The November mid-term elections are just around the corner and they are shaping up to be one of the most interesting in recent history. Not since the 1960's have I seen the country so politically charged. Political scientists and the media will be watching with bated breath as this election may very well have an impact on the 2012 presidential election.
Congressional approval ratings are at a new low. A Gallup Poll of June 23, 2010 reported, "Americans who believe most members of Congress do not deserve to be reelected support their position by saying representatives are simply doing a bad job, that they have been in office too long, that they are not making decisions based on what's best for the country, or that they are too focused on self-interest, special interests, and partisanship." Click for SOURCE.
Plain and simple, Congress has lost the confidence of its constituents; we no longer trust government. If, in fact, we are all as disgruntled as the polls tell us, then there is no alternative than to vote all incumbents out of office, regardless of their political party. It is time to start over. We have all heard this argument before, but it is starting to make sense to a lot of us who have had enough of the malarkey in Washington.
It would be nice to say, "Well, let's keep him or her in office." No, if you truly want to send a message that will make the politicians quake in their boots, including the president, you must vote out every incumbent in office. Only in this way will they take the American voter seriously. Anything less and it will be business as usual. We're well overdue for our political enema, and the sooner we take our medicine, the better we will be.
Having said all this, I realize this will probably never happen as Americans are a timid lot. However, I think you will see considerable changes in the Congress after November, primarily thanks to the efforts of the Tea Party. Regardless of the outcome, now is the time to enact legislation to hold our politicians more accountable and clean up a system we consider corrupt. Such an effort must come from the people as politicians have too much vested in the current system.
Reform should include three areas:
* Term limits - our founding fathers originally envisioned Congressmen taking turns in government before returning to their normal lives. They never dreamt it would turn into a full time job as it has.
* Compensation - the perks and benefits received by Congress should be reexamined and put in line with that of the American taxpayer (their boss).
* Evaluation - this is an item of particular interest to me. Most Americans do not know how their government representatives are performing. Consequently, I would like to see a standardized report card that reviews the activities of each politician for a period of time, such as annually. If done properly, we can then compare and rank the performance of politicians, thereby offering voters an impartial means to evaluate them.
Unless we can make some substantial changes to our politicians and how they operate, we will continue to distrust our government. Just remember, if you are waiting for the politicians to correct the problems themselves, you'll be waiting a long time as it will never happen. It must begin with the American voter.
In November, send a message: VOTE THEM OUT.
"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress."
- Mark Twain
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M. Bryce & Associates (MBA) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
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