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When will the spending stop??

M

Mercy Not Sacrifice

Well-Known Member
Falvlun said:
Read this article from the New Yorker (The Empty Chamber) for a rather bleak look at how our government "works". I mean, not only are we fighting against all these "special interest groups" and their vote-buying money, but the mind-boggling waste of time due to historical procedure set in a slower age, lack of work ethic, need to raise campaign dollars, and arcane rules and traditions is bogging down the gears even more.
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So that's the perceived set of problems. What is the solution?

Reverend Rick said:
I can solve this problem with three words, "BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT"

Can you imagine Republicans voting for a tax increase to pay for a war?
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I personally think there should be an amendment requiring all bills to pass the houses of Congress with 55% super-majorities, not 50% simple majorities. I think that alone could help some.

Kathryn said:
I don't believe that we should immediately replace all our existing politicians, of course. Besides being impractical, it's nothing more than a pipe dream.
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Couldn't agree more. "Throw all the bums out" is simply laughable, because there's no way that voters will replace everyone, and even if they did, that is no guarantee that would solve anything. In fact, there's a high risk that it could make the situation worse.

I do believe that we should vote out the worst of the lot, rather than allowing them to continue to strut around Capitol Hill like Little Lord Fauntleroys. And we should continue to demand answers and accountability. This is one thing that I believe the Tea Party Movement has reminded us of - and more importantly, it's reminded THEM that, err, hey guys, you DO have a constituency.

Like Bill Cosby said (sort of) "We voted you into this world, we can vote you out."

Speaking of Tea Party "tactics," you DO know that you are seeing only the most extreme cases on the news, right? I've been to several Tea Party events and rallies, as well as local meetings with politicians, and I've never - NEVER - seen anyone shouted down, or seen anyone with a gun. (However, I may have missed the gun, because it IS legal for some people to carry guns, and here in Texas we're pretty used to seeing that - it's simply no big news.)

But so what if a group of CONSTITUENTS are shouting at the corrupt politician who has been living off their tax dollars for the past 12 years? I would call that a wake up call. People have the right to be angry and to let their anger be heard. This same group of middle aged people who are politically involved has been writing their Congressman, and phoning his office, and being polite and involved citizens for probably thirty years - to no avail.

It's time we got a little louder. Our elected officials are completely out of touch with their constituents - and reality.
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The biggest problems I have with the Tea Party are (1) their positions are so laughably stupid that they are even more out of touch with reality than the politicians they hate; (2) they utterly refuse to even consider that they might actually be wrong, let alone to listen to rational arguments; (3) they enable a growing subculture of anti-government, anti-social attitudes that could well blow up, literally, someday soon.

Simply put, the American Tea Party is one of the single worst things to happen to us in the last couple of years.
 
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