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Could we replace the entire Congress with DP members and get better results?

DP members replacing our current Congress would yield better results?


  • Total voters
    36
If you replace the partisan hacks in congress with partisan hacks from here...then that would be a totally wasted and futile effort.

And BTW...I know Im not the only one keeping track...but it might deserve noting that after the LATEST spending extension...nothing. All's quiet. It will likely remain quiet until the deadline hits...again...at which point they will just HAVE to approve another tax extension and spending increase. Way to 'represent', congress!
 
Well, yeah, if you count the unpaid ones. But that's not the point. And the committee staff, which are...committee staff.

Yeah, 100 counting committee staff and unpaid staff. I was talking about how many people a senator needs to manage, not the cost when I brought it up. I'll maybe drop it to 80 though. 100 is probably on the high side. There are a lot of unpaid folks. Or at least, who aren't paid by the senate. Maybe 12-20 unpaid college interns, maybe 5 or so unpaid law clerks, maybe 5 that are there on fellowships where the fellowship gives them a stipend, some that are on assignment from the DOJ or the AG's office in the home state or something.

Committee staff are really just the senator's staff. He picks them and they report up to him and only him through the chain of command. They are really just legislative staff that are focused on the issues related to the committee the senator sits on. They maybe tend to be a bit more high end and tend to have law degrees, since those are usually the most influential legislative staff positions except the legislative director or chief of staff, but other than that they're just like the other legislative staff.

Which state was this? Likely a large one. 35 is just the average - a state like California or NY will have more, of course.

A medium sized state.
 
Kickbacks from lobbyists are illegal, and therefore rare.

There are perks to being a member of Congress, but those aren't one of them.

The idea that Congress can get away with doing nothing, when it must approve funding for the government every year, is a little far-fetched.

Overall, though, you're right that the more polarized Congress becomes, the more it cedes power to the President, who can act without the need for compromise.

1) Smoking marijuana is illegal too. That doesn't mean smoking marijuana is rare.

2) What I call "kickbacks" Congressmen call "campaign contributions." It is innately corrupt because they listen more to whoever gives them money than to who actually votes for them.
 
Of course not. We'd be trolling any ****** who disagreed with us. :lol:
 
That's why you can also vote in primaries. You should watch the news.

Doesn't really address the real issues that I addressed though... and that is fine. I have accepted that the system is ****ed up and not much will be done about it. All good bro. 49ers will win.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaah

I said deal... DEAL!
 
1) Smoking marijuana is illegal too. That doesn't mean smoking marijuana is rare.

Reporters aren't digging through every single thing the average pot smoker does though.

2) What I call "kickbacks" Congressmen call "campaign contributions." It is innately corrupt because they listen more to whoever gives them money than to who actually votes for them.

You can't just redefine words.
 
The whole system is a mess.

Everything needs to be redone.

Constitution rewritten - complete overhaul of the powers - government officials only serve a max of 8 to 12 years - make laws easier to change/amend -

Take the money out of the picture in regards to politics (i.e. no one padding each other's pockets, i.e. kickbacks, special interest groups etc.)

Give power to the people - i.e. involve them in more votes

Give more State power and less federal power

Allow people to move to the states in which they feel they best fit in as far as each states laws are concerned

Equal Opportunity is a must (not equal outcome), e.g. equal starting inheritances, equal education opportunity and so on (a son or daughter should not pay for their mother of father's sins, so to speak)

Pay military personnel on a risk basis - i.e. the higher the risk the higher the pay - military personnel should be paid very, very well (this makes it so that there is motivation to be in the military and no need for drafts)

Equal opportunity eliminates the problem with the poor fighting for our country while the inherited rich sit comfortably at home

Equal healthcare for all - all healthcare facilities and their workers get paid based on their performance, i.e. customer satisfaction and results -

Encourage competition in all aspects

Keep adequate social safety nets that allow people to live, but that strongly encourages them to move up the ladder - increase minimum wage to a living wage

disallow outsourcing, make companies stay in the U.S.

Reduce military occupancy overseas - encourage technology and intelligence over quantity

Disallow big oil to bully the market and strongly encourage alternative fuel sources

require college education (at least an associates degree)

require political science courses

develop a test that must be taken in order to vote

allow internet voting

reduce pork-barreling

.... I could go on all day

-please forgive any errors in detail or wording - I think most people will understand what I am getting at - will drop some more ideas as I remember and think of them
 
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We would probably be even worse than congress.

Last I checked, congress doesn't require moderators to keep them in line. :mrgreen:
 
We would probably be even worse than congress.

Last I checked, congress doesn't require moderators to keep them in line. :mrgreen:

Are you kidding? Instead of mods, they have whips!
 
Are you kidding? Instead of mods, they have whips!

Whips? My, how kinky. :lol:

Gee, I'd love to see one of the flame wars from DP on C-SPAN.

I won't name names, of course, but it would be interesting if our resident uber-partisans went at it on film.
 
Worse results. By far. I have far more faith in my politicians than you folks. Hell, I would never, ever, hold myself to the standard that I could do their job, because I know I probably could not.
 
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I can't remember who said it or the exact quote but "We could replace congress with names picked randomly from the phone book and get better results".

I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
 
I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.
William F. Buckley, Jr.

Ha ha ha ha.
 
But it does.

Not if none of the candidate truely represent the ability nor desire to change and not if any candidtate like that that actually makes it to that stage stands a chance due to voting as usual along party lines it doesn't. So... nope.
 
It would be a diaster which would end in a drunken fight with posters like turtle dude blowing our heads off with his massive arsenal and all the paranoid members would have launced all Americas nukes
 
Vampires move really fast... that is for sure.

More social programs? Lord have mercy that is what we need...
a Bigger government and more wasted money. :lol:

You will probably win knowing how the average voter thinks...

I do not consider social programs that save life and get people food and back to work as wasted money:)
 
What if we replaced every member of Congress with someone who posts here at DP? It would be done in exact proportions to political lean -- a Democrat for a Democrat, a Republican for a Republican, etc., resulting in an entirely new and totally freshman Congress. The plan would be to get a Congress more willing to compromise and find common ground to get things done and make the country better.

This poll isn't about whether or not this could happen. It's about whether it would work if it could somehow be done.

I think almost anyone could do a better job than our current members of congress are doing, LOL!

But seriously ... the only problem I see with this is that there are many centrists, libertarians and so on, that are not represented in congress at the moment - things are much too extreme in terms of political lean in congress ... I believe that is part of the problem ... we have got to get out of this 2 party rut .. this is only one small part of the problem - the whole system needs revamping, things obviously aren't getting done the way things are right now
 
I think we could. There are some very important issues that nearly everyone here agrees about, for instance about lobbying and special interests. Many politicians are too invested into their party, we are not.

After 4 years everyone will hate us, because we are incompetent and can't make good speehes and replace us with other politicians who have to accept the rules we made for them.
 
I can think of a few members off the top of my head that I'd throw a piping hot, extra-large serving of McDonald's fries at. :mrgreen:

mcdonalds-french-fries.jpg
 
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