrupt, too far gone. It's an us and them mentality. How do you switch the balance of power from those in power to those that don't without a resultant civil war? Unless the people of the U.S. can come together with common goals, it's an impossibility.

The system is designed to divide us. It works extremely well.

Great civilizations have fallen before. We've got a ringside seat for this one.

This is the most realistic post in this thread. Term limits would do nothing, except create a revolving door of corruption instead of a stagnating cesspool of corruption. Our government is fundamentally corrupt. It's not the people that create the corruption, the gridlock and the inability to get shit done, it's the entire system. With term limits, the power will shift from senior senators/congressmen to lobbyists, who are literally paid millions of dollars to game the system.

Congressmen/Senators are accountable to two constituencies, the people and their sponsors/lobbyists. Often times, the two are at opposite ends, however, the sponsors (eg insurance industry, drug industry, unions, banking industry, etc etc) usually provide the bulk of the money to the politician. This, in effect, allows the politician to buy votes in their district/state. Incumbents have something like a 98% win rate; it took the Presidency of GWB to actually change the make-up of the government significantly. Too bad all we did was change seats on the Titanic.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Originally posted by: Carmen813
...Vote?

The same can be said for President, but that position has term limits.

 

[TheSlamma]

I also think term limits would help. The longer people sit in these positions the more contempt they get. That is human nature. Bring in new people every few years, this should not be a position for life.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Double Trouble
Overall ratings for congress are always low, but ratings for individual members are usually decent. Everybody seems to think "yeah, those clowns in DC really suck!... but my guy from my district is OK".

The one issue that I could see could make a difference is setting term limits. It's completely logical that congressmen and senators get entrenched over time in office, especially if they spend that time making sure they get re-elected instead of actual important work. That makes it even more difficult to get rid of them, no matter what party they represent. Term limits would force *every* seat to be open to voting every so often.

Well let's get started on an amendment then. We just need to get more people involved.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: Bowfinger

Originally posted by: spidey07
Please keep sides out of it. It's obvious that reps and senators no longer represent the people. But what can we do to get a message across to kick them all out of office? Congress approval ratings are at an all time low and they are no longer beholden to the people or their constituents. We must kick all of them out of office, all of them. Start over and get back to representative government.

Reference this from Arlen Specter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Bpshk5nX0

Put country ahead of party, and ALWAYS vote against the incumbent. If enough people get disgusted enough to do this, it would be a huge step forward.

there is a guy on a local talk radio station (NJ 101.5) who's been preaching this for a long time. He calls it GRIP (Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians). Vote them out no matter how good or bad they are. After a few election cycles, maybe the politicians will get the idea that they are there to represent us. I think it's a great idea and Ive been following it for the past couple elections.

I fall somewhere in the middle in the political spectrum. More on the democratic side than the republican. But Im willing to vote all the D (and the couple R) incumbents out and replace them with people from the opposite party. This wont change anything as both parties are equally corrupt, but maybe, just maybe after a few elections of constantly being voted out, politicians on both sides will get the message.

 

[fskimospy]

Originally posted by: blanghorst

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: chucky2
What we need to do is enforce term limits for Congress...no more 40 year career politicians - say 2 back to back for Senate, 4 for House. That's it. If you haven't accomplished what you set out to do in 12 years in the senate, or 8 years in the House, then that's too F'ing bad, you had your chance. If your unfinished goals are so massively important, the next person who takes your place will take them on.

Next would be mandatory health care that only their state provides - they are not alowed to buy private insurance - they get what the common slob on the street gets.

Next is they earn 1.5x the median wage in their state - if that's $200k, then so be it. If that's $75k, then so be it.

Those are my top 3...

Chuck

I can get behind that. If your goals were representative of your people then somebody can jump on that bandwagon so to speak and keep that going.

Term limits for Senators and Representatives are LONG overdue. I always thought it was odd that the President was limited to 2 terms but members of Congress had no such limits. I agree with what Chucky said -- we have way too many career politicians and they are only in it for themselves.

Term limits would drastically weaken the legislative branch vis a vis the executive. Considering how far the pendulum has swung in that direction already, it seems irresponsible to make it worse on purpose. Not only that but I am hardly convinced that Congress would be any different with newer people in it. Lawmaking is an ugly business, hence the saying "people who like sausage and law should never watch either being made".

Research on this topic tends to show that the actual way that Congress functions is what tends to make people dislike it, not the members of it.

 

[fskimospy]

Originally posted by: 0marTheZealot

Originally posted by: boomerang
Realistically, all that can be done is to vote them out. Difficult to do and there is no guarantee of better results with someone new in the office. Congress as a whole is a steaming cesspool of corruption on numerous levels. The newcomers come in all wide eyed, intent on doing some good with honesty and integrity. They quickly are shown the ropes. That to truly get anything done, they must learn the rules and play by the rules. To get anything done within the system, they must conform to that system.

Revolution is the only answer. But groups have been targeted by the system. The poor, the rich and those in between. Groups have been placated or led to believe that their only hope is to support the status quo. Support the very system that has its foot on their neck. Revolution by the people at a level that would be required to actually make the changes needed is a pipe dream. One that will never materialize IMO. The system is too corrupt, too far gone. It's an us and them mentality. How do you switch the balance of power from those in power to those that don't without a resultant civil war? Unless the people of the U.S. can come together with common goals, it's an impossibility.

The system is designed to divide us. It works extremely well.

Great civilizations have fallen before. We've got a ringside seat for this one.

This is the most realistic post in this thread. Term limits would do nothing, except create a revolving door of corruption instead of a stagnating cesspool of corruption. Our government is fundamentally corrupt. It's not the people that create the corruption, the gridlock and the inability to get shit done, it's the entire system. With term limits, the power will shift from senior senators/congressmen to lobbyists, who are literally paid millions of dollars to game the system.

Congressmen/Senators are accountable to two constituencies, the people and their sponsors/lobbyists. Often times, the two are at opposite ends, however, the sponsors (eg insurance industry, drug industry, unions, banking industry, etc etc) usually provide the bulk of the money to the politician. This, in effect, allows the politician to buy votes in their district/state. Incumbents have something like a 98% win rate; it took the Presidency of GWB to actually change the make-up of the government significantly. Too bad all we did was change seats on the Titanic.

No, it is not the most realistic post in this thread.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Originally posted by: eskimospy

Term limits would drastically weaken the legislative branch vis a vis the executive. Considering how far the pendulum has swung in that direction already, it seems irresponsible to make it worse on purpose. Not only that but I am hardly convinced that Congress would be any different with newer people in it. Lawmaking is an ugly business, hence the saying "people who like sausage and law should never watch either being made".

I can see both sides of the argument. What I do know is that you have lifetime members of Congress who know how to work the system for their own benefit.

 

[soulcougher73]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: chucky2
What we need to do is enforce term limits for Congress...no more 40 year carreer politicians - say 2 back to back for Senate, 4 for House. That's it. If you haven't accomplished what you set out to do in 12 years in the senate, or 8 years in the House, then that's too F'ing bad, you had your chance. If your unfinished goals are so massively important, the next person who takes your place will take them on.

Next would be mandatory health care that only their state provides - they are not alowed to buy private insurance - they get what the common slob on the street gets.

Next is they earn 1.5x the median wage in their state - if that's $200k, then so be it. If that's $75k, then so be it.

Those are my top 3...

Chuck

What difference would their wages make? I'd guess that most of them were probably making far more money in the private sector before they took office than they would ever make as a senator or representative.

I am assuming it's to keep people out of politics that are only money driven. Politics should not be a get rich scheme. You should go into it for the right reasons.

 

[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.

 

[nobodyknows]

Originally posted by: senseamp

Sound like another bunch of GOP astro turf supporters.

I saw your astroturf remark in another thread yesterday. Cute, did you come up with it or hear it someplace?

 

[fskimospy]

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)

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

This is so stupid. You know....there is a procedure for replacing elected officials. It is called an election.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: bl4ckfl4g
This is so stupid. You know....there is a procedure for replacing elected officials. It is called an election.

It has become an ineffective procedure when you only have two choices and one is a bag of barf and the other a bag of diarrhea.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Please keep sides out of it. It's obvious that reps and senators no longer represent the people. But what can we do to get a message across to kick them all out of office? Congress approval ratings are at an all time low and they are no longer beholden to the people or their constituents. We must kick all of them out of office, all of them. Start over and get back to representative government.

Reference this from Arlen Specter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Bpshk5nX0

Start a national campaign with definitive goals and objectives. Recruit people from each state and try to get them to vote the way you want.

 

[lokiju]

I think term limits are needed but don't know that as short of terms as what the president gets is right.

Maybe 3 4-year terms would good, hard to say though.

 

[theeedude]

Originally posted by: nobodyknows

Originally posted by: senseamp

Sound like another bunch of GOP astro turf supporters.

I saw your astroturf remark in another thread yesterday. Cute, did you come up with it or hear it someplace?

Heard it some place. It's nothing new. Much easier to disrupt than actually solve this country's problems.

 

[chucky2]

Originally posted by: eskimospy

Originally posted by: blanghorst

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: chucky2
What we need to do is enforce term limits for Congress...no more 40 year career politicians - say 2 back to back for Senate, 4 for House. That's it. If you haven't accomplished what you set out to do in 12 years in the senate, or 8 years in the House, then that's too F'ing bad, you had your chance. If your unfinished goals are so massively important, the next person who takes your place will take them on.

Next would be mandatory health care that only their state provides - they are not alowed to buy private insurance - they get what the common slob on the street gets.

Next is they earn 1.5x the median wage in their state - if that's $200k, then so be it. If that's $75k, then so be it.

Those are my top 3...

Chuck

I can get behind that. If your goals were representative of your people then somebody can jump on that bandwagon so to speak and keep that going.

Term limits for Senators and Representatives are LONG overdue. I always thought it was odd that the President was limited to 2 terms but members of Congress had no such limits. I agree with what Chucky said -- we have way too many career politicians and they are only in it for themselves.

Term limits would drastically weaken the legislative branch vis a vis the executive. Considering how far the pendulum has swung in that direction already, it seems irresponsible to make it worse on purpose. Not only that but I am hardly convinced that Congress would be any different with newer people in it. Lawmaking is an ugly business, hence the saying "people who like sausage and law should never watch either being made".

Research on this topic tends to show that the actual way that Congress functions is what tends to make people dislike it, not the members of it.

There is no "weaken" of the Legislative as a branch, it's the people that make up that branch who make it weak. These same people often serve for far more than an appropriate amount of years - as if they are the only ones in their state that can do that job, and do it well. POS Ted Kennedy - perfect example.

Worse, they become so entrenched in Washington and its policies/practices, that they are polluted - despite how clean they may have been when they first started.

Your posts over the years seem to indicate some kind of confidence in our current Congress, as if they are capable of performing at the levels one would expect Congress to perform at: And yet, every day, they fail fail fail fail fail and fail some more multiple huge major issues. They have, as a group (which is their job), not solved any significant issue presented to them - period.

Something needs to change...and clearly status quo is not working.

Chuck

 

[Patranus]

Nothing.

People vote on name recognition.

 

[CallMeJoe]

Originally posted by: Bowfinger
Put country ahead of party, and ALWAYS vote against the incumbent. If enough people get disgusted enough to do this, it would be a huge step forward.

Unfortunately, it all too often is a choice between a competent incumbent and a Gump. As much as I may dislike the institution of incumbency in our Federal Legislature, I refuse to vote for some of the Morons who get nominated in my state.

Originally posted by: blanghorst
Term limits for Senators and Representatives are LONG overdue. I always thought it was odd that the President was limited to 2 terms but members of Congress had no such limits. I agree with what Chucky said -- we have way too many career politicians and they are only in it for themselves.

FDR scared the bejabbers out of the Republicans, so they pushed through an amendment to prevent another "President for Life". Considering that it may well have saved us from a third term of the Dotage of Ronald Reagan, I guess it didn't work out too badly.

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)

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

Difficult to eliminate lobbying without gutting the 1st Amendment.

edit: relocated thumbs

 

[spidey07]

Well talking to guys at work I floated the idea of us all starting to get to work on an amendment that would impose term limits for reps and senators. The idea was very well received and lots of excitement about it. Maybe if we all get together and get one proposed we can actually change this country for the better.

 

[marincounty]

We've tried term limits in California for state legislators, and it has failed badly. Once the legislator learns the ropes and how to be effective, they are termed out. The lobbyists, they have no term limits, and are still there. It just increases the power of corporate lobbyists to have new politicians coming in, trying to raise money from guess who, lobbyists. Bad idea.

Don't like your representative, get organized and vote them out.

 

[MegaWorks]

Shut down the federal reserved bank, there solved your problem.

 

[CitizenKain]

Originally posted by: MegaWorks
Shut down the federal reserved bank, there solved your problem.

Hahahahahahahah.