 After the 2008 Presidential election, when all independents combined could muster barely 3% of the popular vote, it became clear that any positive change in our political system would have to come through the two major parties. As much as I hate to admit it, Independents are probably wasting their time hoping for salvation in the form of strong third party candidates. For now, the best we can do is to support those major party players who most closely represent our Conservative philosophy of small government and fiscal responsibility. Unfortunately, those people are becoming more and more difficult to find, on either side of the aisle. The primary agenda of both R's and D's alike is not so much the prosperity and well-being of their constituents, but rather the continuation of cashflow for, and longevity of, their own term in office.
Finance Reform
In my opinion, the campaign finance reform we have enacted was not the right way to go, and in fact has worked against the original intention of separating money from legislation. The onerous record keeping and regulation has done nothing to stop special interests from "buying" votes or benefiting from special treatment. In fact, I believe it has only made lawmakers more acutely aware of who they are beholding to when it comes time to weigh in on various bills.
A much better approach would be to make all contributions completely anonymous. Campaign contributions should be made to one large fund to be split among all viable candidates. We already have public financing in affect, and this would just mask any special interest giving, so it would be impossible to pay back favors for monetary support. An added benefit would be the leveling of the playing field for qualified but not so wealthy candidates. The sinful amount of money raised for the 2008 Presidential campaign, (Over $1 billion) should be a world wide embarrassment for this Country. With the incentive of political favors eliminated, anonymous financing would certainly reduce the amount of money contributed, and therefore curtail overall campaign spending. I can't help believing all that extra money could be better spent in the private sector.
Our lawmakers clearly can't be trusted with other people's money. My solution is to give them less of it, and don't let them know where it came from.
Term Limits
The other half of this symbiotic political duo is tenure and the concept of term limits. I did not always favor limiting the length of time anyone can hold office. In my state, for many years, residents reaped the benefits of re-electing the most senior of Senators Warren G. Magnuson and Henry M. Jackson. Seniority is power in DC. Unfortunately it seems, that power is being used less and less for the good of constituents, and more for the benefit of the individual lawmaker. An undue amount of time, energy and money is now expended on staying in office, regardless of the needs, concerns and will of the people. All lawmakers should be limited to two consecutive terms. I would support an additional two terms after at least one intervening full term by someone else. This would serve all of our citizens by bringing fresh blood, new ideas and renewed energy to the political process more often. If they serve a second term, lawmakers could spend time actually fulfilling their responsibilities instead of running for re-election. An added benefit would be to minimize party sweeps of one direction or the other. That could only be good for America.
Congress was wise enough to see the value of term limits when they passed the 22nd amendment to limit Presidential tenure. If it is good enough for the President, why not all politicians? I would look at the Supreme Court as well. No one deserves a lifetime governmental job, no one.
All politicians it seems once they attain office, are focused on staying there as long as possible. The main vehicle for that is, of course the campaign contribution. Cashflow transcends performance or success. Money and longevity are inextricably entwined in Washington. One begets the other. If we reign in one, the other will follow, bringing with it many additional benefits for our citizens. It is clearly time to give these two concepts another look and another assessment from the American people.
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