I’m tired of the game and it’s time to change the rules.
Oh, stop with the “you stupid liberal” chants, trust me, the rules I plan to impose will work for everyone.
For many years I have been talking about ending the career politician in Washington and to invoke term limits upon the elected position. Hey, if Congress can add the 22nd Amendment that gave term limits to the Presidential office, then we as voters can push Congress to change what constitutes their career.
My reasoning is simple with the fact that the career politician is destroying our government and causing more harm than good by using nothing but partisan ways to block everything they dislike.
It’s not just a GOP problem as it goes far into the Democratic means as well.
I’m tired of hearing about Constitutional Amendments for “Balancing the Budget,” or “Gay Marriage,” or “Abolishing Abortion.” These amendments will never happen as they are talking points to get the political base and partisan media jumping.
Why won’t they happen? Well for one to overturn Roe v. Wade, Congress will have to re-write an extreme amount of personal privacy laws. And that goes with Gay Marriage as well.
We’ve gone almost 3 decades with partisanship bullsh*t that has done more harm than good. Some great examples:
1995- In a game of partisan chicken, the GOP Congress sent a balance budget plan to Pres Clinton that if vetoed would shutdown government. Pres Clinton did veto the budget plan and government was shutdown, sending some 800K government workers home without pay. Once a truce was called, the GOP came out looking bad and government had a lot of retro pay to pony up.
2007- As Democrats were walking in glory of large wins in 2006, they entered 2007 in control of Congress and held our troops and Pres W’s Iraq Surge hostage in a call of force. By doing so, it only entrenched the mantra that Democrats hate the military.
Sept 21, 2011- Speaker Boehner tells GOP members not to stray away from the Spending Bill and fall in line or he’ll strip committee appointments. Hence, the GOP struck any Disaster Relief funding needed for communities hit by Hurricane Irene and Tornadoes in Missouri because spending cuts would not offset Relief cost.
So I think it’s time for voters to tell Congress to place term limits upon themselves. Currently House members serve 2 year term while Senate members have a 6 year term and both are elected positions. Yet they can run as many times as they want, practically growing roots in the Capital building.
When I say “roots” I’m talking being cozy with Lobbyists, Political Action Committees, Special Interest groups, and so on.
So the Big Poppa Resolution is simple (heck I’ve been calling for this idea for years):
For those serving in the House, you can keep your current 2 year term, but can only serve 6 terms total. And for Senators, you too can keep your 6 year term, but it ends in 2 terms. So both elected wings get 12 years.
But let’s add this hitch to the rule as well, kind of like non-compete clause;
1. If a sitting Senator is coming close to the end of their 2nd term and decides they want to stay in politics and run for the House, well, you have to sit out one election cycle (2 years).
2. If a sitting Representative wants to run for Senate to stay in politics, well they need to sit out the length of the cycle, which is one election cycle (2 years).
Why the break? Why not! It breaks the planted roots of Lobbyists and Political Action Committees and will drive someone like Grover Norquist crazy having to run around looking for more people to sign silly Pledges.
12 years is sufficient enough for both wings of the Capital to serve. Why 12? Well that’s plenty of time for members to become corrupt and move on with their life. Many in Congress have amassed a small fortune for themselves with gifted legislature to corporations and their constituency.
Hey, if the President and VP need to put their monetary lives into a trust then so should members of Congress, for every time they open their negative mouths about the Economy, Jobs, and so on, it affects Wall Street and their stock portfolio on the positive more than yours.
Seriously, it’s legal insider trading when you think about it.
When they speak ill of the American Dollar, particularly those wrapped in the Gold Market, their portfolio moves up as the dollar slides down. Ron Paul is notorious for this, just ask him.
If some have large stakes in Oil, well they go out and talk about how poor Alternative Energy is as an investment. Why do you think they never talk ill about the Oil speculators?
But I don’t want to stop there, I want to change the ways of the Vice Presidency, well at least the elected way of the Vice Presidency.
There was a time when being elected to the VP position was considered the death of one’s political career. Eventually it grew into a cozy position for the elder members of Congress to be elected, heck half never showed up to the office on a daily basis.
Honestly, I think a change is needed. Let’s go back to the beginning of government when the position was evolving. But to do so, we need to change voting rules as well. I’m thru with running partners, I want to return to days of no partners. I want the runner up, Ms. Congeniality to be the VP. Just as Adams served under Washington, as Jefferson served under Adams, and Burr and Jefferson, this is what I want.
Wouldn’t have been wonderful to see McCain serve as Obama’s VP or vice verse or Jimmy Carter vacate the presidency to be Reagan’s VP? Imagine Gore serving under Bush or Nixon being a VP for the third consecutive term under Kennedy after serving under Ike for 8 years.
It comes down to simple thought that we need to do away with the career politician. Please don’t squawk about “Well look at the Tea Party in 2010, they helped get rid of some the career politicians.” That’s not true, as many that ran under the Tea Party umbrella were indeed career politicians trying to find their way back into Congress.
When Charlie Rangel and David Vitter, career politicians, can be re-elected after scandals, it says more towards corruption and pay outs then what this country needs to awaken from this stagnant economy.
So call your Representative and/or your Senator and hound them about Congressional term limits. Do it or we’ll be stuck with another “do nothing Congress” no matter whom the President shall be.
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