North Florida Writer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Life Around Us
  • Contact
  • MY BOOK PAGE

Is Congress Beyond Repair?

10/26/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
One of the highlights of any political campaign is the throngs of followers gathering to listen to  and cheer their favorite candidate during election campaigns.  It happens all over America with citizens from both sides standing for their candidate at rallies and gatherings that sometimes resemble a high school pep rally.

Next year will be another big year for events of this kind as one third of the US Senate and the entire House of Representatives stands for election plus thousands of state and local elections will also be held.  Only the President is not running since the current officeholder will be in mid-term, but you can bet he will be actively involved in trying to elect more liberals who support his cause.

The candidates will promise, they will talk about democracy and the things that need to be done and then, once the election is over, they will go to Washington to be commandeered by the leadership of the respective parties to tow the line in order to maintain or receive plum committee assignments so that they can "bring home the bacon" for their constituents thereby insuring their continued election while also giving them cover to vote in ways their electors never envisioned.  And as for the newly elected members, they will come under excruciating pressure to answer to the will of the leadership, not the will of the people.  Thankfully, more and more of our "newbies" seem ready to do just the opposite.

Some of you might say I'm cynical but actually I'm just being realistic.  The system is so entrenched and so slanted toward itself and the Washington establishment that without some major changes things won't get better.  Just look at what the Senate has tried to do to Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Rand Paul?  They've been called "whackos" for trying to do those things that got them elected.  And how about the House?   John Boehner could have never become Speaker without the new Tea Party caucus yet he has tried with all his power of office to neuter the movement. 

Finally, at least some of America gets it and understands what is going on.  Our system in Washington is broken and it will never be mended by the elected representatives who just become part of the DC establishment.  They have to much too gain from the money and power that comes with being a good "soldier" and following their orders while they build seniority.  And therein lies the problem.

The House and the Senate were never designed by the Founders to rubberstamp leadership.  Let's look at the Senate first since nowhere is it more true than in this formerly asteemed body which was designed to be the great debating society.  It was never meant to be a place where bills were jammed through in the wee hours of the morning much to the dismay of a minority opinion.  It was designed to slow things down, to make sure that bills were fully read and vetted, for compromise to be made, and for the best possible options to survive.  This means that many pieces of legislation would never weather the storm and would be cast out, as it should be more often than not, for laws were supposed to be passed to benefit the citizenry as a whole not an individual or favored group.  And for it to work well, that citizenry has to be informed and armed with the truth.

The Senate was designed to be the representative body of the state governments.  Originally elected by the state legislators, it was establishedf to insure that the needs and concerns of the operating states were addressed, thereby insuring that they had a strong voice in decision-making in Washington.  This is what the concept of states rights was all about.  The seventeenth amendment changed all of that with the popular election of Senators. It turned it into a club of one hundred who, over time, see themselves often as elitists, far removed from their constituents and just as far removed in outlook.  Just think if John McCain's role was to represent and be accountable to state government in Phoenix instead of going off on tangents unrelated to the wishes of his home state?  What a different world it would be.  But since the repeal of an amendment is next to impossible, a return to original intent is highly unlikely.

The House is an entirely different animal.  Elected from four hundred and thirty-five smaller districts, it is designed to be closer to the people and therefore much more in tune with the will of the people.  That's why you see so much more diversity.  Generally rural districts nationwide are similar in viewpoint and large urban areas are in the opposite camp.  The in-between, or more suburban areas, are usually a blend of the two and that's why those communities have so much sway in election outcomes for the House as a whole.

What kills the concept of the House as the people's body is the leadership and seniority.  The longer a representative stays in office, the more power he or she gains and, since power is likely to corrupt, the more in tune with the big money of K-Street and Wall Street they become.  You see they want to be reelected to attain that goal and this requires support of their leadership to attract the funding they need.  It becomes a full time job in itself: fundraising.  The people be damned.

So what can we do?  Well, I think the only feasible answer is term limits.  It would certainly tone down the club atmosphere of the Senate, force Congressmen up for election every two years to stay totally in tune with their home folks and even more, it would mandate a frequent change of leaders in both bodies.  I would recommend four terms for the House and two terms for the Senate, although that is certainly not a magic number.  But the point is to continually require new blood, ideas from people still better in tune with things at home than in Washington.  And this would be most readily apparent in the leadership which is clearly responds more to party establishments and lobbyists than it does to the people who put them there.  Just think about it.  If elected leaders found it more important to be true to their accountability to their constituents with outside interests no longer having such influence, wouldn't it be better?

I know there are those who say that we need leaders in office for a longer period of time so that they can learn the system and work more effectively.  Quite candidly, I think that is hogwash.  After all, it seems to me that the new folks with new ideas catch on quickly and besides, there is one other thing we could do to change that.  Limit congressional sessions to a maximum of six months a year, thereby requiring all to be citizen legislators.  If you look at the amount of actual session time now, if you take out the short weeks, vacations, general time not in session, etc. you can see that this would be feasible. 

In a shortened session you could take the first half to complete legislation from the previous term and then take up new business.  It would limit business to those things really needed and it would also slow things down and, most importantly, give elected officials no option but to clearly be in front of the general public back home more often.  Nothing is more enlightening that walking through your home town grocery store and seeing how your constituents are surviving in the real world, not the world of Washington. Just for starters, I'll bet the formulas used to determine the consumer price index and the unemployment rate would be dramatically changed as a result.  Their benefit plan and exceptions to laws that the rest of us must follow would also be dramatically impacted.  They would have to look at themselves as citizens first, not princes and princesses of the ruling class.

You may not agree but I offer these points for general discourse and consideration.  Think about it, for something must change.  Our present system is clearly not working.  If it doesn't change drastically it is dead.

Have a great weekend and God bless.  Pray for common sense to prevail with our elected representatives and may they all be infected by the Wisdom of Godf.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    ABOUT ME

    Hi, I'm James, a writer who studies nature,  animals and all things created by God. I also write from time to time about what I think God expects of us.  I would love to hear your thoughts on these subjects. I hope you enjoy my comments.

    Archive

    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    America
    American Sports
    Animals
    Armed Forces Day
    Conservatism
    Doctorpatient0717615167
    Elections-2016
    Florida
    Florida-politics
    Freedom
    Freedom-of-speech
    Geese
    God
    Gods Glory0546cd6883
    Health Care
    Honor
    Integrity
    Jesus Christ
    Koch-brothers
    Leisure-time
    Love
    Military
    Nature
    Primaries
    Proverbs
    Safety
    Savior
    The Future
    Top-political-donors-list
    Tyrannical-government

    RSS Feed

Thanks for contacting northfloridawriter.com.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Arian Zwegers, trvlto, thomas pix, taberandrew, Justin A. Wilcox, Glyn Lowe Photoworks, ckay, phalinn, curtis palmer, bnpositive, oddsock, HooLengSiong, jespahjoy, illustir, ljlphotography, Out at Bob's, The Labour Party, ljlphotography, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, eli.pousson, JasonParis, Fibonacci Blue, wht_wolf9653, bsabarnowl, ` TheDreamSky, Ken_Hoffman, dsearls, NCinDC, James Byrum, DonkeyHotey, Waiting For The Word, cliff1066™, possan, dpape, David Holt London, akeg, Waiting For The Word, Glyn Lowe Photoworks, MilitaryHealth, yukali, infomatique, goforchris, cliff1066™, Wootang01, dctim1, Donald Lee Pardue, LizMarie_AK, campdarby, CedarBendDrive, bill85704, faeparsons, TMAB2003, cliff1066™, Rennett Stowe, KOMUnews, cliff1066™, chris.huggins, USDAgov, mat_walker, gruntzooki, DonkeyHotey, ljlphotography, Elvert Barnes, Paulsasleepwalker, facebook.com/snapshotsofthepast, foto3116, Miller_Center, digitonin, BostonCatholic, Watt_Dabney, jepoirrier, EpicFireworks, derekskey, cletch, DonkeyHotey, KOMUnews, DonkeyHotey, ravensong75, Alan Cleaver, Francisco Diez, hermmermferm, cod_gabriel, Marxchivist, Fibonacci Blue, dbgg1979, “Caveman Chuck” Coker, David Barrie, rjs1322, Just Another Wretch, Keith Laverack, Waiting For The Word, whoohoo120, AFS-USA Intercultural Programs, Brett Jordan, yisris, Michael Hodge, Waiting For The Word, MilitaryHealth, doceggman, AlmazUK, taberandrew, cliff1066™, krossbow, shinya, The Jewish Agency for Israel, kudumomo, “Caveman Chuck” Coker, cliff1066™, johntrainor, emilio labrador, cliff1066™, EraPhernalia Vintage . . . (playin' hook-y ;o), **emmar**, Mrs. Gemstone, Andrea Westmoreland, Jeff Kern, Waiting For The Word, Abdulsalam Haykal, Donald Lee Pardue, roberthuffstutter, Dougtone, b1mbo, DonkeyHotey, paularps, kaatjevervoort, Simon Davison, BONGURI, Marion Doss, ex_magician, Bergfels, Brett Jordan, Tim Evanson, Art4TheGlryOfGod, Jeff Kubina, sskennel, DonkeyHotey, VirtKitty, Rodrigo_Soldon, resistealeau, MilitaryHealth, edalisse, Mervi Eskelinen aka tasselflower, Kaz Andrew, nitram242, Andrew Aliferis, uitdragerij, Paul J Everett, Joe Shlabotnik, Jeffrey, Harry Thomas Photography, Tim Evanson, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, Ron Cogswell, Nationalmuseet, escapedtowisconsin, Michael Cory, DonkeyHotey, timsamoff, mrbillt6, bnilsen, themonnie, valeehill, dichohecho, Waiting For The Word, technochick, cliff1066™, RTD Photography, Randy Wick, Enokson, Rising Damp, DonkeyHotey, Waiting For The Word, SteveNakatani, Fovea Centralis, Dru Bloomfield - At Home in Scottsdale, lisaclarke, Mulad, Roswell_UMC, Bengt Nyman, U.S. Embassy New Delhi, FreedomHouse2, SuperFantastic, Rory Finneren, Alaskan Dude, Larry1732, Mr. T in DC, ikewinski, Ivy Dawned, RLHyde, Waiting For The Word, heartajack, dyogi, dailymatador, David Paul Ohmer, Pleuntje, Leonard Bentley, midwestnerd, Donald Lee Pardue, DonkeyHotey, Oli-Oviyan, PatrikWalde, flamesworddragon, The U.S. Army, Zach Heller Photography, DonkeyHotey, EvinDC, Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections, Ronnie Macdonald, Gerry Dincher, The U.S. Army, Jeff Belmonte, DonkeyHotey, Texas Military Forces, jim.greenhill, Ben Sutherland, the Original Jeff Martin, Loz Flowers, CBP Photography, spbpda, OCVA, Hot Rod Homepage, brianholsclaw, dozodomo, quinn.anya, KOMUnews, wtstoffs, Leo Newball, Jr., lilli2de, dmott9, Justin A. Wilcox, sören2013, boboroshi, newagecrap, CoreBurn, simminch, ninahale, EvinDC, Mister Awesome, HeyRocker, beggs, Donald Lee Pardue