Quote Originally Posted by rspears View Post
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) , 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!!
Didn't get a chance to reply until now.

As a said,I like the idea of voting for people who would do the best job no matter what political party they are in. The thought I have is the party lines would be so split up,do get anything done would be worst.

For me,the special interest groups are the same ones who spend my money without a thought at all about me. The tree huger would has changed the face of the auto industry forever. The do good er who thinks they have to tell me if I can smoke,where I can smoke,and how much it is going to cost me to smoke.Yeah,I don't remember asking for any of that.The special interest
groups who changed our national language from English just because we couldn't stand up for our own heritage.I do remember when people from all over the world moved here and was more than willing to learn about our traditions and English and not use special interest groups to play on our sensitivities of those poor.poor,people just want to keep their families traditions.Nope,they want to change ours forever.The special interest groups that just continue to cloud the issues and yes make it more complicated than it really is.Honestly,I have never see a lobbyist who spoke what I want.It's a whole like negating the election,where all I want is to eliminate the middle man(who I didn't elect) and have a elected official do what I put him in office to do.Represent me.I do totally agree with you to prosecute graft and bribes.

Staff members??. It is just another case of a agenda of people who once again influences policies that I did not vote for. Another layer of government.Key question is does the member of congress run the staff who has likely been in Washington for yrs or does the staff run the member of congress??. I think the staff runs the congressman.

We jump conclusions all to easily.Treat side stories like some sort of soap opera.Smart people come in all sizes and shapes.To say Chris Christie wouldn't do a good job because of his size is a prime case of maybe another missed opportunity.There are tons of stories that never should be apart of politics.We lose hundreds of good people every yr just because of that.Let's let the mud slinger's go off by themselves to their own mud wrestle match.

This is something new to this post.I am concerned,say two generations away from us old guys,what government is going to look like because the only ref's those generations will have is what a screwed up mess we have now.