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And I'm looking forward to moving to Alaska to escape the stupidity of the lower 48.
I love Alaska, but I'm sorry to inform you that we have just as much stupid up here. Some of it is a different kind of stupid, but pretty spectacularly dumb nonetheless.
Someone said this isn't what real conservatives are, but in fact that is exactly what the conservative right wing of the Republican Party is today, and has been for decades.
That was me, and I wasn't talking about the actual elected politicians. I was talking about the average folks at home, like me (and countless others I know) who believe in limited government involvement in daily life. I will not even start to deny that Republicans are trying to push an agenda on people - often a very Christianity-centric agenda at that. That's why I have trouble identifying with any politicians: they're all too far to the right or left. What ever happened to being moderate on things? Hell, what ever happened to just being plain old reasonable?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson
People run around claiming every politician is corrupt, and then vote for the likes of Parnell. It isn't politicians who are corrupt dufuses, it's right wingnut voters.
Well, there is some truth to this, but I must say I disagree here. Strongly, as a matter of fact. I think you would be hard-pressed to meet a group of folks as corrupt as politicians in general. Now, there are those who are not corrupt, sure, but most of them are birds of a feather. I have worked on a political campaign, and even with my very limited involvement, the corruption was shocking to my then-young, non-jaded mind. I mean, I'm still young, but I have become very jaded to the corruption of politicians.
I think that if there is anything that would be a great starting point for fixing out political system, it would be term limits for congressmen and senators. I feel that if these people were less caught up in getting reelected and more interested in actually getting something done, something might just get done. It would also somewhat help to disrupt the constant bribes being offered to politicians by people who want things. They can still bribe them with money, but politicians wouldn't have to worry so much about whether their vote on a certain issue would cost them their office if they couldn't get reelected anyway. Also, repetition breeds apathy and makes people settle into habits, so I feel that if there were fresh faces coming in regularly, it wouldn't be the same ole story every year. 'Course, it might have no effect at all, but I think it would at least be a great starting point.
Term limits for lesser offices have been ruled unConstitutional many times in many states.
I don't have much of a problem with some of the ideas involved in it in theory but in reality we already have term limits....it's called the will of the voters.
No, no... unless you are married... NONE OF THAT!!!
Seriously though, what are people like this thinking? And who is going to enforce these types of laws? Who is going to be watching? How will they know? Cameras and bugs and spies everywhere! Nobody will be free anymore. Big Brother will be everywhere, watching, listening, waiting to hand out fines and make arrests. Not only ridiculous, but scary!
It makes me think of that Bible story where the religious guys brought the fornicating woman "caught in the act" to Jesus. How the heck did they catch her? Sounds like they were all a bunch of perverts to me... or voyeurs at least. (Or liars) So, yeah- you're absolutely right. Who is going to enforce a law like that? It could quickly become a charge based on testimony and no actual proof. You can see how it could very quickly become a source of manipulation to say the least.
Term limits for lesser offices have been ruled unConstitutional many times in many states.
I don't have much of a problem with some of the ideas involved in it in theory but in reality we already have term limits....it's called the will of the voters.
Well, in theory the will of the voters imposes term limits. But the problem as far as I can tell is that the people who vote for the career politicians are the same people voting every time. Like, in my home state of AL, both of our Senators have been in office forever, and it's always the same folks voting them into office every single time. And if it's not those folks, it's their children, because they taught them to vote that way.
And it's not only that, it's the whole idea of a "career politician" that is the problem. These people get elected and never leave until they die a lot of the time, and while some of them do a lot of good, the majority of them get sucked into the political underworld of bribes, lies, earmarks for personal friends in exchange for lots of votes (or hell, sometimes the addition of a screen porch to the congressman's house). Once that happens, that person is not voting for the good of his constituents, he is voting for the good of those who give him things.
The problem with the current set-up is that there aren't that many new candidates who come up, and half the time when they do, they're idiots who shouldn't be in office anyway. I know it would take a bit of an overhaul of the political system that is so deeply entrenched in order to accomplish the kind of change I'm talking about; term limits would be the starting point, really. It's a pretty idealistic approach, which is unusual for me because I normally find idealism rather silly. I don't know, maybe I've still got a little bit of dreamer left in me.
I've been around mid level career politicians all my life. Most of them aren't how the "mythology" portrays them. But then I grew up in Governor Tom McCall's back yard.
There's always room for political reform but I've never believed that term limits are the answer. Too nanny state for me. I want to be able to vote on the merits of the candidates rather than being told I can't vote for someone because he/she has exceeded their term limit.
I've been around mid level career politicians all my life. Most of them aren't how the "mythology" portrays them. But then I grew up in Governor Tom McCall's back yard.
There's always room for political reform but I've never believed that term limits are the answer. Too nanny state for me. I want to be able to vote on the merits of the candidates rather than being told I can't vote for someone because he/she has exceeded their term limit.
Otherwise, Bill Clinton would still be President. Yay! I <3 Bill.
Yeah; I think term limits should be abolished for the office of POTUS as well.
I do too, it was an extreme reaction by those sick of FDR, wasn't it?
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