Throw All the Bums Out!

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It's not news that Americans really dislike Congress. Congressional approval has been below 20% for over a decade, bottoming out at 11% during last year's debt ceiling debate. But most of the time, their angst is focused on everyone's Congressional representatives, EXCEPT their own. It's usually, "OUR guys know what they're doing, it's everyone else that is screwing things up". Well, not any more. In a recently released NBC/WSJ poll, the message is pretty loud and clear: Throw all the bums out!

 

This is why I think a 3rd party has tremendous potential in the U.S, despite what most people think. Obviously it would take a good number of years before they had a realistic shot at getting elected, but it's never too late to start trying. It's too bad the mainstream media gives next to no attention to anything outside the mainstream political debate (Ron Paul for example), but when the biggest outlets we have are run by G.E and Rupert Murdoch I guess it's not too big a surprise.

 

It would require a major change to the electoral system. I was just reading something earlier today which mentioned Ross Perot running in the 1992 presidential election. He got 19% of the votes and a grand total of 0 electoral college votes. With the winner takes all system there's no scope for a third party to gradually gain influence. It needs to be close to the big two to have any really.

 

Yeah, the odds are certainly stacked against anyone outside of the two-party system, but the collective discontent is there. IMO if we don't go that route we're never going to shake off the corporate state.

 

I'm with BTA on this. I really can't count the number of times I've heard this exact thing ... it never pans out and the vast majority of incumbents win.

 

Usually it's when you get a look at the alternatives that the incumbents suddenly start seeming a lot better.

 

This is why we need term limits. Politician should not be a career, it should be something you do for a couple of years for the betterment of society and the nation, then you go back to your real life.

 

Tell us how that goes Snook.

 

I'm not sure what you are asking? I'm guessing you either want me to explain how it works, or you are implying that I should run for office and then give it up after a few years?

If it is the first, I would limit Senators to 1 term and reps to 3 terms.

If it is the second, I have no desire for elected office, I only desire to be named "supreme leader" and when it happens this planet is going to run quite differently

 

We have some members of parliament who reason like you Snook and I generally think it is a good idea. The youngest member of parliament we ever had in Sweden (the record is broken now) sat four years then he didn't run for the next four and is back in now. It is possible.

 

It is the surest way to get lobbying out of government. If you can't run for re-election you have no need to raise money for elections and this will enable you to do the right thing instead of having to payback a favor.

 

I agree with you somewhat, but there are negative aspects of a one-term limit aswell. Politics is a craft, and alot of time and ressources would be spend on helping rookie members learn how to do simple stuff.
The best example of this is all the new members of Congress voted in in 2010. Some of them forgot to be sworn in, and they started by making rules they broke immediatly after.

From a pragmatic point of view this would lead to stronger parties, because they would be the red thread in the process of governing. As you only have two parties in the US, I am not convinced this would be ideal for your country.

Another way to remove or ameliorate moneys power in politics, is to finance campaigns with public money and ban private contribution, or at least severely limit their presence.

Regards
Defreni