Are Americans stupid ? Why do we continue to put the same people back into congress ?Continous power Corrupts?

Answer 1

Is not the people we elect, its the system we use to elect them.
Outlaw campaign contributions and Public Financing of Campaigns. Outlaw lobbying as well.

Answer 2

Your phrase "continuous power corrupts" confuses me. We will always have power because we need a ruling government! If you're so concerned about our putting the same people back in power, then you run for something if you've got "better" to give! No, Americans are not stupid!

Answer 3

Lazy or stupid or have been bought off.

"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."
Alexis de Tocqueville

It would appear de Tocqueville is correct, our republic is sinking fast thanks to corrupt careerists in congress. Until we resolve these lifetime appointments to Congress we will remain subjects of their rule, not citizens. They do not represent us, they resent us.

Ben Franklin said of congress, "They are of the People, and return again to mix with the People, having no more durable preeminence than the different Grains of Sand in an Hourglass. Such an Assembly cannot easily become dangerous to Liberty. They are the Servants of the People, sent together to do the People's Business, and promote the public Welfare; their Powers must be sufficient, or their Duties cannot be performed. They have no profitable Appointments, but a mere Payment of daily Wages, such as are scarcely equivalent to their Expences; so that, having no Chance for great Places, and enormous Salaries or Pensions, as in some Countries, there is no triguing or bribing for Elections"

Voting has failed because partisans have been bought with our tax dollars. Dollar Bill Jefferson and several others come to mind as glaring examples of how easily it is to be a criminal and still get re-elected over and over.

It is way past time for Term Limits on Congress, the evidence is clear what is happening today is hurting our country significantly. The Dems in the Senate have more that 20 years in the Senate on average, and that is just plain wrong.

The Republicans have brought the term limit amendment to congress six times in the last 12 years, and in every instance the Dems were able to kill the debate. The Dems intend on having a stranglehold on the POWER for life.

This is not about partisanship however. We know the congress is not going to pass a term limit amendment. They have been petitioned by every state to hold a constitutional convention, there have been 567 requests to congress, and congress in violation of the constitution has not even responded to a single state legislature. Their arrogance is beyond belief.

So that leaves us with but two choices. We can have a violent revolution which is what congress deserves as their actions have become tyrannical and it is our constitutional duty as citizens to remove them. However that would also destroy our country as well as wreak havoc on the worlds economic markets.

So we are left to the original one, we must vote. For the last eight years I have voted against my congress people if they have 12 or more years combined in congress, and I did this regardless of their party. My feeling is a new guy regardless of philosophy is not yet corrupt and he can be more easily removed in the next election if he is in fact a bad guy. I have seen one seat change parties as a result of those votes.

If a significant number of citizens were to do the same, in about 4 cycles, 8 years, we would have diminished the careerists enough that we can say look, you guys put in the amendment know, 12 years combined and you are gone, or we will continue to vote you all out.

We have to take our country back, we are going down the tubes because of congress, we have to have a revolution and I would prefer a peaceful one to third option.

Do not get caught up in what the congress wants us to do, focus on a term limited president, it takes the focus away from them. Name one president besides FDR that we have not been able to recover from in four years, the president is not the problem in AMerica, it is the corrupt congress.

http://tenurecorrupts.com/arguments.html
http://voidnow.org/
http://www.termlimits.org/Research/1999articles/990924cnsnews.html
http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb105-5.html

This is going to require us getting democrat supporters on board, the dems in congress have more tenure than the repubs, more people with longer times in office, and they will do everything in their power to get re-elected. It is going to take democratic voters to switch sides for us to get congress under control.

If that fails I can see the third option occurring in my lifetime. Many AMericans are already there.

Answer 4

Term limits. One four year term for Senators and two, two year terms for representatives. That will not allow them to be corrupted so easily and even if they are, they will only be in Washington for a short time. That would put public service back into the reason to get elected, not to make a career of being a Washington politician.

Answer 5

No! Americans are pretty smart but the smart ones never get past the so-called liberal media because they don't have $10 million in the bank. Plus, they might turn the USA around and the USA might be #1 again.

Answer 6

Not all are stupid, just the ones in some parts of Massachusetts, who continue to vote in murderers like Ted Kennedy. Boy are they stupid up there.

Answer 7

It's more like, continuous power allows corruption. After Ted Kennedy, a married man with a pregnant wife at home left a woman to drown in his car after a party, I thought his career was over more than 30 years ago. Nothing surprises me after that.

Answer 8

If they pass this bilge of an immigration bill you will finally see a turnover I believe. The only thing a voter will need is a copy of their candidates voting record to make their decision at the polls.

Answer 9

Yes, that is why we have an electorial college for Pres., The locals must figure out the rest

Answer 10

Not all americans are stupid only some