Heres an Idea

With the NSA scandal, The Abramoff scandal, and others...Lets throw out all politicians. Whether or not they were involved with any of this, they all view their seats in the House or Senate as their career. I think it's time to make that little statement in the Constitution.."We the People, by the People" mean something. What it doesn't mean is career politicians, or lobbyist, or special interest, or Unions. It means the people! The everday common folk who make this country run!
It's time the PEOPLE stand up and make thier voice heard. Right or Wrong the Constitution gives US the right to run this country. We need to get our heads out of our asses and take control. I'm not saying that everyone will agree on everything, butt WE NEED TO BE HEARD..right or wrong. No more career politicians telling us what is right for us, no more special interest groups telling us what is right...WE, everday Americans need to tell them to go to Hell!!!

It's time the PEOPLE stand up and make thier voice heard. Right or Wrong the Constitution gives US the right to run this country. We need to get our heads out of our asses and take control. I'm not saying that everyone will agree on everything, butt WE NEED TO BE HEARD..right or wrong. No more career politicians telling us what is right for us, no more special interest groups telling us what is right...WE, everday Americans need to tell them to go to Hell!!!

Okay keyboard cowboy, how do you suggest we do this? You say we should do this, so how do you suggest we start?

Originally posted by CSRules
... the Constitution gives US the right to run this country...

The constitution does not give us the right to run this country

while i agree with the general idea, i think many things are wrong with what you said. we are a republic, and in this country we elect people who share our views and they then run it. the forefathers idea was for the political governers of the country to run it far away from the public to avoid distraction. if anything the problem today is that the public feels they should have a bigger hand in the process, and with the corruption i agree, however that does go against the blueprint for the government of this country with checks and balances and all.

is it perfect? of course not, but like a previous poster said where do we start?

[edit on 22-1-2006 by jgrant641]

I have a suggestion - term limits for Senate and House of Reps. I think ten years is enough time for them to steal their retirement from our tax dollars, and then, it's time for them to go get a real job.

I have a suggestion - term limits for Senate and House of Reps. I think ten years is enough time for them to steal their retirement from our tax dollars, and then, it's time for them to go get a real job.

Do I hear a hint of jealousy here? Why don't you live a month or a year in their shoes before you pass judgement. Do you even know what their jobs are? Do you suggest we become a Communist nation instead? What do you feel we should have instead of Senators and Representatives, etc. Seriously...you think they are so terrible, what would you do to make it different? or are you just going to complain and do nothing about it?

[edit on 23-1-2006 by Excitable_Boy]

Originally posted by Excitable_Boy

I have a suggestion - term limits for Senate and House of Reps. I think ten years is enough time for them to steal their retirement from our tax dollars, and then, it's time for them to go get a real job.

Do I hear a hint of jealousy here? Why don't you live a month or a year in their shoes before you pass judgement. Do you even know what their jobs are? Do you suggest we beome a Communist nation instead? What do you feel we should have instead of Senators and Representatives, etc. Seriously...you think they are so terrible, what would you do to make it different? or are you just going to complain and do nothing about it?

What seems to be your problem? You have a definite piss-poor attitude.

I shouldn't even bother responding to your ridiculous questions, but I will, in hopes that maybe it will do some good.

First of all, don't put words in people's mouths. It makes you look ridiculous and it wastes time.

The author stated a problem. You immediately jumped on his post and asked "Where do we start" and call him a schoolyard name.

I offer a solution and you jump all over it.

The whole time, all you've contributed is a confrontational attitude. You supply no suggestions; you just want to argue. You're behavior is typical of a troll.

What seems to be your problem?

My problem is people that piss and moan, yet do nothing about it. If you're going to piss and moan, at least do something to change what bothers you so much. If ALL you're going to do is piss and moan, then why bother pissing and moaning? Pissing and moaning for the sake of pissing and moaning is a lot of wasted energy.

You said:

I think ten years is enough time for them to steal their retirement from our tax dollars, and then, it's time for them to go get a real job.

So, someone that gets a pension steals it? They don't have real jobs? Have you lived any time in their shoes? Do you know what their jobs are? I ask the questions to find out where the opinions come from. If the questions don't get answered, it's because the opinions have no substance.

Originally posted by Excitable_Boy
What seems to be your problem?

My problem is people that piss and moan, yet do nothing about it.

And the easiest thing to do is to sit there and ask other people what they would do. You haven't submitted a single suggestion, yet it was you who first asked what should be done.

I ask the questions to find out where the opinions come from. If the questions don't get answered, it's because the opinions have no substance.

It doesn't matter where the opinion comes from. Most people would tell you NUNYA when asked for personal details.

If I write something that I put forth as fact, then it's reasonable to ask for sources or proof. Otherwise, NUNYA.

So, what are your ideas on what to do about the problems the author cites?

Originally posted by Excitable_Boy

It's time the PEOPLE stand up and make thier voice heard. Right or Wrong the Constitution gives US the right to run this country. We need to get our heads out of our asses and take control. I'm not saying that everyone will agree on everything, butt WE NEED TO BE HEARD..right or wrong. No more career politicians telling us what is right for us, no more special interest groups telling us what is right...WE, everday Americans need to tell them to go to Hell!!!

Okay keyboard cowboy, how do you suggest we do this? You say we should do this, so how do you suggest we start?

You start by limiting campaign contibutions to the people only. No lobbyists, no special interest, and NO CORPORATIONS. Years ago people claimed democrats were the party of big Govt. Well since the Republicans have been in charge, it has grown more than ever. And everyday people have, less and less say in the Govt. Today it is all about politics. We could have a terrorist attack tomorrow, killing millions of Americans, and all responses would be political. What ever happened to COMMON SENSE?! It's time we elect people who listen to the people they represent, not the people who give the most to their war chest.

You ask how we start?? We need to motivate the people to vote. IRAQ had a 70% voter turn out in it's elections. We can't even come close to that in a presidential election. Americans are so fed up with the run of the mill politician, they don't bother to vote anymore. I want to say pass a law that every eligible voter in this country has to vote, but I know I'll get so many arguments here, it won't be funny. But a 30, even 50% turn out is ridicluous. We need to get all to vote, then...no matter the outcome the real majorit has won.

You start here

See Becky....CSRules gave legitimate answers to the questions. Thank you. I asked for answers because I was not in agreement with the poster of the thread and therefore wanted to know how he/she saw us taking care of the problem. I'm certainly not going to provide answers if I don't think the problem can be fixed.

The problem in this country is that it is no longer a Democracy. It hasn't been for a long time. Kennedy attempted to bring Democracy back and it got him killed. As long as this country is controlled by big money there will never be a Democracy again. You can't have most of the money controlled by a few and a Democracy at the same time. IMHO this is never going to change, in fact, it's only going to get worse!

Voting doesn't matter when the powers that be choose the candidates and the winners and then keep them in their pockets!

OK, then I go back to my original proposal - term limits. The current method of no limits is bad because it allows empire building, and doesn't let fresh blood and fresh ideas into the system. Corruption and nepostism often follow.

I agree with CSR, and you, that the current system is corrupted by big money. Do you realize how much it costs to get elected to the US Senate? Only the rich can afford to even run, and often times they rely on large corporate donations.

And once they get elected, the corp.s want to be paid back, and that's where things get messy. It's difficult to get into power positions in 4 or 6 years, so it's necessary to make a career out of their position, which only perpetuates the problem.

We have term limits for the president, for good reason. The same should apply to the congress.

Only 2 responders but very heated. Yes I think term limits could help, but they are not the complete answer. The best answer and also the most difficult, is to get all eligible voters to vote. While I know this won't happen...term limits is a start. If we limit how long some one can stay in office, this reduces the chance of them becoming corrupt. Is this perfect...NO. Who's to keep the lobbyists, special intrests from supporting their sucessor? While it will be impossible to control this, a start (and only a start) is to limit campaign contributions to individual citizens. Will this stop corruption, NO! But hopefully it will prove to the everday American that they need to get out and vote. Not just for the President, but for their local, state, and federal representatives. And hopefully once the people realize that they do make a difference, this country will be beter for it.

Anyone who complains about how this country is run, and doesn't vote...DOESN'T NEED TO BE HEARD! IF you can not get off your @$$ and go out and vote, then you have no right to complain. (Before I get hit with negative responses, this applies to most of my family) If your not going to vote, then don't complain.If you vote, you atleast have a legitamate right to complain. If you lose, then it is up to you to go out and convince people you are right. (I'm not for mandating that everyone vote, but for educating the populace that your vote DOES count.)

how about this, a march on DC. we march for the truth, complete transparancy from the government.

also, we should also ask for a direct confirmation of supreme court justices, or at least make it a 2/3s vote in congress to get them confirmed instead of a simple majority (this would combat partisanship and essentially force cooperation.)

but i think transparancy is the biggest issue. i want to know where the tax dollars go dammit!

how about this, a march on DC. we march for the truth, complete transparancy from the government.

The 60's and 70's are over man. The problem is, we (the little people) don't have the power to change anything. The few that control most of the money, they have the power to do whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want.

CSRules, you have a couple good ideas there. Mandatory voting - I like that! It's so little to ask for, and so much is at stake.

Lobbyists is another area that can use improvement. Do you know that, in some cases they actually get their own parking spaces for when they are conducting business? They have much too much influence on legislators.

Yet, if they represented the common man as rigorously as they do the corporations, then there may be a case to keep them.

A while back, I suggested that all citizens be required to donate some time in service to the country. Not necessarily military service, but some type of service that would help to make our nation better. How long? I don't know, from 6 months to 2 years is a ballpark figure. I believe that doing this might instill a sense of responsibility and pride in our nation.

You should have see the (negative) responses I got, mainly from young people. It's obvious that many people feel they are entitled to all the benefits of our country, without having to donate any time or effort to keep it that way, or make it better.