That's going to leave a mark

[TarHeelEer]

Or Not

 

[countryroads89_rivals]

I saw an interview last week with a Congressman from North or South Dakota or Montana? who was recently re-elected. He last served in Congress in the mid eighties. He said he was mind-blown at how much things had changed since he last served and because he was "required" to fund raise on the telephone for a minimum of 30 hours per week. It sounds like the same guy. He said he spent more time fund raising than actually working on legislation.

 

[op2]

Why don't people run and get elected and once in say "I'm gonna do what I think is right even if I don't get re-elected" and then they don't get re-elected but at least they got one term of doing what they thought was right, which seems to me to be better than 10 terms of doing nothing except trying to get re-elected. Unless, I guess, your entire goal is to hold power.

Maybe people that are running for office for the first time should pledge they'll only serve one term and as a result voters will know beforehand that they won't spend time raising money for re-election.

 

[moe]

Why don't people run and get elected and once in say "I'm gonna do what I think is right even if I don't get re-elected" and then they don't get re-elected but at least they got one term of doing what they thought was right, which seems to me to be better than 10 terms of doing nothing except trying to get re-elected. Unless, I guess, your entire goal is to hold power.

Maybe people that are running for office for the first time should pledge they'll only serve one term and as a result voters will know beforehand that they won't spend time raising money for re-election.

It's possible that they are fundraising not only for the next election but also to pay debts from their most recent election. It would nice to see term limits in my lifetime but I won't hold my breath. Obviously the system is broke but unfortunately the very people who can fix it are the ones seeking to maintain the status quo. I'm glad that this book has been written and I hope it generates a lot of discussion in the media and other public forums.

 

[DvlDog4WVU]

because they can't get anything accomplished in 1 term in the current format and setup. It would be the equivalent of why can't a newly hired millennial run a Fortune 500 company. They might be bright as hell but they don't have the experience to be able to work within the system.

With that siad, I agree with you and is one reason why I fully support Term Limits.

 

[mneilmont]

It's possible that they are fundraising not only for the next election but also to pay debts from their most recent election. It would nice to see term limits in my lifetime but I won't hold my breath. Obviously the system is broke but unfortunately the very people who can fix it are the ones seeking to maintain the status quo. I'm glad that this book has been written and I hope it generates a lot of discussion in the media and other public forums.

Republicans are the only ones to do that. Do you remember how hard they ran on term limits? They took congress - both houses running on term limits as one plank. Haven't heard any serious talk about term limits since they were seated. Then both parties tell us there are no advantages to be incumbent because they spend so much time campaigning for the next election.

 

[Airport]

I saw an interview last week with a Congressman from North or South Dakota or Montana? who was recently re-elected. He last served in Congress in the mid eighties. He said he was mind-blown at how much things had changed since he last served and because he was "required" to fund raise on the telephone for a minimum of 30 hours per week. It sounds like the same guy. He said he spent more time fund raising than actually working on legislation.

All our congressman should be required to have a job and actually worked outside of congress. Go to DC a total of about 3 months per year.

 

[moe]

Do you remember how hard they ran on term limits?

No but I just googled the topic and saw where a few GOP senators mentioned it in 2009. Obviously that has gone nowhere.

 

[WhiteTailEER]

he was "required" to fund raise on the telephone for a minimum of 30 hours per week. ... He said he spent more time fund raising than actually working on legislation.

They don't have time for actual legislation, so then they count on lobbyists to write the bills, which of course are written to benefit whatever the lobbyist is lobbying for. And thus, we end up with our oligarchy instead of a democracy.