Quote Originally Posted by 1gary View Post
The part about voting for people and not party lines I like a whole lot Dave. My only concern is if that would create more deadlock in getting something done. I think the law needing to be passed is a ban of special interest groups from government. Cure the problem completely. Then limit or remove all advisory staff. Make a member of congress stand alone in his views. It's that what the founding fathers meant it to be? Hell we vote for members of congress and end up not getting what we are paying for. A law saying these side stories about people having nothing to do with job performance are not allowed and that way we do attract the best and brightest.
I am still somewhat ticked about Chris Christie not being a valid candidate because of his wt.If he is 500lbs and does a good job,all I give a damm about is the job he is doing. What got my respect was him saying in a interview that his personal life has nothing to do with him being governor.Yeah-he spoke up for himself and I gave him tons of credit for it.Also said his being governor is a open book for the job he is doing and questions about that go ahead and ask whatever the interviewer liked.
How could voting for the qualified individual as opposed to a party ticket increase the deadlock? Do you actually believe that voting a party ticket, regardless of the qualifications of the individuals on that ticket can IMPROVE the situation? If that's true we're definitely in bigger trouble than any of us have put forth to date!

As far as banning special interest groups, and then banning (your words)
these side stories about people having nothing to do with job performance
, that seems to me to be a blatant attack on the First Amendment (Free Speech). We've talked here before that lobbyist's are a crucial part of the system, providing the legislator's with needed and necessary facts about complex issues that they must address, but that the problem is the bribes and graft that tend to follow that trail. We need to enforce existing anti-corruption laws, NOT try to ban lobbying!

Eliminate the staff of our elected congressmen? In today's information flood it would be totally impossible for any one of them to be informed about the things they were voting for, IMO. The ability for a stand-alone congressman to function probably ended about 1950, and even then they would have had to have a secretarial staff at a minimum.

Chris Christie? Who the heck is Chris Christie? From your description he sounds like the Mark Mangino of New York State politics! His personal life has nothing to do with his qualifications to be Governor? Give me a break!! If the guy can't keep his personal life in order then he for darned sure doesn't need to be representing the people. Or at least keep him in New York and away from KANSAS!!! We've got enough troubles with guys skinny dipping in the Sea of Galilee!!