Why We Hate Congress! (HInt: It's OUR Fault!)  |
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 It's true that while everyone does a lot of talking about Bush's lower than lower approval rating Congress's is even lower. The strange thing is that while many if not most of us will give Congress as a whole low marks we give our OWN Representatives and Senators fairly high marks. One big reason for the unpopularity of Congress is wasteful "pork-barrel" spending and ear-marks. Everybody complains about projects such as the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" - everyone, that is, except the handful of people who stand to benefit from that bridge! Basically, what's "pork" to everyone else may be just "bread and butter" to those who want that bridge or museum or whatever because it may create jobs and otherwise stimulate the local economy wherever it's built. When a Representative or Senator runs for election or reelection they hear from their constituents at town-hall meetings and other campaign events and they do what all politicians do - they make promises. They may hear from the voters that on one hand they want them to cut spending, they're sick of the earmarks and special interests but on the other hand they WANT the bacon brought home to their state or district because they really NEED it. So your guy goes to Washington and he (or she) is forced to play "Let's Make a Deal" with his or her Congressional colleagues; I'll vote for yours if you vote for mine is how it goes. Of course, they know their constituents won't be thrilled with the other guy's project which they're now supporting but they figure they want their pork more than they do NOT want the other guy's, right? Well, this is a question, are they right?
See what I mean, for some of us they ARE absolutely right! We can talk a good game about balanced budgets and wasteful spending but when it comes to putting our own money where our mouths are and tightening our own belts a bit we don't want to do it. The way I see it, until a majority of the voters - and I mean a majority, not just a handful such as those of us here on myLot - makes it clear to our own members of Congress that we mean business when we say we want the pork-barrel spending and earmarks to end it will continue to be business as usual and we'll keep right on saying how much we disapprove of Congress although we'll have exactly what we voted for.
Annie
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1.  Aingealicia (654) | 3 months ago |  Annie,
You could not have put the words better. I know when I go to vote, I vote my mind and my heart. I do agree with you it has to be more than a handful that speak up to change what is going on in the world today, however we also need to take charge of our own lives to live by example.
Great topic.
Ainge
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 anniepa (5119) | 3 months ago | Thanks, Ainge, for you response and kind words. You know, it's really sad how few Americans take their right to vote seriously. I posted in another discussion how only about half of those who are eligible to vote even bother registering and usually only half of those who are registered even vote, and that's in a Presidential election usually, so that means the person who will be the leader of the free world is usually decided by one quarter of our adult population. This year I think it's going to be higher but even with the high turnouts we've had in the primaries and the increased registration other nations still put us to shame. I'm not here to lecture or offend anyone who chooses not to vote just to say it m makes me sad because men died to give us that right and to protect it and women fought hard to give us the right. If more would have voted in 2000 there wouldn't have been a controversial recount or Supreme Court decision and maybe 4000 young men and women wouldn't have died in this immoral war. Sorry, I got off-topic again. I guess when I start rambling it means it's time to call it a night and get some sleep, right...lol?
Annie | |
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| anniepa (5119) | 3 months ago | I think some people may have been too hard on this Democratic Congress. They really need a two-thirds majority to make themselves "veto-proof" or a President who wouldn't threaten to veto everything they passed, or both which hopefully they'll have come next year. Their hands were really tied over the Iraq war because if they didn't vote to fund it they'd have been accused of not caring about the safety and well-being of our troops but if they put anything in their bills to start withdrawal Bush would veto it and then stand there and say, "See, our troops don't have the armor they need to save their lives because Congress wouldn't pay for it."
Annie | |
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 skinnychick (2838) | 7 days ago |  Thanks for the BR hun. Nice response to my response too!:)
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3.  rodney850 (407) | 3 months ago |  What you say Annie is so true! The only way we as a nation will ever put a stop to this is by eliminating career politicians! We have to push hard for term limits and if congress won't listen then we have to vote those out and vote someone else in who will until it is once again "for the people by the people"!
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| anniepa (5119) | 3 months ago | I understand what you and others mean when you say you're for term limits but I'm not so sure that's the answer. Put it this way - while we may not agree on which ones they are I think we probably all agree there are some in Congress and the Senate who really are good at what they do and are actually still "for the people, etc" even after several terms and in those cases it would be a shame to make them leave. However, I wish more people would vote and that those who do would think more before they vote and not just automatically give their votes to the incumbents. We have the power of term limits in our hands.
Annie | |
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| rodney850 (407) | 3 months ago | Annie,
You are right when you say we have the power of term limits in our hands! The problem with that is the way the congress is set up presently the more time you have under your belt the better and more powerful commitees you get to chair or at least be a member of. This is why we have people giving their votes to incumbents without any thought to it other than he is the one who will be on the appropriation commitee or the budget commitee, etc. etc. | |
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| anniepa (5119) | 3 months ago | To be honest, most of the people around my area don't know what a Congressional Committee is! All they know is that Rep. Smith kept Uncle Henry from losing his job.
Annie | |
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