Roger’s Rules

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October 6th, 2008 5:57 am

ThrowTheBumsOut.org

As far as I know, it doesn’t exist yet, but why doesn’t some enterprising soul–a “community organizer” of a sort different what what we’ve seen recently–get it going. “Throw the Bums Out dot Org”: it has a certain ring to it, no? Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit points to a Rasmussen poll showing that 59 percent would vote to replace the entire Congress.

Quoth Reynolds: “Count me among them.”

Me, too.

And that 59 percent figure is about to zoom higher as the true dimensions of our Congress-enabled financial crisis become clearer.

As late as 2003, Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, was telling the American people that

“These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis. The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”

Barney Frank. The Community Reinvestment Act. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “Affordable Housing.” What does it all mean? Let me repeat a few facts assembled by Thomas Sowell–I quoted them yesterday, but they bear repeating:

Fact Number One: It was liberal Democrats, led by Senator Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, who for years– including the present year– denied that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taking big risks that could lead to a financial crisis.

It was Senator Dodd, Congressman Frank and other liberal Democrats who for years refused requests from the Bush administration to set up an agency to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It was liberal Democrats, again led by Dodd and Frank, who for years pushed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to go even further in promoting subprime mortgage loans, which are at the heart of today’s financial crisis.

Alan Greenspan warned them four years ago. So did the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the President. So did Bush’s Secretary of the Treasury, five years ago. [Don't believe it? Read this.]

Yet, today, what are we hearing? That it was the Bush administration “right-wing ideology” of “de-regulation” that set the stage for the financial crisis.

The bottom line?

The mortgage market as an instrument of socialist economic redress, i.e., the redistribution of wealth come hell or high water.
Irresponsible lending as the law of the land, the people and their wishes be damned.

The distant rumble you hear is the sound of burgeoning democratic anger preparing to expel the smirking, incompetent toadies who orchestrated and presided over this catastrophe. Will it achieve critical mass by November 4? It is too early to say. But the longer the rumble proceeds without action, the angrier the people will be.

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89 Comments

1. Don:

Given Congressman Frank, barely survived an ethics investigation with a male brothel operating out of his house his ” character trait” of honesty is in doubt. Should it shock anyone that now pottery affectionado Herb Moses left Fannie, or that he was Frank’s button man for the noble but naive notion that ” everyone should own a house, and we can create new! Improved! lower cost! mortgages.

Oct 6, 2008 - 6:24 am 2. Paul:

Yes!

But: “The distant rumble you hear is the sound of burgeoning democratic anger preparing to expel the smirking, incompetent toadies who orchestrated and presided over this catastrophe. Will it achieve critical mass by November 4? It is too early to say. But the longer the rumble proceeds without action, the angrier the people will be.”

And, unfortunately, the lower-case “d” of “democratic” is correct.

The upper-cases don’t seem to be angry at all; and the interval between now and election day is all too short.

Oct 6, 2008 - 7:37 am 3. Lori:

Absolutely agreed TTBO – and only vote for new ones that agree to impose term limits on themselves as the first act of the “new” Congress. Two terms for senators and 3 or 4 for representatives ought to give anyone enough time to get some work done while keeping their feet planted firmly within their real professions, which would be anything but professional politician.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:06 am 4. john henry:

Amen Roger,

With Congressional approval in the teens, and the 59% Rasmussen poll, maybe this is the year.

We need people like you and Glenn reminding everyone every day from now to November that each of us has in our hands the ability to vote every one of the Reps out as well as 1/3 of the Senate.

IT is time. Anyone who votes for any incumbent of either party is not only part of the problem, they ARE the problem.

As for the argument that new and inexperienced reps might be worse? How could they possibly be?

Remember, it takes less than a 10% shift in even the safest of safe seats to oust about 90% of incumbents.

John Henry

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:15 am 5. betsybounds:

Well I’ve been saying for some time that we’ve reached a point where our entire government lacks legitimacy–no one approves of the governing branches, legislative and executive. That disapproval has only been increasing. The question is, what do we do about it? I mean, they continue to have the power to take our money and boss us around, whether we approve of them or not. It’s going to take more than disapproving polls to make them change. At some point a very real question of rebellion may arise, at which point our military may need to decide whether to support the governing authorities or the populace, or to possibly remain neutral. Where’s Bill Bennett these days? I’m reminded of the time a few years back when he was being pressed to run for president, and he said that that would be like trying to clean up the Mafia by running for Godfather. Then he said, “When you’ve reached the point when you’re ready to grab your pitchforks and march on Washington, I’m your man.”

Are we there yet?

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:19 am 6. betheweb:

Concur. Throw the rascals out. The Democrats who blocked Fannie/Freddie reform, the Republicans who bellied up for defense contractor handouts, throw them all out. While I realize an honest politician is almost an oxymoron, could we at least get some who see reducing our astronomical energy costs and restrictive regulations as a starting point for an America that can intelligently address social issues. By that I mean such needed reforms as more drilling and nuclear, flex fuel vehicles (drop ethanol subsidies), remove mark-to-market rules, re-examine Sarbanes-Oxley.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:21 am 7. TmjUtah:

I’ve been calling for TTBO for months.

We already took care of our incumbent in the primary.

The major psychological component of the congress’ behavior is that they have absolutely no fear of a sane cause/effect relationship.

They could take checks on the steps of the capitol on live video (instead of in the cloakrooms or on the jets as they do now) and they’d be unscathed.

Next week businesses start to fail in earnest. There’s a better than fair chance that losing election will be replaced by other, more pressing fears in the minds of our Public Servants.

Lampost. Congressman. Rope.

It’s a PUZZLE!

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:22 am 8. JinnyB:

I’m up for it. And why wait on the Senators that aren’t up for re-election in November? There’s a little thing called “recalls” that let voters gather signatures and remove politicians from office – something everyone seems to have forgotten about. It’s the voters most potent method of dealing with rogue politicians – a weapon of next-to-last-resort.

And, honestly, if any more “bailouts” come up for a vote in either the House or Senate, there are more than a few of us out here seriously considering “invoking the 2nd”.

New Political Recipe. Ingredients: Pitchforks, Rope, Lamppost, Noose, Politicians. Directions: Mix well. Apply. Repeat until all politicians have been used up, or all lampposts in Washington DC are full….

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:22 am 9. Self-hating boomer:

The problem with that concept is that that 59% is generally right of center. So as long as it’s voluntary, what will end up happening is the Republicans and moderate Democrats will be thrown out, and the “safe” Democrats (who are generally the most extreme) will stay.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:24 am 10. airth10:

To bad we can’t throw out the pundits and commentators like this one who exacerbates things by engendering and fanning partisanship with their language of hate.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:25 am 11. James Stephenson:

I feel a premonition coming on. You will be invaded by many obama-bots. You can tell who they are though, they shamble around glassy eyed with little thinking. Kind of like zombies.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:26 am 12. Sandy P:

To the pitchforks!

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:27 am 13. Joan of Argghh!:

How about an initiative that provides an indicator on every voting ballot that identifies the incumbent?

As it is, if their name sounds familiar, vote ‘em out. Even the good judges. Good judges go bad more frequently than bad ones go good.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:30 am 14. JinnyB:

My mistake in the recipe. “Apply.” should have been “Apply liberal-ly.”

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:31 am 15. PJ:

Well, let’s hope so. But with the media on the Democrats’ side, I doubt that will happen.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:34 am 16. Steve:

Count me in. God help us, because many “liberal democrats” actually want our economy to fail. I’m a conservative, but I work for a hard core liberal organization (don’t ask). Last Friday my boss said, “We’ve been waiting since the 60s for capitalism to fail.” Maybe he’s a communist; I don’t know. I do know that he’s happy with the Democratic status quo.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:35 am 17. Steven Jackson:

I propose ‘After two you’re through’ as a slogan. The idea is that after two terms it’s all over.

So right now, most of them would go.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:41 am 18. Self-hating boomer:

And that 59 percent figure is about to zoom higher as the true dimensions of our Congress-enabled financial crisis become clearer.

I wish I could be so optimistic. The press is so in bed with the perps on this one, it’s going to be an epic struggle to get the true story out to the people who need to hear it most, but who only get their news from the alphabet soup networks and the dead tree media. I predict that if they address the true cause of this debacle at all, it’ll be like their treatment of the Ayers connection; a drive-by-night attempt to whitewash it.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:42 am 19. ELC:

Everybody hates the Congress, year after year. Almost every incumbent who stands for re-election gets re-elected, election after election. If folks think things are bad now, it’s only because the permanent fixtures in the Congress haven’t had enough time yet to screw things up worse. If folks haven’t connected the dots yet, when do you think they ever will? As I blogged three years ago: “Blame Bush for everything? Blame Clinton for everything? Bah. If you want to know whom to blame for the stinking, bloated bureaucracy of the federal government, look no further than the stinking, bloated gasbags whom a stupid electorate sends to the Congress. Over and over and over again. Election after election after election. Decade after decade after decade.”

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:42 am 20. Matt:

Let’s hope we hear more of this during the debate on Tuesday… There is plenty of blame to go around, but the Democrats have been acting as if it is everyone’s problem but theirs. It is the majority’s fault when they were the minority and now it is the minority’s fault when they are in the majority. Makes you wonder what the plan is if they manage to win this election… who are they going to find to blame?

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:42 am 21. Algen:

Too bad Senator Dodd and Congressman Frank can not be held financially responsible for their actions. Hopefully a way will be found to hold them criminally responsible. At the least the voting public needs to be made aware that this is the kind of change Obama is talking about.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:42 am 22. libertexian:

Gerald Ford is the last major party Prez candidate for whom I have voted. I was prepared to vote for McCain 8 yrs ago and have wanted to vote for him this year. However…

Congress’s actions have blown me out of the water. I am now a confirmed Libertarian.

Bye-bye Rep. Bye-bye Senator. No need to come home, your services no longer have value.

Libertexian

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:44 am 23. Allen:

throwthebumsout.org is already taken – great idea tho

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:46 am 24. DON OBRIEN:

I see Scarborough, Noonan, Murphy, Buchannan, Wills et al refusing to engage the dems on this and other issues. What gives with these supposedly conservative and intelligent people? Afraid they won’t be invited back to hawk their books? Hatred of McCain? Does anyone know? It’s embarassing.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:47 am 25. M. Stephen Lamb:

A “Rasmussen poll showing that 59 percent would vote to replace the entire Congress.”

Uh, yeah, just so long as it’s not *my congressman* who has to go. I mean, my guy has buried our community in Big Pork, and we love him for it! Yeah, it’s just those other big spending idiots that need to go.

And I really mean it this time, coz I’m as mad as hell and I ain’t gonna take it anymore!

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:48 am 26. Rob McNickle:

Roger, a bud of mine recently wrote a book titled “Dump the Incumbents.”

http://www.amazon.com/Dump-Incumbents-26-Reasons-Z/dp/0741445166/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223307962&sr=8-1

It is not left or right, but advocates that we return to the concept of “citizen legislators” upon which America was founded. Senator Tom Coburn is probably the best example of this today that I am aware of.

Unfortunately, I don’t think enough of us are aware for your “critical mass” to become a reality. I think it was Madison who said, “A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy… a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” Jefferson made a simillar point.

I still hold hope that we will figure this out before we completely destroy what has made America great.

Rob McNickle

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:48 am 27. GW Crawford:

People have short memories adn do not understand that something this big did not happen over night

With the Democrats controlling the media, all blame will be placed on Bush. IT DOES NOT MATTER that he tried to solve this before it became a problem

The US will have a Alinkyist socialist as president and a houseful of Democrats and a Senate full as well.

Don’t worry though, lots of Republicans will be persecuted for this and blame will be placed and Americans assured that this would never happen under a Maoist-ish presidency

Congress will then authorize more power to the president because, if they didn’t, they’d be racist

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:50 am 28. Craig T.:

You’re wrong about one thing unfortunately. That distant rumble is the sound of people running toward the candidate who offers even more Socialism.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:52 am 29. George Dainis:

“Will it achieve critical mass by November 4?”

Not a chance. I live in Barney Frank’s district. He has an opponent, but to date I have yet to see a sign, flyer, news story (mainstream, local, or otherwise), or anything else about him. Totally invisible.

You can’t “expel the smirking, incompetent toadies who orchestrated and presided over this catastrophe” if there is a lack of even a minimal attempt to run against them.

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:52 am 30. johne:

Back in 2002 I wrote a piece suggesting a fix for the house of Representatives- stop electing Representatives and start drafting them from the general population for single 3-year terms. perhaps it’s time to think about it again. My brother reposted that article at Weekendpundit.org today and I think it still holds up just fine.

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:00 am 31. stan:

We will continue to get the government we have as long the voters continue to get the “news” that they get now. If we don’t change the left-wing propaganda monopoly masquerading as news, nothing is going to change. Conservatives whine and wring their hands about the unfairness of the MSM, but no one does anything constructive about trying to get the facts to the undecided voter. Preaching to the choir (blogs and talk radio) isn’t getting it done.

It won’t get better until the MSM’s claim to being unbiased is systematically destroyed. You can’t destroy what you fear to confront. Conservatives, including their political candidates, have to publicly call out the MSM as propagandists. They have to attack their news as illegitimate, as lies. And they have to provide an alternative source of honest news for the disinterested, apolitical voters who presently decide elections.

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:00 am 32. Joe:

Just throwing the rascals out won’t change a thing. We need core reforms, like replacing the 17th amendment with one requiring senators to be appointed by states and greatly expanding and setting the number of representatives to be a direct related to population. The commerce clause needs to be tightened and tax breaks for specific markets banned.

Congress itself should eliminate the departments of education and HUD, greatly reduce the department of energy, health and the EPA and get rid of the war on drugs. They should de-federalize any crimes not related to interstate commerce and other areas where the federal government needs to be the controlling authority. We should probably pull out of Afghanistan; nobody has ever won a war there, I don’t see how we would be any different. All GSEs should be eliminated.

None of this will happen because it all deals with the federal government surrendering power. Governments rarely do that and even then they are usually trading one power for another.

In the end, I’m coming to the conclusion that only revolution will solve this.

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:07 am 33. plainslow:

Maybe we should let them pick 10% from each party to stay (independents and other small parties keep what they got). That way someone knows the procedures.

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:10 am 34. JMH:

A “Rasmussen poll showing that 59 percent would vote to replace the entire Congress.”

Well, in my case, my Rep voted against this pork-package. Twice. And in general has been a decent guy not gobbling up port, but then he’s a second-term Republican, meaning he has almost as little influence in Congress as I do. The Dem running against him is a disaster who I actually used to work with and wouldn’t put in charge of organizing the Company Picnic, let alone anything important. But that’s the conundrum. I can’t vote against the weasels other districts keep sending, and I’m getting to the point where I think I need that power. I think the country needs a method for voting “No Confidence” in Congress that carries teeth and lets the rest of the country do something about Massachusetts and Delaware and Chicago etc.

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:17 am 35. bobby b:

” . . . we’ve reached a point where our entire government lacks legitimacy . . .”
– - –

I’m probably just arguing meaningless word choice, here – quibbling, really – but just in case . . .

No, no, no!

Our government is never illegitimate. Under our “constitutional republic” form of government, the periodic electing of representatives at the proper and mandated times legitimizes that government for at least as long as the terms of office of the officeholders in question.

Unpopularity does not delegitimize a government. It just makes it messy.

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:17 am 36. br549:

I agree with Steve. There are many who actually want capitalism to fail. It does not make a particle of sense. Unless you are “in” with the small circle who will “run things”, you too will be out in the cold, only getting what is given to you. No matter how hard you work, how smart you are. Lock and load can’t be too far around the corner. Anyone who could not understand why liberals hate the second amendment, and don’t want anyone to have guns, you are beginning to see why, are you not?

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:23 am 37. david:

I’ve been stewing on this idea for a few months now. I was thinking perhaps “firecongress.org” (no, haven’t checked if it’s available). The national group organizes committees in each district of volunteers whose job is to recruit and promote opposition candidates both in the primary and in the general election. Don’t care if it’s your party, don’t care if you like them, every single one must go. It’s non-partisan and not specific to any particular representative or senator. There’s nowhere near enough time this cycle, but with some momentum and favorable new-media press, there might just be a shot at wiping out a good number of representatives two years from now. The time is past due. Of course it would take six years to fire the whole Senate, but if we could make a good dent in the first third, at least some of the remainder might be a bit more worried.

So, who’s up for it? I’m dead serious. Let’s get this thing started.

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:39 am 38. rrr:

Airth, you’re funny. Naive, but funny. You know, it may surprise you to discover that you don’t HAVE to read anything. And if enough people don’t, then the columnist gets fired. Unfortunately, I have to live under the mess your hero Barney Frank created. And there is nothing I can do to get Frank fired. Truly, though, you deserve him; you get what you bargained for. I, on the other hand, do not, yet I suffer for your stupidity.

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:40 am 39. Curly Smith:

The “sweeteners” in the bailout must be bigger than I imagined. Previously, Congress had a 9% approval rating so the extra 32% must be getting something in the largest taxpayer fraud to date.

One quick question: if fraud is a crime and bribery is a crime then does the double negative behavior of bribing Congress with “sweeteners” to commit fraud cancel out?

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:41 am 40. ehunter:

If anyone thinks Barney Frank will be thrown out they are delusional. Frank will be relected precisely because he caused so much damage. Frank has been pushing the buttons of the liberal Boston electorate with supreme
skill now for 30 years. All he needs to do is
play the caring compassion card and the libs will drool with Pavlovian precision. It will go like this, Barney will be on the media with the poor blacks etc whose sub-prime mortaged houses were “taken” from them by the Bush Administration. He will cry, hug, and bond for the TV cameras and say something like..”I tried..I did my best for the poor…I wanted it to work so badly, forgive me”, and presto…Frank will be cheered and loved even more. And the “rednecks” in Tennesee who are stuck with the bill? Well they deserve it after all they are “intolerant” and “racist” arent they?

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:47 am 41. John:

All well and good. But, remember: Barney Frank (as with most Democrats from, oh, Massachusetts, for example, and every so-called “minority” district) faces only token opposition. Remember, too, the percentage of Americans who have their hands out. The reality is, until Atlas shrugs, I wouldn’t expect much by way of “change,” no matter who is elected President.

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:47 am 42. Darla:

Count my family to vote against anyone that has been in ofice more than 15 minutes.I have never been so upset at our “leadership” than I am right now.

Current Congress needs thrown into oblivion

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:52 am 43. John Calomiris:

I am for term limits but I don`t think it will come to pass.Do you think that the rich bloodsuckers who refer to each other as Distinguished,Homorable etc will ever give keys to the vault?

There is another idea that I have thought about:

Make up candidate pool of people who can pass an American History test,have never held public office above city positions,have term limits of three years for each house,public financing for president not to exceed 1,000,000 for each state,no signs extolling the candidates,etc.

Change the constitution with an amendment incorporating the above points.

Remove any incumbent who will not vote for an amendment

Oct 6, 2008 - 9:54 am 44. Sissy Willis:

Bush’s fault! At least that’s what Barney & Company keep telling us. It really depends upon whether our fellow Americans wake up and smell the stench of the spin of Democrats and their fellow travelers in the media.

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:06 am 45. Once Again: the Current Financial Crisis is the Fault of… « Chiefly Musing:

[...] Once Again: the Current Financial Crisis is the Fault of… Jump to Comments …prominent Democratic Party politicians. [...]

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:19 am 46. solidstate:

Roger’s post is a concise summary of the apoloplectic rage washing over much of the U.S. Whether it’s people who think that more regulation is needed to forestall a financial meltdown like this one or those who (like me) believe the opposite, everyone can agree that the current crop of legislators has done more than their share of mischief, and that the rest of us are paying the tab. But while I’m all for throwing the bums out, I hope this collective rage is channeled toward a longer-lasting goal, as well.

As the Rasmussen article Roger links to mentions, our legislators have engineered (”gerrymandered”) voting districts for themselves that make voting them out extremely difficult. What to do? Term limits seem like one promising response that theoretically could be implemented soon.

Twenty years ago, I found the concept of term limits ridiculous. Now I think they may be essential to our national health and welfare — due to a generation of feckless legislation, self-dealing, and cynical politicking. These legislative follies, which cross party lines, are the natural result of the incentives that a potential lifetime career in politics creates.

In other words, these would-be “leaders” are simply responding to “market” forces in the federal government as it exists today. How ironic that they’ve passed bill after bill whose own economic incentives helped lead us all to this disaster. Garbage and corruption “in,” garbage and corruption “out,” I guess.

As they clearly cannot stop themselves, they must be stopped by law. Otherwise, in throwing out one set of bums, we’ll almost certainly just replace them with another.

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:25 am 47. luagha:

Another part of the problem is the seniority system in Congress. You have to keep voting a senator in if you want him to have enough seniority to sit on a committee and get something done. The whole seniority system would have to be dramatically changed with term limits.

(And about time.)

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:27 am 48. Space Cowboy:

I’m all up for unelecting Congress this November. If this political fury ever gains a focus–especially one that focuses on the bailout con and the economy, our political class will receive their much needed mauling.

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:28 am 49. ed:

Throwing the bums out has been tried. The public mood gets that way every so often, and sometimes significant shifts occur.

It seems to me, though, after years of thinking about it, that the real change needs to be in the seniority based system that both parties use to award the plum legislative positions. The current system gives all the leadership power in congress to save-seat people, who are nearly always (right or left) the least representative of the nation as a whole.

I’d say, throw the bums out of leadership. Find some way to force congress to submit their leadership choices to a national public referendum. We have the technology. The people who would be interested in voting in such a process would be, by definition, more informed.

Justs a thought.

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:31 am 50. cedarford:

Tossing the bums out will not fix anything without structural reforms – including to the Constitution – to restore accountability and make America globally competitive again.

The Constitution has not been Amended in a significant way to fix it’s broken parts over any special interest opposition since 1962, when the Poll Tax was ended.
All the Governors have line item vetos. The President is Constitutionally barred from that by the “wisdom” of the Venerated Parchment, and Congress has long figured out how to take advantage of that and tie pork to vital funding he cannot veto.

But even with the line item veto, 16 States are now in the Red, following the Feds as wastrel debtors to China and other fiscally responsible countries, as well as plutocrats buying up the debt instruments our grandkids will pay off unless they start smothering baby boomers in another 10 years with pillows…

You have Dems promising goodies to those 40-50% of residents that pay no taxes from those that still do.
You have Republicans that squandered their 1994 Revolution in corruption, incompetence, military adventurism, and ideological vanity..Republicans who have finally killed Reagan voodoo economics regarding tax cuts automatically paying for themselves, “trickledown”, “deficits don’t matter”, “dereg all free markets and let the responsible people on Wall Street be free to look after the best interests of themselves and the country”.

And how both Parties were bribed and bought into supporting Open Borders, free trade with no conditions with nations where labor cost 1/10th of US wages – to enrich a wealthy minority of investors that ladled out political donations..

The American Republic has had one major Revolution(The Civil War), and several mini-Revolutions (Jacksonian Democracy, Trust-Busting, The New Deal, Civil Rights Era, Reaganism) where bad parts of the Constitution were patched up, even fixed – or The People forced major reforms on our economic and political elites.

We need another as big as the New Deal or Jacksonian Democracy but under the Civil War level, hopefully – to force change to obsolete sections of the Constitution and thoroughly corrupted institutions like Congress, “free trade”, and strict regulation of financial entities.

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:37 am 51. wjr:

It’s not going to happen. There is no way that we will “throw the bums out”. As a group we are too lazy, too ignorant and too diluted by new “citizens” from thug states who do not have enough western context to be electors.

For years the left has been working to turn the citizens of this country into a proletariat. Socialism now has enough blinded proles to get the “revo” going. For goodness sake — we are on the verge of electing a Marxist metromale lawyer who is a cypher. And the GOP is behaving like a bunch of pansies — until now too prissy to mention that Bambi has no philosophical basis in Western civilization and consorts with vicious racists, Chicago crooks and bomb throwing radicals. Indeed, it may vary well be that much of his enormous stash of cash is from off shore.

The Republic, as we know it, is ending.

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:44 am 52. Mark:

A DFW-area talk-show host has http://www.blowoutcongress.com/ — does that count?

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:53 am 53. cubanbob:

The only way out is political reform.
Abolish gerrymandering. All house (and state) districts need to conform with the census bureau defined metropolitan areas. While imperfect, this proposal will tamp down the excesses of either ideological as their will far fewer truly safe seats.
Abolish same day voter registration, anyone that isn’t registered to vote 90 days before an election should not be allowed to vote. To minimize fraud there needs to be a reasonable amount of time for the elections department to verify that the applicant is qualified to vote.
Abolish the right of convicted criminals and others who have had their civil rights restricted by court order.
Abolish the campaign reform laws. Allow any citizen of the US in full possession of their civil rights to give as much and as often to whatever candidate and party they choose to. Abolish all 527 and related schemes that do not clearly identify donors. All contributors need to be clearly identified by name, city and state and profession. Allow business to contribute as well as long as the board explicitly allows for it and the chief executive officers are clearly identified by name and title in the case of a public company and the name of the owner/officer of a privately held company. Unions and non profits that canvass for a candidate,party or specific ballot initiatives should be included as a donor for reporting purposes with the authorizing official’s name and position listed as well.
Voter fraud should be elevated to a major felony with a mandatory minimum prison sentence and stiff fine and in addition a lifetime ban on voting and employment in a government agency.
Eliminate all pension and other perks to US congress members. Raise their salaries to 300 thousand per representative and 400 thousand per senator and have social security and medicare to be their only government paid for retirement benefits. Considering the size of the government, that is not a particularly high figure. However strip them of all of the other perks. No special parking at DC airports, all of the senate and house perks gone, no air force plane rides (unless to war zones or to military bases on previously scheduled trips to those bases) and all other travel at coach rates and with airline points belonging to the government (if ticket paid by the government).

Subject all government spending other than core functions (defense,law enforcement, debt service and contractual pensions and regulatory agencies) to a sunset clause the requires re authorization every five years and eliminate the automatic COLA for all spending including entitlements. Let Congress do its work instead of buck passing. Eliminate all spending mandates on the states, cities and private entities. Let Congress appropriate the funds if it deems it important enough to be funded.

Finally pass the Milton Friedman amendment to the Constitution which would limit all levels of government combined not to exceed the 20% level in taxation. Eliminate all tax deductions and institute a flat tax with a high personal exemption and make all contributions to social security the personal property of the payer and left over contributions at the time of death to be distributed to the designated heirs in the form of tax exempt distributions to the heirs retirement plan (IRA, 401k etc) along with restrictions on eminent domain for the purposes other than for specific government building structures such as roads, schools and other public works. Ban all civil service unions and compulsory union membership.

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:54 am 54. Don H.:

There is a website called http://www.goooh.com but it’s only for the house. Stands for get them out of our house. Also http://gooohc.sslcert35.com/home.aspx

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:55 am 55. B. Klingler:

In light of your call for a ThrowTheBumsOut.org, I attach my comments to clients from Thursday:

Yet another rant:

I wrote this Tuesday morning after the 9% drop in the S&P 500 Index Monday:

It looks as if some of the vote panderers who were cowed by constituent phone calls into rejecting yesterday’s bill are rethinking things in the wake of the market’s reaction. I have a feeling that the phone calls coming in this morning are in support of a bill.

Tuesday afternoon Bloomberg reported:

Lawmakers received a flurry of calls demanding that they revive the U.S. economy after the House’s rejection of a $700 billion financial-rescue plan triggered a record drop in stocks, House aides said.

Surprise, surprise… “No bailout for bankers!!” became “Congress, save us!!” overnight. Maybe we deserve the idiots we have. After all, in the 1990s as specific members of Congress worked assiduously to ensure the current debacle would eventually happen by mandating that more and more unqualified borrowers be served, charging Fannie and Freddie with making a market for the resulting subprime mortgages, and resisting any meaningful oversight of the two mortgage giants (that’s right, the subprime mortgage market was the intended consequence of all the political maneuvering, and was boasted about by the various movers involved), their constituents continued to return them to their seats on Capitol Hill. This can mean one of two things; either these constituents are utterly ignorant of what their Congressmen are up to, and thereby should have forfeited their suffrage, or they approved of the dangerous plots their political representatives were crafting, and thereby should stand accused next to them, and apologize to their fellow American taxpayers. There is no third way. And since universal suffrage is guaranteed in the Constitution and its Amendments, the only choice is the second one.

Friday:

I wrote this on Tuesday:

As if they needed any further evidence, yesterday’s TARP bill vote should convince all those not yet sure of it that Washington doesn’t care about the economy except as a political talking point.

I’m afraid it is worse than that. The Senate passed its version of TARP Wednesday night. The original Paulson plan was about three pages long. The section of the Senate bill that actually deals with the economic crisis is 112 pages long. That’s bad enough, but the entire bill is 451 pages long (I’ve saved a PDF of it; e-mail me if you would like a copy). The largest section by far is a grab bag of Greens’ favored environmentalist legislation that has not passed on its own. That section is 148 pages; that’s right 148 pages, 32% larger than the section that was supposedly the point of the plan. Among the smorgasbord of spending, industrial policy and tax proposals, you will find an attempt to start treating carbon dioxide emissions as taxable income for publicly traded partnerships (this even as the earth has been cooling for at least five years). No kidding.

There are two other sections, a 90 page section trying to fix the execrable alternative minimum tax, and extend tax benefits to favored businesses. Included in this section is a portion titled “Subtitle B – Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008”. That one is 33 pages long. The last section is 100 pages long and deals with Federal land payments to states and counties and regulation of Federal land projects.

So, the broader economy is now showing the obvious effects of the current money panic rippling out, with non-farm payrolls falling 159,000 in September (analysts were expecting a loss of 100,000 jobs), corporations cutting back as access to capital dries up and small businesses searching in vain for loans to keep operating. At the same time, the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body decides now is the time to sneak in a bunch of environmentally and economically dubious taxing and spending. I thought the Senators were supposed to be the grownups on the Hill. The House Republicans can blame themselves for this bloated piece of, er… legislation. What say we all simply vote for the challenger in every House and Senate race this year? Could it turn out worse?

And today:

No Morning Update; I’ve tried to muster up further cynicism but just can’t.

A couple of things:

The S&P 500 is under 1100 for the first time in over four years. Other asset prices continue to crater as banks worldwide simply won’t extend credit. For over a year, the Fed, Congress and the White House have taken just about every wrong step possible and now money cannot be had. I believe it is time to throw the bums out. Are you with me or agin’ me?

Futures are down sharply this morning, suggesting an open down at least 2%, continuing the selloff that started Friday afternoon as a better than 300 point gain in the Dow Industrials ended with a 157 point loss on the day. Apparently investors were not impressed with Congress’ goody-basket bill in the midst of one of the worst global credit crises in history.

You will note the progression in sentiment.

Oct 6, 2008 - 10:57 am 56. Mareyel:

Regarding term limits, be careful what you ask for because you just might get it. We have term limits here in Florida and all it’s brought us is a legislature too dumb to get out of it’s own way and a fistful of laws actually written by lobbyists. The newby legislators are too ignorant of how things get done or should get done that they let the lobbyists write the bills that they pass! Throwing this crew out will only get another new and probably dumber crew in.

Term limits are not the only answer. Americans have to take SOME responsibility for who represents them in Congress…we must take time to find out what they are doing, keep in constant touch with them, and vote for or against with more knowledge that what letter is next to their name.

Oct 6, 2008 - 11:01 am 57. Charles:

From the National Review

Open this link to see a brilliant diagram of all of ACORN’s work, and the Senators and presidential candidates who make it happen. Dodd, Frank, Schumer, and of course Barack Obama are stuck in the swamp of self-dealing, corruption, and politicial machinations, all masquerading as social justice and cheap real estate for the poor, at quite large taxpayer expense. This is a savvy Democrat web site. Follow the link for a really astonishing set of Democratic web sites which compete with each other in their exposition of Obama’s perfidies, corruptions, and non-messianic attributes. Remember — former libs are much better at political knife fighting than those whose first instincts are, and remain, conservative.

Oct 6, 2008 - 11:48 am 58. LNF Yomo:

[...] “throwthebumsout.org” [...]

Oct 6, 2008 - 12:32 pm 59. Pixelkiller:

Ladies & Gents;
Prepare yourselves for a second “dose” of help from our government. This first dose wont work. I’d suggest buying your KY-Jelly by the bucket.

Oct 6, 2008 - 1:19 pm 60. jr:

Where’s the email button on this? I want to email it to the RNC and McCain staff. It should be in campaign ads ASAP.

Oct 6, 2008 - 1:29 pm 61. Bruce:

No need for violence…we should use the weapon that really hurts them..Money! I suggest a national citizens’ tax strike. We refuse to pay our Federal Income Tax until all of the members of Congress resign. Then we hold a special election to vote in all new members, and carry on. No need for big revolutions or rewriting the Constitution. No, it won’t fix everything, but the point is to give them all a big jolt to remind them who’s in charge here. It’s something that needs to be done from time to time in a democracy, and it’s about that time.

Oct 6, 2008 - 1:30 pm 62. el gordo:

JinnyB

I saw your prediction on another blog about the “economic hammers” coming on monday or tuesday. You called it right. How do you think this happened?

Oct 6, 2008 - 1:42 pm 63. sammytaylor.net:

[...] Roger Kimball suggests that we are ripe for a popular movement against congress. I sincerely hope he is right. I will make the vote on the bailout a serious consideration in all future elections. If I can possibly support a candidate who opposed this measure against one who supported it I will. Roger’s closing passage is this: The distant rumble you hear is the sound of burgeoning democratic anger preparing to expel the smirking, incompetent toadies who orchestrated and presided over this catastrophe. Will it achieve critical mass by November 4? It is too early to say. But the longer the rumble proceeds without action, the angrier the people will be. [...]

Oct 6, 2008 - 2:07 pm 64. billb:

These very same people wrote the IRA rules that requires me, having reached the age of 70 1/2, to SELL part of my retirement fund via the RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) into a government caused market meltdown!

Oct 6, 2008 - 2:27 pm 65. 'Uigi:

Hell, I’d join a torch and pitchfork mob. Frankenstein is up the hill? Just a moment while I collect my tools.

These loopy Senators and Representatives don’t appear to “represent” anyone but themselves. The shame is that Dodd and Frank voters continue to send their sorry ass reps back to DC time after time. To me, that shows a hideous “rot” in our standard of citizenship.

Oct 6, 2008 - 3:07 pm 66. Dave:

Start the movement! “Throw them out now, not later”! lol or “Drill them now, and make them pay” or better yet “Paybacks are mandatory, not optional!”

Oct 6, 2008 - 3:29 pm 67. cubanbob:

This debacle on Wall Street proves yet again the need for political reform. Bad enough as it is to have a $700 billion bailout on top of a multi trillion bailout of the Freddie and Fannie and throw in for seasoning AIG and Bear Stearns and what is there to show for it? Nothing. In the end nothing has been solved. The underlying problems have not been addressed and there is no mention of addressing them. Banks are not charities. Until we get bank to sensible banking policies along with actuarially sound insurance practices we have blown a astounding fortune on nothing.

Restore sound banking practices, require skin in the game for originators and lenders as well as borrowers and eliminate liar loans.
Take over the Freddy and Fanny GSE’s and stop pilling on more of those loans. Phase the GSE’s out over time. Not everyone can be a homeowner. Instead of trying to make everyone who should not be an owner, eliminate rent controls, density limits and other political impediments to reasonable rental housing.

The FDIC should charge depositors actuarially sound insurance rates to depositors over the $100,000 level and offer up to ten million in coverage if the risk is insurable within the parameters.Otherwise limit the amount to the basic maximum coverage. Allow depositors to deposit in any freely exchangeable currency and have those insured as well (up to the maximum at the daily exchange rate). And finally once again allow what FDR eliminated, bonds and contracts that are gold backed.

But without political reform, we will never have the economic reform to get us back on track to steady growth and low inflation and stable markets.

Oct 6, 2008 - 3:48 pm 68. Steynian 265 « Free Mark Steyn!:

[...] A NEW IDEA– ThrowTheBumsOut.org by Roger Kimball — “As far as I know, it doesn’t exist [...]

Oct 6, 2008 - 4:18 pm 69. gajim:

I’m all for TTBO, but my congress critter supports The Fair Tax. In fact, he wrote it. Can I loan my TTBO vote to somebody in CA? SF preferred. GO CINDY!!

Oct 6, 2008 - 4:19 pm 70. JJL:

I have been thinking along these lines as well. Here is my open request to “throw the bums out”:
All That Stands in the Way of The Mother of All Bailouts II is the November Election
I had mused last night that almost as soon as the ink was dry on the bailout bill, the theme would then focus onto the “We must do more” theme. I surmised that by late next week some new kind of giveaway would start making the rounds. I was glad to see this idea make the rounds today across many writing media (Krugman calls it Bailout 2.0, very nice!). On cue as the markets gave back all the day’s gains and then some the good old folks at CNBC have begun cheer leading for more money. This weekend will see this amplified, and so on.

Folks, we were screwed royally on this past bill. Every single poll, every single person I talked to was firmly against this action. FIRMLY. The Congress decided they knew so much more than their constituents. Maybe they do and most likely they do not but the point is if you are going to ignore 70% of the voters and do whatever you want, we might as well move to Iran or something. I mean, why continue the charade of democracy if wooden arrow shafts and other pork make a dead bill on Monday become awesome on Friday? Why indeed.

In between the current fleecing operation and the next one is one important little event: The November Elections. I have already seen a few starter plans out there to rally support for opponents of anyone that voted for this bill. This is a good start. Special attention should be paid to the cowardly vote changers that changed their minds when presented with cash handouts. In the next few days I am sure a solid, well organized plan will take shape and I will be donating money towards this goal. I strongly suggest you do as well.

We must do this, and more. What’s more is that a message must be sent here. No more bailouts. No more mismanagement of the economy and national finances. No more giving the voters the middle finger with no accountability. NO MORE.

If you are reading this blog and others like it I feel safe in assuming you have a good head on your shoulders. I will further state that I think most, if not all, are solid citizens just trying to do their best. Whatever your political leanings I would think you have strong principals and you do not like to compromise them. I understand this and I respect that immensely.

I am going to ask you to compromise it nonetheless.

What I want you to do is to identify all incumbents that are on your ballot for November. Then I want you to vote against every single one.(You may elect to keep any official that voted NO to the bailout.)

Now I understand that for many the thought of voting for a republican makes you ill. You may think Roe vs. Wade will be overturned the first morning of the new congress or that we will invade Canada or whatever. Get over it. You can always vote the next time for a democrat. This issue is the most important thing and all that other stuff can wait.

I get it that the thought of voting for a Democrat may make you want to take a shower. You may think the gestapo will be at your door the first morning of the new congress to take your guns and your gold. You might think that we will be forced to marry a gay person even if we are not gay or whatever. Get over it. You can always vote for a republican the next time.

I can guarantee that if a boatload of incumbent get sent down the river, the new congress is going to be especially keen on listening to their voters. Very keen. You may even find that with a new attention to the voices of regular people, the differences between the right and the left for ordinary folks may not be so large.

Oct 6, 2008 - 4:29 pm 71. Merrill Guice:

The revolution of 1994 swept out many major incumbents in the House, but left the dinosaurs in the Senate.

Better yet, start a conservative drive demanding that President Bush appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Congressional Malfeasence. There is enough anger out there to get people behind it.

No matter what new President we get, the job will be sacrosant — untouchable. Special Prosecutors do not stop until they have scalps. Those incumbents who survive election day will still have to deal with court day.

Oct 6, 2008 - 5:06 pm 72. Michael:

Unfortunately, most people are not aware of the facts you state, nor will they ever be. They believe now, and they will always believe, that this crisis is solely the result of “greed” among high paid financial executives who need to be reigned in and punished. The political shift that this will caise will not be against the Congress or the Democratic party. It will, rather, be against the Republican party who are always associated with “greedy capitalism” and will thus rebound to the benefit of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, other leftists and to the detriment of the American people in general.

Oct 6, 2008 - 5:35 pm 73. AST:

I heard a poem on a Chad Mitchell Trio album that went something like:

A politician has two ends,
A thinking and a sitting end.

And since his power depends on his seat,
Why bother, friend?

Oct 6, 2008 - 6:30 pm 74. Karen:

I agree with those above who said the real culprits wouldn’t be the ones ousted.

However, it would be quite satisfying if the bums had to pay us back for all the Fannie/Freddie graft!

Give it back! Give it back! Give it Back!

Oct 6, 2008 - 8:29 pm 75. ShyAsrai:

i don’t think mandated term limits are the way to go.

if a legislator KNOWS he’s out of a job no matter what, what incentive is there to (theoretically) please the constituents?

yes, i know they all think they’re smarter than us. (aren’t they? who among us ordinary folk could keep our jobs amid corruption and failure?)

the only way to go is to use the ‘term limit’ option already provided – the VOTE.

it seriously pisses me off to see most of the public not even bothering to vote.

Oct 7, 2008 - 1:56 am 76. Adam Kokesh and the Anti-War Conservatives « The Cornerstone:

[...] to abandon him, while Roger Kimball notes that 59 percent of the American public would vote to replace the entire congress. The fact that many people were greatly energized by Adam Kokesh’s Rally for the Republic [...]

Oct 7, 2008 - 11:34 am 77. Joy:

There actually is a website devoted to the idea of a citizen “revolt” and a good and thorough housecleaning of the bums now running Congress. It is called Get Out Of Our House! and it can be found at http://gooohc.sslcert35.com/home.aspx.

Oct 7, 2008 - 4:32 pm 78. Peter the Australian:

it has always amazed me how few Memebrs of the House of representatives and Senate there are for a country the size of the US. In Australia (with a population of just over 20 millions) HoR has 150 and Senate 76)Superficially, it is attractive to have only a small neumber of legislators. It is cheaper and easier to pay and accommodate fewer people. However, it also leads to much more corruption as the power of the few is incredibly potent, particularly so when it is clear that many of them have safe seats. There should be at least 850 MHRs in the US. This would mean many more marginal electorates which would mean that politicians would have to be careful to represent their constituents. it also means that the voters would have more chance to get rid of useless politicians. The likes of Barney Frank would alos have less clout because they would represent a much smaller amount of people.

In any case, aren’t Americans supposed to be into participatory democracy to a dgree not known elsewhere? Doesn’t it then make sense to have at least 40 or 50 MHRs for a city the size of NY? Also the more MHrs you have the more chance there is that mavericks and independents will get elected as they do here in Oz.

Oct 7, 2008 - 5:45 pm 79. Amaryllis:

Wouldn’t the simples approach be to withhold your share of the debacle come April 15?

Oct 8, 2008 - 8:26 am 80. Ojamas:

Well, I wouldn’t throw them all out. I appreciate Obama’s approach to use a scalpel rather than a hatchet. The one’s we throw out, however, should be thanked for their service with a nominal parting gift – Obama pajamas (Ojamas).

Oct 8, 2008 - 6:29 pm 81. Irene:

OMG – I’ve been reading the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence trying to find a certain phrase that I vaguely remembered. F

From the Declaration of Independence….

“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
I literally am afraid of what is going to happen to my country and I can so much more viscerally understand the thinking that went into writing the Second Amendment.
God help us all.

Oct 9, 2008 - 10:39 am 82. Mark, San Diego:

Funny, I had exactly the same thought, though sadly not the ambition to implement it, as I was driving earlier this week and listening to coverage of the bailout bill’s passing. At this point, I would surely elect the Devil himself if he were to run against my local congresswoman, confident that even he could perhaps get something right (and at least would make his plans and motivations clear).

My next thought was to contemplate running for office, on the grounds that I could surely make a better contribution to our government that any of the blinkered imbeciles I see in the House, but then I thought about the miserable prostitution that constitutes the grooming of a candidate, and realized that there is nothing one can do. Those who happily seek public office are indeed usually those least suited to hold it. Sigh.

Oct 9, 2008 - 5:49 pm 83. this is the samaBlog » Blog Archive » Decision Tree:

[...] what to do. Frankly, I’m not completely sure. I am sure of what NOT to do. I can’t vote for the people who caused this mess in the first place. That means most Democrats (yes, most Democrats), including Barack Obama, who worked for ACORN as [...]

Oct 14, 2008 - 6:47 am 84. Alan:

There is an organization located at The Villages, Sumter County, Florida named, are you ready for this? –

throwallthebumsout.org

throw all the bums out.orgt

Oct 16, 2008 - 6:11 pm 85. Adam Kokesh and the Anti-War Conservatives « Spacelord’s Rants:

Oct 29, 2008 - 10:45 pm 86. Roger’s Rules » Nightmare on Main Street, in which we think about some really big numbers:

[...] when they wake up to what the bill would mean to them. (Note to readers: don’t forget about ThrowTheBumsOut.Org.) As Hinderaker points out, if enacted, the Waxman-Markey climate confusion bill would [...]

Jun 26, 2009 - 10:12 am 87. C. Jeffery Small:

You’ve got my vote.

Oct 13, 2009 - 5:12 pm 88. betheweb:

Tax revolt. Stop paying. They can’t put 60 million in jail and I don’t think they would start killing us, although their health care bill will try, on the off chance that we might fight back.

Oct 13, 2009 - 7:07 pm 89. JKB:

I’ve been working on a sea shanty on just this subject. I didn’t make it to the DC tea party where it might have been useful. If someone wishes to use this to rally people to throw the bums out, feel free. It uses the cadence of Blow the Man Down.

Perhaps all of them don’t need to go but each vote needs to be a conscious decision and a a little fear of the American voter will do DC some good.

Throw the Bums Out

Chorus:
Throw, throw,
throw the bums out

They take all our taxes
to give to their friends

(chorus)

America’s the greatest
But they act like we’ve sinned

(chorus)

The election is coming
what will we do then

(chorus)

The legacy media
has sold them their pens

(chorus)

They called it recovery
but 8 months on we ask when