By Will Head
Purge Congress CEO
This may be a watershed year for Congress. Polls show that voters are sick and tired of Congress, yet many approve of their own Congressman, and plan to vote for keeping their representative in office. This may be because there just isn’t a better alternative, in their judgment. Certainly many more qualified people could run for office than do so, but who wants to have every part of your life examined by the drive-by media?
Republicans went to Washington in 1994 with a mandate. They made many promises, and accomplished some of those promises under the direction of Newt Gingrich, who was a driving force in changing Congress and many of the ill-conceived policies that had been previously enacted.
But Newt is gone, and many Republicans that were elected under the Contract with America are still there, even though many ran under the term limits banner. And many have been changed by Washington itself. They have become corrupted, taking the money of lobbyists, and worse yet, crafting the legislation of big business. Big business has a different agenda than the small to medium size businesses and entrepreneurs. They want to stifle competition….and they do, every chance they get.
Many of the idealistic 1994 Republicans have become egomaniacs. One of this newly elected bunch told me when I asked “What is it like to be a Congressman?”, and he responded, “It’s like being a rock star”. This was no fault of this particular Congressman. It was because of the way that the media, and people in general, treat elected officials….like “rock stars”. This attitude needs to change, but unfortunately, it won’t. By the way, this Congressman, who actively ran on term limits, actually kept his word and refused to run for a 4th term, even though most of his constituents would have voted for him.
Where is the integrity of these elected officials that ran on term limits and then refused to depart, like good little boys? They got caught up in the “rock star” status of being a Congressman in DC.
Their excuse was that the Democrats wouldn’t abide by term limits, so in order to combat the Kennedys of the world, they would have to stay and keep up the fight. That argument makes some sense, but how do you get term limits started if you don’t get out there and be the first to have some principle?
And quite a few of these guys have committed crimes, whether it’s accepting bribes from the likes of Jack Abramoff or soliciting sex from minors. The influence of the K Street lobbyists can be all consuming…….and many Congressmen have been consumed, literally.
The Republicans have been corrupted by Washington. The Democrats had already been corrupted by the city and its influences, because they had been in power for so long.
And most districts have been gerrymandered to favor one party over the other.
So, what are we to do this election season? Let’s throw the bums out! Whether this is a watershed year or not, one thing is for certain……most people are sick and tired of Congress.
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