Vote the Rascals Out! ALL of them!

by Rich Miles

Here's a suggestion for how we ("the people" - remember us?) can regain some semblance of control over our out-of-control government this November:

Don't vote for your current congressman and/or senator.

I mean it - no matter what party they allegedly represent, if they're currently in office, don't vote for them - vote for the challenger, no matter how incompetent or stupid or underfunded he or she is. If you have an open seat in your district, vote for the candidate from the former opposition party.

Of course, if everyone in the whole country does this (and even I'm not addled enough to believe they will), we'll end up with a Democratic majority in both houses, which is what is needed to have any hope of a little accountability in Congress and the White House. But that's not what I'm talking about here.

Because we've lost control of the "People's House", which hasn't been anything like ours for decades, and we never even sorta had control of the Senate, the patrician wing of the legislature.

We don't just need to be rid of one-party rule of all three branches of government - we need to be rid of career politicians. Anyone who has served a term in Congress, especially the 107th, 108th or 109th Congresses, has had their turn and needs to go back to the home district. ALL of them. Dem or Rep, Blue or Red, gone. This November. No questions.

We need to get a bunch of scared rookies into the Congress - a bunch of men and women who don't know where the toilets are, much less how the corruption works. A bunch of people who rightfully fear for their jobs every two years instead of assuming that, because they managed to weasel in once, they're set for life, or until the K Street benefits make it worth their while to quit and cash in. There will be some holdover Senators who aren't up this year, but in two more election cycles we can even be rid of them! We HAVE to get rid of them, ASAP!

The evidence for this is so voluminous as to daunt even the most dedicated chronicler, but if one, or actually two recent episodes may be used as representative (no pun intended) samples, here they are:

Bush, Hill Republicans Agree To Extend Expiring Tax Cuts: Democrats Point to Deficit and Benefits for the Rich (By Jonathan Weisman)

Senate Defies Bush on Spending: $109 Billion Bill for Wars, Storm Relief Disdained in House (By Shailagh Murray)

I mean, they STILL don't get it. They - and I mean the whole Congress, though primarily the Republican majority - still think that tax cuts and pork barrel spending and more wars to make them look tough are going to pull their cojones out of the fire again.

They're not right, are they?

Are they?

Give my plan a try - hell, nothing else has worked so far.