Foley Again: A Long Term Solution
This entry was posted on 10/6/2006 8:21 PM and is filed under Politics.
A double shot for Mark Foley and his instant messages.
After a discussion with several associates our collective opinions decided the following:
- The US Congress comprised of both the Senate and House of Representatives as we know it is completely broken. They continue to politicize the issue of terrorists and refuse to acknowledge the problems with the southern US border.
- Representatives from both sides of the aisle do not take an active role in their current occupation as elected officials, instead relying way too much on staffers to summarize critical issues and proposed solutions. These staffers, who much like their superiors, have never held a legitimate job where accountability and goals are the norm.
- When it comes to mavericks your author would rather bet on a horse known as such but believes such ‘maverick’ Senators as John McCain and Lindsey Graham, who wear the Republican uniform, are more out for their own popularity and not what is in the best interest of America. You can cite the recent debate over torture, the ridiculous references to the Geneva Accords (Muslim terrorists don’t adhere to such wishes your author can assure the reader of such) and failures with border security clearly on the feet of McCain.
- Such figures as Ted Kennedy, Democrat Senator from Massachusetts, Robert Byrd, Democrat Senator from West Virginia, Trent Lott, Republican Senator from Mississippi and Nancy Pelosi, Democrat Representative from California (among others) bring nothing to the table but rather banter age old rhetoric.
- Pockets of such officials seem only to care about obtaining votes, cite Ted Kennedy in his attempts to become rosy with the illegal immigration population in hopes they will remember him and swing their vote his way, assuming they become citizens. Kennedy wasn’t the only guilty party but was definitely one of the loudest to show his colors in the past 12 months.
In the case of Mark Foley, could this have been avoided if the page program was dismissed? A page often times becomes a staffer, when the elected official they answer to retires they often win a ringing endorsement from them and attempt their own journey into politics. If not they will often land Belt Way jobs in a department contributing absolutely little if anything of substance.
What is the solution to this quagmire of long term politicians who stand the test of time and eventually becoming a barking dog for their particular party or decide themselves to become a cult of personality type figure? The solution is term limits. Now more than ever your author sees the need for this legislation. If what the media alleges or suggests in regards to Foley and Republican leader Denny Hastert then at least the House is completely void of acceptable standards. Democrat Nancy Pelosi was slow to the punch as it related to the issue of West Virginia Representative Allan Mollohan or Louisiana’s William Jefferson, nor was too vocal as it related to the actions of (now former) Georgia Democrat Representative Cynthia McKenna.
Your author would suggest the following:
US Senators allowed two terms (twelve years).
US Representatives allowed three terms (six years).
Not only would the stale leadership of both sides be removed, one can imagine the joy your author would see as McCain, Kennedy and Byrd packed their belongings to head back to their home state, the role of lobbyists would less influential. The lobbyist could not rely on long-term professional relationship because one half of the equation would have a finite number of years to impact policy. In other words the deeds of a Jack Abramoff could have been curbed if term limits were imposed.
Your author would also like to see an outright ban on allowing formerly elected officials to be able to sit out a few years then jump back working for a lobbying group. In other words they sign a contract once they take office stating such.
Would the idea of term limits be passed by Capitol Hill? Not likely, at least not with this current leadership. Could the reader see them passing such? This is the measuring stick one could use to sum up the current leadership.
Be sure to check out USTermLimits.org and Citizens’ for Term Limits.
