Pajamas Media

104 Comments

1. Cindy Sue Causey, Tea Party of One:

Balance needs to be returned such that it is wholly understood Congress and the office of president are employees of America’s citizens.. Don’t know how it works elsewheres but, where I come from, employees who misappropriate funds find their little tushies bounced out onto the street, post-haste..

Indubitably.

Mar 12, 2009 - 3:29 am 2. Mike2:

“The act of voting itself has been degraded not only because incumbents are rarely defeated,”

And there it is in a nut shell. We, the voters have nobody to blame but ourselves. Until we turn the rascals out, and I mean completely out, nothing will change. The best message the voters could send in 2 years is to have a 100% turnover in the House of Representatives. I am not holding my breath.
—————————————-
Who is John Galt?

Mar 12, 2009 - 5:15 am 3. typos_R_us:

According the Stalin, it isn’t the votes that matter, but who counts them. The Democrats have taken his advice to heart.
I hate to suggest expanding the government but what is needed is a Constitutional amendment establishing a federal voting bureaucracy that would be responsible for making ALL election fair, honest and inclusive.
Standardized electronic voting to be as tamper-proof as possible with clear audit trails and standards for identification of the voters. No more dead voters or boxes of ballots turning up in attics or the back seats of automobiles. Never gonna happen, of course. Politicians have discovered that it’s cheaper and easier to rig the vote then to campaign. So elections are ‘won’ by the biggest crook, not the best leader.

Mar 12, 2009 - 6:06 am 4. bvw:

I asked Jeff Pope’s question on Yahoo Answers. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090312061231AAGCepY&r=w

Also, wondering if Jeff is related to Bucky?

Mar 12, 2009 - 6:14 am 5. AThinkingPerson:

As long as Nancy Pelosi holds a public office, I know for certain that voting does not matter anymore.

Mar 12, 2009 - 6:27 am 6. beavercleaver:

Great article! The issue is HUMILITY. Unlike humble but still great leaders like Washington and Coolidge, these guys are arrogant, amoral hypocrites who would cling to power forever if allowed. Washington could have been KING, and Coolidge walked away from another term he was most certain to have, all because they were humble men. Do a good job, stay out of the way of the common man, and move back into society. Bush 43 is humble, too, but you would never know it from the MSM. I used to be against term limits, but in the past decade or so I have come to believe they are badly needed. The corruption is so rampant, the rot so deep, the lies so thick, only the purifying brought on by an influx of new blood can flush it out. There are no longer “indispensible men”. These guys can do 12 (6 is better) years in each house, never to serve again except as POTUS/VPOTUS. No cabinet positions, either. Abolish the seniority system and let it be replaced with a lottery, with the resulting members of committees voting on their own chairman.
http://www.termlimits.com
Check it out!

Mar 12, 2009 - 6:36 am 7. kdman:

Well said. But in addition, the vote itself has been “compromised”. Too many non-taxpayers, too much purpose designed voter fraud, too much voter ignorance foisted by a corrupt government run school system, too much voter ignorance foisted by the bias and out-right lies propagated of a corrupt media…we need a brand new beginning. The bums, ALL of them, need to be gone.

Mar 12, 2009 - 6:42 am 8. e:

Two words: Term Limits.

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:02 am 9. rocketeer:

Two words – TERM LIMITS!!!

These jerks have made lifetime careers out of being senators and congressmen. That was not the original intent of our representative government. We need to take the lifetime nature out of serving, eliminate the lifetime retirement, and the lifetime health insurance, etc. We need to get back to having normal people going to Washington for 4 or 6 years, then going back to where they came from and returning to their normal job.

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:07 am 10. savage24:

Not only do we need a 100% turn over in the House in 2010, but a 33% change in the Senate. That would let the rest of them know that the voters are fed up with them. This will not happen so revolution is the next order of business.

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:23 am 11. RancherJack:

(head smack) You just NOW noticing politician’s blind disregard of those who elected them? Words fail me.

In 40 years of ‘participating’ in politics, not ONCE has any representative ever answered my phone call, or called me back. Not once has any representative ever answered a letter with anything other than a standard boiler plate reply that has never been on the topic of my original letter. And now with e-mail, their replies are even more offensive. Like Senator Mark Udall (spit spit) who, when I urged him to vote against the Stimulus bill, returned my e-mail with the subject line changed to PASS THE STIMULUS BILL NOW!

We need another revolution. ‘Cause this isn’t going to be fixed with ballots or legislation or elections.

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:43 am 12. Neo:

How dare you insult Queen Nancy

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:46 am 13. american motors:

Good column. This is why I no longer vote.

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:51 am 14. Kranky Old Guy:

You want TERM LIMITS? Easy – just take away their pensions!

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:53 am 15. Bill:

Term limits have always bothered me because of the downside of losing government leaders who actually do have integrity and do they’re job. Running a government is a complicated thing and having that continuity can actually be a good thing. Personally, my take has been that we already have the power to apply term limits without an act of congress.

So that being said, it is clearly time that we as voters take back our government. Liberals and conservatives that I know all agree that congress has become dysfunctional. In fact, I don’t think I know of anyone that thinks congress does it’s job. This is further evidence by record low approval ratings.

For the last couple of years I’ve thought it would be good to have a grass roots campaign to turn out as many incumbents as possible. Make it a bipartisan effort, encourage people to vote their party lines if they so please, but do not reelect an incumbent. Call it “Throw the bums out” or “Take back congress” or some such.

Those congressmen who are actually doing their job will likely survive such an effort, hell, most congressmen would likely keep their jobs, but if the incumbent rejection rate increases sufficiently, they will pay attention. What percentage would it take? I don’t know. What’s the current rate of incumbent disposal? I don’t know. But I would love to see the people get up and legally shock the p**s out of congress.

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:55 am 16. Cato:

Elections would matter if there were rigorous checks on the identity and eligibility of voters, with serious criminal penalties and hard time for intentional illegal voting. Same day registration would be eliminated — make registration at least 30 days prior to an election. Absentee ballots would available only for those who are truly out of the district during the election, and whose eligibilty had been verified ahead of the election, and would be due before the polls open on election day. Signatures of absentee voters would be verified individually by representatives of both parties before the ballot was opened; if there was not agreement that the signature was genuine, the ballot would be rejected, reducing the incentive to play games because if one side got cute, so would the other, and none of the votes would count.

I wouldn’t trust either a federal bureaucracy or electronic voting for integrity, however. I’d want paper (scanable) ballots for all elections so that there was a permanent paper trail available, and uniform standards for accepting or rejecting ballots. Each ballot would be examined for legal compliance by pollworkers of both parties, and any ballot that was not accepted by representatives of both parties would be rejected.

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:14 am 17. Albert Frevele:

It is no revelation to any student of History that politicians are arrogant power hungry ignoramuses, as Mr. Pope clearly explains. That list of what politicians don’t know is damning. But there is more to making an arrogant politician than merely time in office. Power itself makes one arrogant and since power comes to those who seek it, (everyone else is busy making a living) it is frequently a lure for naturally arrogant people, like the puffed up, but vacuous President Bozo. Power derives from the exclusivity of office. It is a sliding scale wherein the fewer people who wield power, the more power each one wields. At one end of the scale you have one ruler, a dictator or monarch. This is despotism. At the other end everyone represents himself, e.g. anarchy or mob rule. We live in a country of about 300 million people and we are represented by 435 members in the House. That is almost 700,000 people for EACH representative. This is not representation, it is a collection of fiefdoms. Clearly, we have drifted too far toward the despotism end of the scale, and we see evidence of this every day in government decisions, court rulings, policies, and legislation that always favor government at the expense of the people. This is because each representative in Congress is loyal to the government and his power, not to the voters who elected him. The only way to correct this imbalance is to make representative districts smaller, thus reducing the power exercised by each member. Right now a Congressman is a big fish an a very small pond. We need to make each Congressman a much smaller fish in a much larger pond if we are ever to regain control over or politicians instead of them controlling us and our lives. My proposal: reapportion the House to where there can be no fewer than one Representative for every 70,000 people. That would be over 4,000 members of Congress! I know it sounds scary, but the current power structure of 435 members would simply be overwhelmed by the influx of new members who would be beholden to the voters, not the big money sources and Party leadership. And with small districts, challengers would have a real shot at winning an election. What keeps most honest people out of politics is the expense to run for office. At 70,000 people in a district, candidates have a far smaller geographical area to run in, and far fewer voters to speak to. In fact, a candidate could run on a shoestring budget, without the millions of dollars it takes to mount a successful campaign, and meet virtually every voter in his district. This would be true representation, not the government oligarchy we have now. This is something to think about. The last time the House was enlarged was in 1912 and our population has almost tripled since then, with no concurrent increase in Congressional representation. Congress can accomplish this by statute legislation. No constitutional amendment is required. I have a dream: Where Congressmen fly across the nation on military standby; live in government dormitories near DC, and have none of the perks of office they enjoy now (that means no 100 passenger private jet for Nancy Pelosi). In my dream, a representative’s vote in the House is small and insignificant, while the people’s votes in his district are highly prized. Today a representative’s vote is a valuable commodity, worth whatever expense it takes to control it, while the people’s votes are great in number and miniscule in power. It is long past time to reverse this ratio and restore true representation to these United States.

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:17 am 18. Mirco:

Terms limits are good because the people interested in having power for themselves will not be interested in these positions, if the terms are short enough.
They will shun them off because they would not have enough time to recover the investment done and gain from it.

It is like a big filter dissuading the wrong people to enter the competition; then you have mainly the right people interested in entering in the competition and the habitat will not be very friendly for misfits.

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:18 am 19. James:

Voting is still the best method of changing government without bloodshed.

If your looking for areas to improve the voting process or effectiveness of votes there are a few simple things that can be done.
1. Auto register every citizen to vote when they turn 18.
2. Demand proof of person (ie id) when voting.
3. Stop letting the elected officials draw the districts.

Republicans hate #1 & #3
Democrates hate #2 & #3.

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:20 am 20. Thomas Casey:

The Greeks called it hubris. The word has been getting dusted off of late, and none too soon.

I always liked this:

We won’t be decieved
By titles such as Indispensable and Unique and Great
Someone else indispensable and unique and great
Can always be found at a moment’s notice.

Constantine Cafavy

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:24 am 21. Strother Purdy:

Term limits solve nothing as the unaccountable political class is larger than mere office holders. Each political machine will simply put up a new one of their own, sold with nice rhetoric and bought by enough voters.
I think we forget why our political class has become so disconnected and self-interested. As voters we offer no oversight. Anyone left to his or her own devices will work in a self-interested manner. How is it that we don’t watch who handles the public till? Simply we’ve become far too prosperous to care if 20% or 35% of our income goes to governments. On the rest we still get our ipods, GMC Denalis, centrally air conditioned homes and the sense that it will be even better in ten years.
Only when the public sphere matters in a serious way will our attention turn to it. When, to quote a former President, we feel the pain we will become interested in where our tax dollars go.
I think the US, even in recession, is far too prosperous for a critical mass of disgruntled tax payers to become a real threat to the established power holders. Another pressure valve is that it’s not an elite group. Anyone can run for town hall. Many reformers do, become elected, and find their lack of supervision leads them to work for their own self-interest. It’s a sad cycle, but an endless one as long as we mostly consider ourselves fat and happy. And we have a long way to fall before we don’t feel that any more, even with trillions upon trillions of dollars of debt threatening it.

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:27 am 22. Truth Fairy:

Just as the CPA firm Madoff used seems to have escaped criminal prosecution, the MSM has escaped responsibility for this disaster. Jefferson knew that the electorate is a mob unless it is an educated and informed electorate. The MSM, like a CPA firm that signs its name to an audit, is the only effective check against falsehood, financial or political. With rare exceptions like Jake Tapper, it has utterly abdicated its responsibility to educate and inform. Democracy may never recover.

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:36 am 23. JAWolf:

It’s been like this here in Massachusetts for a long, long time.

People know we’re being taxed to death. New Hampshire is filling up with refugees from MA to the point it’s a blue state. We have constant scandals and still the same cabal of hack run the legislature. There aret wo factors that return the same folks to power.

1) Their main constituents are civil servants, activists and others whose livelyhood depends of government money.

2) No matter how tax and rate battered the populace is, there is enough fear of the media spawned caricature of conservatives that the cognitive dissonence still flourishes. It is to the point where towns on the pike elect representatives who cheerfully campaign for toll increases that will harm their voters. An they are re-elected.

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:41 am 24. American cailín:

If voters keep electing them over and over and over….(Kennedy, Specter, Dodd, Rangel, Pelosi, Feinstein, Snowe etc etc) why shouldn’t they feel a sense of entitlement? The citizens are as much to blame as the political hacks they put(and keep)in office. Democracy takes participation, not complacency. Combine that with a media that does more propagandizing than reporting and a electoral process that is gerrymandered in many states and it’s a nightmare for any American citizen that believes in our founding principles. “[We have given you] a republic, if you can keep it” B. Franklin

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:49 am 25. WR Jonas:

Great article Mr. Pope and some terrific comment . I am always amazed by the number of thoughtful , intelligent and genuinely articulate people out there; but how few find their way into public service.
I guess lawyers and criminals always push their way to the forefront and then create laws that benefit themselves at our expense.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:01 am 26. Civilian Security Corps:

We know who you are.

We know where you are.

All of you.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:10 am 27. Yes We Did:

We had an election last November. We won, you lost, and you will never get another chance.

Face reality, President Obama rules this country now.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:13 am 28. Foobarista:

Term limits aren’t a panacea; all they did here in California was weaken the legislature and give even more power to the bureaucracy and civil-service unions. State government got even worse after term limits.

The problem is that most people are simply too occupied with their own lives to “get involved”. Also, we’ve allowed government to get too big for anyone who’s not employed in it or otherwise permanently and professionally involved with it to have more than a basic knowledge of the issues. You can denounce “sheeple” all you want, but do many people have hours per day to devote to governmental concerns who don’t work for government or the sorts of people who read and post to political blogs?

Some cynical takes:

1. Have mass democracy and you have “celebrity government”. Name recognition and the ability to raise tons of money are more important than being effective. Over time, we’ve gotten to where political families and kissing the ring are far more important than most other skills, which is positively medieval.
2. Given that, small, entrenched interests are vastly more important than the electorate. The electorate just anoints the choices of the entrenched interests. And, unfortunately, gerrymandering and “self-selection” insures party-safe districts in much of the country. Even in competitive districts, you’re just picking between the choices of two sets of entrenched interests.

My feeling is that electoral democracy may be at the end of its historic run, for the simple reason of scale. I still think democratic government is “better than all the rest”, but we may need to come up with other forms of democratic legitimacy in addition to mass elections.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:15 am 29. TOhio:

I don’t live in California, so I can’t directly vote Nancy Pelosi out of office.

But I can vote 100% Republican so that I don’t send any more Democrats to Washington to help keep her propped up.

2010…every single vote will be Republican. I’m not taking any chances.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:15 am 30. Teleprompter Jesus:

I won.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:19 am 31. Xiaoding:

Government is the problem. We need to get rid of it.

After that, remove the power of the Federal government to levy taxes!

The feds go to a new, state appointed legistlature, for funds every year. The states decide how much they get.

This would put power back to the states, and provide better representation for the people.

Increasing the size of Congress is also good, but still leaves the tax problem. Cut the monster off from it’s funds, it will shrink!

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:24 am 32. renminbi:

Looks like a Lord of the Flies” situation on the part of our political class.We need a real revolution.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:27 am 33. Mahon:

The primary cause of this problem is what has happened in redistricting. We have reached the point where politicians choose voters rather than the other way around, and where the parties conspire to create safe districts for as many incumbents as possible. This means they have no need to appeal to the center and not much hesitancy about putting their own interests first.

What’s needed is a Constitutional amendment to the effect that all Congressional and legislative districts shall be reasonably compact and contiguous and that district boundaries should follow pre-existing county, city, town and precinct lines. This would prevent the custom-tailoring of districts to award seats to particular political groups, whose representatives then have no incentive to appeal to voters outside those groups. Far more seats would be competitive in each election, and politics would be driven to the center rather than the fringes.

The difficulty, of course, is that this reform would have to be implemented by the same people who benefit from the current system. I don’t have the answer to that.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:30 am 34. Sgt. Mom:

It is as if we have had our political class gradually develop over the last decades into a new aristocracy, whose own interests and continued grip on power comes first and foremost among their priorities. They will loftily dispense favor to the rest of us, along with the requisite bread and circuses. They know what is meet, right and correct – for aren’t they aristocrats, with the requisite refined sensibilities and knowledge?

How dare those little people complain about such horrible laws as the recently-passed consumer protection act which ostensibly eliminated lead contamination in children’s toys but which will turn out to eliminate small workshops, micro-businesses and home-based sales of hand-crafted items, as well as deep-sixing second hand sales of children’s clothes, toys and books?

Ah yes, swear fealty to our new aristocracy.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:37 am 35. James Stephenson:

About government needing consistency, I disagree. The founders and our original congress had none of that and they appeared to do pretty damn well in my eyes.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:38 am 36. Steve P.:

To the majority of working Americans who voted for President Obama on his platform of change and are excited that within two months of assuming office he has already reversed a lot of bad Bush policies and pushed through a stimulus bill that will bring relief to working families, I would say yes, voting matters a lot.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:47 am 37. john henry:

This problem is really fairly easy to solve. We need a national movement to not re:elect anyone. We can replace every single Congressperson in 2010 if we just get off our butts and do it. We can replace a third of our senators in 2010 and all by 2014.

Vote Republican or Democrat, party does not matter. Experience and qualifications do not matter. Whoever is elected cannot possibly be worse than time serving, corrupt (in the moral, if not the legal sense) pols from both sides that we are saddled with today.

The advantage of newcomers is that they will not know how business is done. They will be far more likely to take their jobs seriously and do such things as actually read the legislation they vote on. As newcomers, they will not be skilled in the ways of legislating and we will get much less of it.

Yes, incumbents have an advantage but not as much as it might seem. A 10% shift in the vote would have dis-elected 90% of them in 2008 or any other election year.

DON’T RE-ELECT ANYONE!!!

John Henry

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:47 am 38. Kathy:

Someone somewhere should write about all the White House counsel, special offices created without any need for Congressional approval like Cabinet positions. It’s a direct power grab.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:48 am 39. LynnS:

#36 is so proud of his president turning over ’some’ of President Bush’s policies

President Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for international groups that PROMOTE OR PERFORM ABORTIONS, reversing a policy of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

President Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for human ebryonic stem cell reasearch that DESTROYS THE HUMAN EMBRYOS, reversing a policy of his predecessor George W. Bush who limited it to stem cell lines already in existance.

Soooooo proud. imbecile.

Mar 12, 2009 - 10:31 am 40. boqueronman:

“To the majority of working Americans who voted for President Obama on his platform of change and are excited…” I notice you did not use the term “taxpaying Americans.” Is there a reason for this selection of terms? If so, what is the reason? But you have served as a useful blind squirrel and stumbled on an interesting “acorn.” The number of “working Americans” who do not pay income taxes is approximately 40-45%. And don’t bring up FICA; that’s a forced savings program. Thus, it seems logical that these “tax eaters” would welcome Obamafied “change.” After all, why not vote yourselves more money from “The Rich?” With a governing elite full of tax cheats, “pay for play”ers, lobbyists, ideological radicals, how much longer are the productive, taxpaying citizens of the country going to let their pockets (and their descendant’s pockets) get picked. We may see soon.

Mar 12, 2009 - 10:32 am 41. Phelps:

When the ballot box fails, we have no recourse but to head for the ammunition box.

I pray that our elected officials don’t allow it to get the point that we really don’t believe in the ballot box anymore.

Mar 12, 2009 - 10:35 am 42. George:

Great article. I too am frustrated that elections are rarely close enough for my vote to count. I’m just helping modulate the margin of victory or casting a protest vote for a challenger who doesn’t have a chance.

Two ideas to improve turnover.

1) A hard term limit of 18 years in either the House or the Senate. Two congressmen that I admire, John Kasich and Dick Armey, made a positive inpact and then retired at 18 years.

2) A huge signing bonus, millions of dollars, paid to a challenger who defeats an incumbent. This would attract more competition to “safe” seats.

Mar 12, 2009 - 11:39 am 43. Truth Fairy:

“A government that borrows from Peter to pay Paul may forever be confident of the support of Paul.”
~ W. Churchill, I think.

Mar 12, 2009 - 11:41 am 44. Moogie:

27. Yes We Did:
“We had an election last November. We won, you lost, and you will never get another chance.

Face reality, President Obama rules this country now.”

You won a popularity contest – no more, no less… but you lost the big battle for something greater than Obama: your personal freedom. You wait, you’ll see. This rosy glow you’re feeling after your victory? It’s just like an alcohol induced high: what goes up must come down. Get ready to start feeling dizzy, nauseated, shaky, and full of remorse.

You wait. You’ll see. You might want to stop the juvenile gloating now – I understand eating crow can cause choking.

Mar 12, 2009 - 11:52 am 45. geoffgo:

Kranky@14

Great idea, cept they made that illegal to attempt, back of 2002. Last year they passed 61,000 new laws to restrict your behavior, of which 60,994 have yet to be enforced.

Little did we know, that somewhere in there, it’s now against the law to even talk about it.

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:09 pm 46. geoffgo:

Bill@15

2% is the current turnover of incumbents, and some large percent of that 2% is because they died in office, so it looks like tough sledding.

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:13 pm 47. K:

Try to think of a Political Class separate from a Government Class. And all others as simply the Neither Class.

Formally the PC supervises the GC and the NC. And the PC can be removed from office by the NC by recall or election.

In practice the NC is neutered and will remain so. It is the PC which dominates the US. It consists of government employees and many people such as defense workers who for all practical purposes have employment for life.

The teachers are government employees and most activities at universities depend on government funding in one way or another.

And the recent and huge growth in the legal professions is a direct result of statutes, regulations, and/or courts who each year declare that more and more acts a crime or tort.

University students are a dependable GC voting bloc which is always eager for more loans, grants, services, and funding for education. They may appear to be in the Neither Class but they are allies of the GC.

How many hospitals operate without major government funding and control.? Is the supervision of physicians or health insurers less or more with each passing year?

The big unions such as the UAW also endorse the growing GC. Read a model union contract, it is a recipe security, good pay, and absence of responsibility. However the biggest unions are the government workers themselves. The union provides an additional tool to neuter any in the PC who actually try to change the GC.

Taken together, so many people are in the GC that it decides elections by itself. The greater mass of the NC is always divided and confused because all candidates say one thing when running and do another in office.

Who is elected does not matter to the GC described above. Their machine rolls on, and over, the great mass of the NC.

Now about the Political Class.

These are the people who seek office or their followers. Followers who work full time in campaigns or on the politicians staff. Or lobbies who seek favours and preferences.

“when all candidates are the same you will elect the same”.

So are all the candidates the same? Well, Yes and No.

All the PC sees more government as good. They may say the opposite in order to harvest votes. But when safely in office each enlarges government and the GC.

And how often does the PC say of any concern, problem, or complaint, “Government has no role in resolving it.”

But the parties and candidates do fight with each other. They fight over the goodies of office; the power, the often substantial income – some very mysteriously received, and the enormous perks.

What the GC is doing in the meantime is not very important to the PC.

From that outline I argue that the elections are futile. And so are term limits or other devices to reform the PC. They simply don’t work. The conservatives and libertarians will have to find another way.

And I don’t foresee that they will.

The GC and PC have nearly fused now. Together they have the nation by the balls. And they are going to do as they wish.

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:13 pm 48. PD Quig:

TERM LIMITS…as in “Term Limits” by Vince Flynn?

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:15 pm 49. deguello:

ALL PATRIOTS: Voting is useless without vigorous,confrontational and transformative political agitation.We must undertake comprehensive. ,political,social and cultural action,to change the status quo.We need to restrict a judiciary committed to social engineering,and exceeding its constitutionally restricted limits.Judges must be elected for 2 year terms; we must agitate for a, constitutional amendmendt electingsupreme court judges to limited terms.Until that is done, Libtard judges can be harsssed and intimidated legally,by making them live with the consequences of their actions. Libtard judge releases, a dangerous felon? Buy get together,buy a housein the judge’s vicinity and rent it to the felon’s friends;preferably viloent drug dealers. A judge releases a rapist? give the rapist the judge’s daughter’s address.No more rabble-criminal empowerment by Stalinist judges. We should also undertake non-violent disobedience and interrupt the routines of moneymaking. For example the government leeches raise tolls? Screw up rush hour by driving to the bridges at 10mph, until tolls are lowered. Ostracize all govt. employees from private organizAtions, except for those who are known to be consevative.Refuse to attend any corporate mandated indoctrination ie; diversity training;find out who the people responsible for affirmative action hiring are,at work;hire private detectives, to investigate them, destroy thir lives.and dissuade others from that sort of work;raise consciousness among the military,comvincing them that their oath is not to this or any other government, but the people and the constitution.Boycott rich liberal artists like Bruce Springsteen, demeanding that they turn over at least !1/2 of their fortunes to charity; Agitate for a wealth tax, on wealth valued at over 100 million dollars, to break the back of the left-wing plutocratic elites: the Sorose, Buffets,Gates,Hollywood garbage,and all the other tumors responsible for the oppression of middle class euroamericans. Attends showings of performance and avant garde art,and cultural scum like Madonna, and shut them down by talking, singing, or screaming;home school your children;teach them contempt for the liberal-stalinist,internationalist regime;engage in taxc strikes,and barter;grow tthe underground economy; Insult,disrespect,and condemn,any(non-conservative) Ivy league graduate:assume them stupid until proven competent;It was these people that destroyed the economy. This is just a short list of a list of actions needed to free this country from an incipient tyranny by a vicious, demented cabal of the insanely greedy, the parasitical sociopathic segments of the population, and the america-hating,culturally degenerate.Feel free to suggest other ideas. TAKE BACK THE NATION!SMSASH LIBERALISM NOW!

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:18 pm 50. Mark Harris:

My solution? Everyone just needs to stop voting for incumbents. Starting in the primaries and continuing through the general elections. And vote for an independent if one is on the ballot. Sure you might have to vote for someone you don’t like, but we do that all the time anyway! (At least, if you stick to this policy, you would only have to vote for them once!)

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:19 pm 51. Don Rhudy:

Education has been so degraded that I doubt the vote will ever produce reform. I think we are eventually facing an armed revolution or a breakup of the country. Either one would suit me fine. I don’t much like living with Nazis and Communists.

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:29 pm 52. Marc Malone:

I still say “term-limits” is a bad idea. Some few men in Cingoress are good men. Jeff Flake of AZ has never asked for an earmark. Eric Cantor keeps doing a very fine job as minority whip. All the Pubs in Congress voted against the Stimulus Bill. All. That’s the whip’s doing. The first bailout bill also failed, because too few Pubs crossed over. Again Cantor. Alternate proposals? Cantor. He is quickly becoming my hero in Congress. Wow, I just said “hero in Congress”. Weird.

The problem is not the system. It is our uneducated voters. Our school system is failing. We’ve been falling in the standings among industrialized nations until we’re almost at the bottom. The media is also complicit in the failure. That may change when their wealth is wiped out in the Stock Market. when their retirement funds and their kids’ college funds dry up, then they’ll start singing a different tune. It may not last, but it may be good for one or two elections.

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:29 pm 53. Rachel:

This has been my pet peeve for a long time. Why should two states deterime the primary? By the time it gets to other states, most of the candidates have dropped out. Why not have every state vote at once to give other states a say in the primaries? This process is so outdated and old and gives many states no say until they’re left with who is left. Overhaul this barbaric system. While we’re at it, get rid of caucuses.

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:30 pm 54. geoffgo:

Insert 1st Declarative Plank in Party Platform:

WE the People, whenever regaining the majority will prosecute and imprison all the members of Congress (House and Senate) who voted FOR the Stimulus WITHOUT READING IT, on the gounds of looting the national treasury….

I don’t see how we get their attention, otherwise.

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:36 pm 55. Steve P.:

LynnS says: “#36 is so proud of his president turning over ’some’ of President Bush’s policies

President Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for international groups that PROMOTE OR PERFORM ABORTIONS, reversing a policy of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

President Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for human ebryonic stem cell reasearch that DESTROYS THE HUMAN EMBRYOS, reversing a policy of his predecessor George W. Bush who limited it to stem cell lines already in existance.

Soooooo proud. imbecile.

Hey Lynn, guess what? You belong to a dwindling group of religious fundamentalists whose opinions and influence matter less and less each day. Most Americans are pro-choice. Most Americans are pro-stem cell research. That’s because most Americans believe that the bible should have no influence over personal health decisions made by patients with their doctors. So based on that reality, try and guess how much anyone cares what you think.

Mar 12, 2009 - 12:40 pm 56. Mustang94:

You really don’t know when you became one of the evil people? You became evil the minute your business succeeded, you running dog capitalist stooge. To the extent that you’re successful, you’re evil; and you need to be punished. You’ve been called to repent your evil ways since last January, and on Nov 4 you were put on notice that you had a little over 2 month to make things right, handing over to the government the wealth that you’ve extracted through the exploitation of the working poor so that it could be returned to those whom you extracted it from. Since you failed to voluntarily do so by Jan 20, now it’s going to done for you.
For the Good of the Children. For the Good of the Planet.
Hoffnung Heil! Wechsel Heil!

Mar 12, 2009 - 1:19 pm 57. PM:

#27 – Yes We Did said:

“We had an election last November. We won, you lost, and you will never get another chance.

Face reality, President Obama rules this country now.”

* * *

That makes the point as least as well as the article.

Mar 12, 2009 - 1:23 pm 58. Truth Fairy:

Steve P, Specious reasoning may be your strongest characteristic. “Most Americans” believed in slavery once. Didn’t make it right, did it? I’m an agnostic,with some major qualms about pro-stem cell research. But I can’t stand people such as yourself who reason so poorly.

Mar 12, 2009 - 1:32 pm 59. Bill:

geoffgo@46

My point in asking the question was to underscore that there is very little turnover due to the electorate kicking them out and that you would have to boot a number larger than that for it to be noticed. So at 2% normal attrition, a large portion due to death, my feelings are strengthened that a “boot em” drive could have an impact. It’s prolly aggressive but an eviction rate of 10% per election cycle could have a large impact. btw, Thanks for doing my homework.

Cheers

Mar 12, 2009 - 1:37 pm 60. Paul -Indiana:

See #42. George, I think that term limits would be good, but it might be easier to get a no-consecutive-terms situation. One of the current problems is that a large portion of an incumbent’s current term is spent campaigning, rather than doing his job. Obambi is a past master of that technique. There are enough good people who would run if there was a chance to win rather than being rolled over by an office holder who had a large experienced staff to help him along. A good candidate could get in every second term.

Mar 12, 2009 - 1:44 pm 61. karlstro2u:

Great article! Thank you. I thought I was along in my thinking. When a media does not investigate and report facts and a one Party controls Congress and the Pres. office this is exactly what happens. And it is worse than I ever thought possible. It’s not a one America anymore.

Mar 12, 2009 - 1:52 pm 62. GOP=HISTORY:

My answer to Mr Pope’s question is – it all depends on how you vote. If you are voting for Rush Limbaugh’s steadily shrinking GOP, whose hate and fear message is not selling very well, you might as well stay home and play with your dog. Why waste your time voting for a loser? If, on the other hand, you are voting for the Democratic party which is steadily expanding due to rapidly changing demographics, by all means get out there and vote. You can be proud that you are voting for a winner! The GOP will soon be a small, regional party with no national power. And they can thank themselves for this! Buh-bye GOPers. Tell Fido I said hello.

Mar 12, 2009 - 2:08 pm 63. Hejde:

Does anybody learn history anymore? – perchance the original constitution (& the Federalist) could be helpful. We can (almost) all agree, that congressional districts are too large and that districts are carved with the well-being of the congress critters in mind.

The original idea was: representatives directly elected for 2 years (i.e. loyalty to their district), senators selected by each state (i.e. loyalty to their state, whose government was directly elected) and the president elected by electors “wise men” from each state. ‘Creative Tension’ between congress and executive was expected with the judiciary as umpire following the constitution and the agreed upon laws. (No penumbras there).

So… return to the original system and have districts be demarcated by the mathematics of population. Oh, by the way, if we can demand drivers licenses we surely can also demand positive proof of eligibility for voting and holding office. – and 12 years maximum for congress, whether senate or house.

Then we only have to tame the burgeoning permanent bureaucracy.

peace

Hejde

Mar 12, 2009 - 2:27 pm 64. Hejde:

p.s.

No law should be passed, which is not clearly understandable by anybody with a high school diploma. If present day graduates (last 4 years) cannot clearly understand it, then it is back to re-write.

No law should be voted on without having been publicly published on the web for at least a week.

The tax code should be understandable likewise.

There is more, but the rant has been long enough for now.

peace

Hejde

Mar 12, 2009 - 2:34 pm 65. joeblough:

Jeff Pope owns a manufacturing business in the Midwest and would like to know at exactly what point he became one of the evil people the president seems determined to destroy.

Uh, just about the point he set out on the path to owning his own business.

BTW We very much are engaged in class warfare. It’s just not the same classes everybody thinks are at war.

It is actually the political class against everybody else.

Mar 12, 2009 - 2:52 pm 66. james:

The deal made by republicans and democrats to create gerrymandered districts to protect incumbency is the single greatest threat to our country, over the long term. Someone who can’t be fired, has monopoly power on legislation and enforcement, enjoys health plans and retirement benefits denied to us, who can award himself salary boosts, and who turns his lifetime job into a million dollar retirement, is by definition corrupt beyond repair.
He must be forcibly removed.

Mar 12, 2009 - 3:12 pm 67. Roderick Reilly:

To Steve P:

Stem cell research has never been banned in the U.S.

Never.

“Fundamentalists” are not against stem cell research per se. The problem they have is with embryonic stem cell research. The so-called “ban” was a restriction of federal funding to a single line of cultivated embryos. That’s it. No other restrictions. Private and state funding of embryonic stem cell research had no restrictions under the edict, which is why california has had a $3 billion embryonic stem cell research program for some time. In the meanwhile, there have been no “bans” or restrictions on adult stem cell research.

The narrative of banned stem cell research and “conservative oposition” to stem cell research is a disgraceful and outrageous lie.

Mar 12, 2009 - 3:36 pm 68. ban sidhe:

I’d suggest that Americans ought to think about going back to our roots as a *republic*, where only those with a real stake in the country were granted the privilege of voting. Obviously we couldn’t (and shouldn’t) go back to the days when only educated landowners could vote–but what about requiring voters to produce a CERTIFIED COPY of their income tax returns when they go to the polls, to prove they’d actually paid taxes and thus have a real stake in this nation? Those whose tax refund is less than their total tax bill become eligible to vote; those whose tax refund is greater than or equal to their tax bill, are automatically rendered ineligible to vote. This keeps the government, and its systems and services, in the hands of those who are obliged to fund them, and prevents those who simply feed off of the government from being able to vote themselves a greater share of taxpayer largess.

Some might call this disenfranchisement….I call it empowerment. No individual is rendered permanently ineligible to vote; they can change their circumstances, and gradually move into a tax bracket where they actually…you know…PAY for the government they get. Optimally, you’d end up with fewer tax cheats, fewer able-bodied people making a living off of government benefits, less special interest influence-peddling, and more voters who actually pay attention to what our government is doing–and fewer career politicians like Pelosi, Reid, Spectre, Murtha, Snowe or Dodd.

If America wants to throw the bums out–as I most assuredly do–then the only way to do it is to put the system back in the hands of the people who pay for it.

Thoughts?

Mar 12, 2009 - 3:51 pm 69. LynnS:

#66 That would only work if the federal government obtained it’s revenue exclusively from income tax. Since it has it’s fingers in just about everything Americans spend their money on, it would not be plausible unless they restricted themselves to only taxing income.

Even state tax is not collected exclusively through income. I don’t know what the figures are exactly for what percentage of state and federal revenue comes from ‘other than income’ but I would bet it is huge.

Mar 12, 2009 - 6:08 pm 70. Yellow Dog:

Political arrogance, however, is a much more virulent strain of the disease because it transforms a politician from a person having an appreciation of being first elected to a position of power into one who believes power naturally comes to him or her because they are uniquely worthy of it. To those who see themselves in this way, the vote of the people does not indicate a preference for a type of governance; nor is it an expression of the general will on specific issues. Rather, electoral victory is an affirmation of their special status as the worthy leaders of the populace at large and an implied acceptance by the voters to be led in whatever direction they deem fit.

You wingnuts just crack me up! You’ve just described the incompetent, drunken faker who left the country he hated in tatters when he left office on January 20th. Fewer than two months into the new president’s term, you forget everything that happened between 2001 and 2009. Hah! Here’s the news, you yellowbellied cowards: There’s a new sheriff in town.

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:23 pm 71. Prevost1580:

Honestly! I’m sick of them all. Boston tea party,baby!

Mar 12, 2009 - 7:53 pm 72. Frank:

I wonder how many pitch forks Glenn Beck has by now

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:02 pm 73. Frank:

Almost every single poli in America is slimesucking scum.

Mar 12, 2009 - 8:06 pm 74. Geek, Esq.:

We have been shown, in no uncertain terms, that the votes cast last November don’t matter today because “we won.”

Maybe the single dumbest sentence written in 2009.

You see, dearest wingnuts and militia members, the votes cast in November do matter.

And those votes brought put Barack Obama and his party in charge of the Presidency and both Houses of Congress.

Elections have consequences. Your side lost, so suck it up and stop whining because the winners are governing according to their agenda, not yours.

Mar 12, 2009 - 9:48 pm 75. Cheeky Wombat:

#27
“We had an election last November. We won, you lost, and you will never get another chance”

We all lost.

#53
We should limit campaigns to a 6 week time period (at the most) and hold primaries in all states on the same day.

Mar 12, 2009 - 11:18 pm 76. Kwach:

ROFLMAO! Seriously, I can’t stop laughing! Hubris? Stolen elections? Misuse of power? Unsupported agenda being shoved down our throats by the White House? Yes, I agree … all of that needed to stop. And it did.

I don’t know which election you voted in, but in the one that we just held last November (and won by a landslide) this is exactly who we voted for, this is the agenda we voted for, this is the direction we voted to take the country and the number of people who are scared, unhappy and fidgety about it is small and growing smaller by the day.

How’s Joe the Plumber/Reporter/Spokesmodel/Author/political pundit these days, btw?

You people are a downright hoot! Thanks for the really great laugh!

Mar 13, 2009 - 3:24 am 77. Val:

YES term limits, NO retirement, and NO health care.

Each representative (that is: each congressman and each senator AND their aides, of any flavor) are paid by their own district’s VOTERS, including all their expenses of their offices. Their VOTERS can best decide how much they need.

Take all the federal tax dollars spent by VOTERS’ representatives and divide it equally and send to all the congressional districts and states. Then the local districts’ VOTERS can decide what to give to THEIR representatives, by way of salary and expenses, but with local oversight and accountability to the VOTERS who sent them. In other words, the VOTERS who put them in office will control their purse strings.
After all, it is the VOTERS’ tax dollars, after all.

Let the VOTERS who sent them decide what form of transportation they deserve. If a district wants their representative to have private jet service, let the local voter say so and provide funds for their representative.

The local VOTERS decide how many and what aides receive by way of salary, expense, etc.

Make ALL votes by representatives transparent and available to their VOTERS before ballots are cast.

Make all lobbying done in the representative’s district with open forms. All lobbying perks must be in the representative’s districts and in full sight of VOTERS. AFTER ALL, it is the VOTERS’ interests at stake, RIGHT?????. And on top of that, why shouldn’t the VOTERS reap the riches of lobbying????

Too simplistic?? BUT THIS IS A DEMOCRACY, RIGHT??????

Mar 13, 2009 - 6:27 am 78. Doug:

I nominate all of y’all on the right wing to “go John Galt” and remove yourselves from society. Maybe without your constant whining and complaining, the rest of us will actually be able to get things done.

Mar 13, 2009 - 6:33 am 79. Val:

YES term limits, NO retirement, and NO health care.
Each representative (that is: each congressman and each senator AND their aides, of any flavor) are paid by their own district’s VOTERS, including all their expenses of their offices. Their VOTERS can best decide how much they need.
Take all the federal tax dollars spent by VOTERS’ representatives and divide it equally and send to all the congressional districts and states. Then the local districts’ VOTERS can decide what to give to THEIR representatives, by way of salary and expenses, but with local oversight and accountability to the VOTERS who sent them. In other words, the VOTERS who put them in office will control their purse strings.
After all, it is the VOTERS’ tax dollars, after all.
Let the VOTERS who sent them decide what form of transportation they deserve. If a district wants their representative to have private jet service, let the local voter say so and provide funds for their representative.
The local VOTERS decide how many and what aides receive by way of salary, expense, etc.
Make ALL votes by representatives transparent and available to their VOTERS before ballots are cast.
Make all lobbying done in the representative’s district with open forms. All lobbying perks must be in the representative’s districts and in full sight of VOTERS. AFTER ALL, it is the VOTERS’ interests at stake, RIGHT?????. And on top of that, why shouldn’t the VOTERS reap the riches of lobbying????
Too simplistic?? BUT THIS IS A DEMOCRACY, RIGHT??????

Mar 13, 2009 - 6:51 am 80. Artor:

Excuse me? Where was all this indignant outrage when BUSH was busy running the country into the ground?!? Get your heads out of the sand and recognize the FACTS people! Obama is no saint, and I too am disappointed in his performance so far, but it was Dubya who was installed despite losing the popular vote, who LIED to get us involved in a costly, bloody & illegal war, and who handed billions of our money to his friends before we finally got rid of him. Your complaints about the Obama administration ring hollow to someone who actually read the news and pays attention to what’s really going on. Wake up people, or we are all doomed to repeat history…again!

Mar 13, 2009 - 7:42 am 81. newton:

“Face reality, President Obama rules this country now.”

Face reality. “Ruling” is the parcel of absolute kings and dictators.

“Governing” is a different matter altogether. And that IS what Obama isn’t doing.

Mar 13, 2009 - 8:36 am 82. typos_R_us:

“Most Americans are pro-choice.”

Evidence please! This is another ‘Big Lie’.

Mar 13, 2009 - 9:15 am 83. Middleman:

We just finished up with our second Bush, almost had our second Clinton, can’t seem to shake off the Kennedys, and nyou guys are just now talking about how they act like kings? Dang!

Mar 13, 2009 - 10:21 am 84. Allen S. Thorpe:

Does it really matter anymore what most Americans think? That’s the point of this essay. I can’t see that it does. Politics has its own logic, and that includes promising somethings to get elected, then doing other things in order to pay off your supporters.

I had decided not to vote last November, but I finally decided that Obama’s history of involvement with socialist causes and radical programs was too frightening not to vote against him. I hoped that I had been wrong in my impressions that he was inexperienced, had no real convictions other than getting more money out of government for his favorite interest groups and was nowhere near as smart as the media were claiming him to be. Maybe now that he’s the boss, he’ll feel free to do what makes common sense, I hoped.

That has all gone away now. I no longer have any such hopes. In fact, his performance along with Bush’s during his last few months in office have made me wonder if having a federal government is really such a good thing. I can now see clearly a scenario where the government could face a revolt by taxpayers and insolvency when the traditional buyers of our bonds decide that it’s too big a risk.

The future is too serious to be left up to politics as usual, or politics as beyond usual in Obama’s case. We’ve got to quit kidding ourselves that the government spending doesn’t have to be repaid. That the money supply is endless, that deficit spending will make up for the sudden revelation that 12 trillion dollars just was never really there, and that this won’t hurt a lot of people. We should run Barney Frank and Chris Dodd out of Washington on a rail, and call down plagues on both parties for their pretence that government could make ever American a home owner. Fannie and Freddie should be dealt with like any other business that has been mismanaged, and file for Chapter 11.

Everybody should go vote on the assumption that it’s better to vote out the incumbent unless one can see clearing that he or she has been financially responsible.

This is supposed to be government of, by and for the people — that’s us. Until we collectively decide to demand that the nation be put in order and keep an eys on our representatives, they will continue to play their own games for their own interests. If we fail, assuming that they’re doing the best they can, this plane will continue on autopilot until it crashes into the side of a mountain and no one is left to keep its promises, but some bookkeeper signing IOUs, with nothing to back them up.

I had never thought such a thing possible, before, but when we see George Bush’s big spending and growth of government dwarfed by what the Democcrats have been lusting after for the past 17 years, nothing seems to terrible to contemplate.

The world is in a mess, on the brink of wars in Korea and the Middle East. Terrorism is still a serious threat in Pakistand, Afghanistan and Iran and in various cells around the world. There are real problems we should deal with in the world, but this administration seems content to just pass the buck, with no real thought or understanding at the top.

Mar 13, 2009 - 11:10 am 85. josh:

Great article Jeff. Our republic will be taken back from the puppet in the WH. The puppeteers, Soros and company, will nearly destroy the country, but in the end we’ll be okay.
For those dems/libs/marxists who think that the conservative movement has been or will be eliminated….LOL. The puppet in the WH has awoken many patriots. We have to figure out how to get 8 million dead people to vote for anyone but a dem/marxist in 2010 & 2012.

Mar 13, 2009 - 11:32 am 86. Ron:

Term limts must be imposed on congress; however, will they kill their golden goose? I don’t think so. Our forefathers had to resort to violence to become a free nation. Will we have too also?

Mar 13, 2009 - 11:45 am 87. Jim:

What this article shows is that people in the minority still believe the majority of citizens think as they do. Even when election after election and poll after poll show them they are indeed firmly in the minority.

Democracy works, even when your side loses.

Mar 13, 2009 - 12:16 pm 88. David Plouffe, BarackObama.com:

From today’s Obama email blast:

The next few weeks will be some of the most important our movement for change has encountered yet.

Mitch wrote to you earlier this week about Organizing for America’s Pledge Project — an effort to identify and mobilize support across the country for the economic vision President Obama has outlined in his budget.

If you haven’t yet done so, pledge your support now and ask your friends, family, and neighbors to do the same.

The budget that passes Congress has the potential to take our country in a truly new direction — the kind of change we all worked so hard for. We didn’t fight to shy away from the tough long-term decisions Washington has ducked for far too long.

President Obama knows, as you do, that our future strength and prosperity depends on Washington finally taking the hard and smart steps in energy, health care, and education that will make sure America and its families are strong for decades to come.

And while his budget reflects those important values and priorities, the President also understands the government has to cut spending like so many families and businesses are being forced to do now. He invests where we need to and cuts where we must.

In the next few weeks we’ll be asking you to do some of the same things we asked of you during the campaign — talking directly to people in your communities about the President’s ideas for long-term prosperity. But first, start with your own pledge of support, and the support of your friends, family, and neighbors:

http://my.barackobama.com/pledgeproject

We know this fight won’t be easy. But important battles never are. Together, we have the opportunity to shape our country’s future. We believed in the power of people to win an improbable election victory. And we believe in the power of people to drown out the cynics and entrenched interests in Washington to bring lasting, meaningful change we can all be proud we played a role in.

Thanks,

David Plouffe

Mar 13, 2009 - 12:42 pm 89. Pat J:

Voting matters a great deal. Especially when elected officials actually keep their promises for a change.

Mar 13, 2009 - 1:12 pm 90. fakeCowboyconservative:

Aww, poor babies! They lost an election, so the vote must not matter anymore!

Boo-hoo! I also love your calls for violent insurrection occurring just about every 5 posts on average. No, you don’t surround us after all.

So, this war-criminal/plunderer we just got rid of…when do we begin our elevation of him to godhood, so he can sit at the right hand of Ronald Reagan?

When are you going to shoot up the next Unitarian church? Or should you just blow up a Kindergarten classroom, since the teacher is probably a union member? Or, you could just kill a gay person. These are the tough choices you must make when you are a member of a Southern-regional, whites-only political party

Mar 13, 2009 - 1:38 pm 91. deguello:

FAKE WHATEVER #90:Did you know you also have a fake mind;on the other hand, you truly are a POS!

Mar 13, 2009 - 2:16 pm 92. deguello:

PLOUFLE: BLAST? SOUNDS AND SMELLS JUST LIKE AOTHER LIBTARD FART!You must be confused: a soufflee made with air,not intestinal gases!

Mar 13, 2009 - 2:30 pm 93. CapitalistForChange:

Tea Party?…Are we referring to the call-for-tea given by the Derivatives Trader??..The one from CNBC…The same network that’s being BURIED by Jon Stewart? (the comedian who plays a “reporter” because we don’t have actual reporters anymore)….Yes. Voting DOES matter. In fact, the “Conservatives” are the last group to actually REALIZE this fact. When seventy-million Americans vote for you; it MEANS that we’re not going in the direction of the GOP, circa 2000…Have a little cheese with that “whine” and get ready to run in 2010…Take the advise of your new RNC Chairman: “Buckle up, Baby!”

Mar 13, 2009 - 4:30 pm 94. sbark:

Get the 17th amendment back to the org. founders format…..ie let the states Legislatures control the US Senators…….

Mar 13, 2009 - 9:39 pm 95. G Alston:

#82 — Evidence please! This is another ‘Big Lie’.

Ballot measure outlawing abortion lost in SD 2004 *and* 2008.

SD is a red state. Church going white folks. McCain won 2:1.

Look it up. Weep.

You can do the rest of your homework yourself. Not my job. The original poster is correct. You won’t tell him you’re sorry, though. You lack the class.

Mar 13, 2009 - 11:55 pm 96. californiataxslave:

The Democrats have gerrymandered voting in California so much that voting is truly worthless. What is the point of having a vote if the single party that runs our state can tortuously map the voting district line so as to ensure their continued power, with the most radical, left-wing among them, to boot.

Mar 14, 2009 - 8:03 am 97. Pops in Vienna:

I see more and more comments posted on PJ blogs suggesting that we need another revolution. It’s not surprising because our so called elected leaders have become a ruling class who seem to have a deaf ear to the people. I think the recent series of bail out bills prove my point. All our leaders lack are royal titles. Today we are less represented than we were under King George.

I still can’t figure out how John McCain won the Republican nomination. How on earth can slimey people like Pelosi, Reid and Obama get elected to any kind of office, much less a federal one?

Yep, something seems broke. I doubt if the people who hold office now will make the slightest attempt to fix it. In their view, some people were meant to ride and others were meant to be ridden. They’ll continue to bleed us until we drop.

There is some consolation in the fact that the pin head college students who voted for Obama will be the ones ultimately stuck with paying all the bills. Serves them right and if they end up living in straw huts, all the better because it will be “green”.

It takes a certain kind of person to deserve, earn and fight for freedom. There are very few of that type left anymore. As much as I would like to see term limits, tossing all the bums out or even a revolution…it ain’t gonna happen. We have become a nation of sheeple.

Mar 14, 2009 - 11:01 am 98. Stuart Eugene Thiel:

I’m shocked, shocked to hear that the Democrats voted for an important bill many of them hadn’t read.

It’s only OK to vote on unread bills that are trivial. Trivial like the Patriot Act, which GOP congressthugs voted for before the ink was dry. Apparently they didn’t read the Patriot Act II, the Iraq War Resolution, the Homeland Security Bill and the Bankruptcy Bill, etc. either. But every Democrat really ought to read every bill s/he votes on. If they don’t have time to read the bill, they don’t have time to vote. Right On!

I’d bet that very few GOP congressthugs read much of any bill handed to them by their Leaders. Not even the sponsors. They wouldn’t dare. After all, most GOP legislation is written on K Street. Can’t insult the corporations by implying their bill isn’t perfect. And Tom and Dick and Newt were not men you crossed.

As for the Democrats, maybe they picked up their lazy habit over 1995-2006, when Tom and Dick and Newt saw to it that only Republicans would have any input on important legislation, by cutting intra-party deals behind closed doors and then voting en bloc. Why would Democrats bother reading the bill? Better to go home and watch the Simpsons.

Even the GOP backbenchers might have lost the habit of reading the bill when they learned that handpicked congressional aides (a/k/a fall guys) were inserting language into the bills in the middle of the night after the House-Senate conferees had settled on what they naively thought was the final version. They wouldn’t have read the bill even if they had read it. So what’s the point?

And who would take the time to read the bill if he or she knew that the President would declare and exercise a fictitious right to ignore any inconvenient parts of the bill altogether?

I agree, the Democrats ain’t perfect. It would be much better if they were liberals. But they’re only playing by the rules they’ve learned over the past fifteen years. Lump it.

Mar 14, 2009 - 12:04 pm 99. weirdone:

A couple of months ago there was an article on the net with a link to a civics test. The average American scored 47% on the test; the average elected official scored 44%. I took that test on line and scored 97%, passed it around to friends who paid attention to what goes on in the country and they averaged about 77%. I wonder why the country is in such straights when the average voter’s abysmal score is higher than their elected officials.

Mar 14, 2009 - 5:06 pm 100. HEWLESS:

Royalty, hardly. Hillbilly is a better term for this cabinet and this POTUS.

Mar 15, 2009 - 4:27 pm 101. deguello:

#99 It’s called public”education”.

Mar 18, 2009 - 5:28 am 102. Nelson Lee Walker:

As long as professional politicians are allowed to make a career of Congress, we will never be able to make constructive changes in the way Congress operates.

There is ONLY ONE infallible way to eliminate careeerism in Congress, and that is to do
a VOTER-IMPOSED term limit on every seat in Congress. We must NEVER REELECT any Congressman or Senator, NEVER!

Whether he is a good guy, or a bum. Whether he has served only one term or ten. Whether he is a Republican, Democrat, moderate, Indie, Greenie, or 3rd party. Simply NEVER REELECT ANYONE IN CONGRESS. Vote only for challengers.

If we do this for 3 or 4 election cycles, and reduce the reelection rates of incumbents from the current 95% down to 60%, they will absolutely get the message, and may give us a bill for a Congressional Term Limits Amendment. If they don’t, we only need to keep it up and NEVER REELECT, which gives us TERM LIMITS by default! Which is a “voter-imposed term limit”.

This is the only unstoppable, infallible way to make term limits happen! The American voter must IMPOSE TERM LIMITS on Congress, by NEVER REELECTING anyone in Congress.

In other words, don’t let anyone serve more than one term. That’s the only way to teach
them that the voter is their boss! and that Congress as a career WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!.

Let’s wise up, and start voting for our country! NEVER REELECT ANYONE IN CONGRESS!

Forget about who wins the White House. It is in the Congress where the changes need to be made. The 95% reelection rate in Congress has created a corrupt, arrogant class of professional politicians who are only interested in being reelected forever, regardless of the country’s problems.

One of the reasons our government is permanently dominated by that class of professional politicians who make a career of getting reelected forever, is that WE, THE VOTERS, are all obsessed with party politics. When has party politics done us any good? Look at the mess we are in!

Half of us are straight-ticket Democrats, the other half are straight-ticket Republicans, and the few ‘Independents’ in between are uselessly spread out among Libertarians, Greens, so-called “moderates”, 3rd parties, etc, and it has been this way for years and years.

Let’s wise up, and start voting for our country! NEVER REELECT ANYONE IN CONGRESS!

Nelson Lee Walker of tenurecorrupts.com , Saratoga, CA

Jun 18, 2009 - 2:03 pm 103. gaetano:

I think each state should have an election and pick two people to run for president. Then all states will have a chosen pick Then The election will have 50 people to run for president.Now the election begins.That would be the vote of the people. BUT the first eligibility of a president should be, that he or she should be a militay person of at least a major or better, because the first job of the president is to protect our country.

Oct 31, 2009 - 5:33 am 104. gaetano:

also, forget about democrats and republicans .We should get rid of these names.There should not be blue states or red states.There should only be people elected. To many people just vote for a stupid color like red or blue,to many people vote democrat or republican just for the stupid words.People should vote the individgual .

Oct 31, 2009 - 5:42 am

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