How long will it take for elected Tea Party politicians to be as corrupt as what we have now from bo

I think my title says it all, though I agree with much of what the Tea Party represents I think once they get bought off by the special interests it'll be more of the same old. If a similar thread has already been posted I apologize, I am pretty new to ATS.

Sorry it was cut off but was meant to add from both major parties.

Depends on who you are talking about? If you are talking about somebody like Marco Rubio that is running down here in FL i will say very quickly. If you are talking about somebody that wasnt ever in politics and is running at a local level for the first time, id say that it depends on the person really but it definately can happen. To me, the longer you are in politics the more likely somebody will view you as flipping on an issue or the more likely you will become power hungry or just plain lazy and not want to give up the freeloading job of suckin off the taxpayers teet.

Right from the start.

Big business controls both parties. Any "real" tea party congressman will be alienated/marginalized on day 1. That's assuming the candidate in question isn't already aligned with the particular business interests running the republican party at the moment.





[edit on 31-8-2010 by Kaytagg]

reply to post by Jeremiah Johnson


The corruption starts as soon as they accept that campaign funds from private interest.

In other words, is not a single honest politician in this nation at all

Are you serious? They are ALL already corrupt. The entire poltical system is systemically corrupt. If anyone in the Tea Party believes for a minute that they are somehow above the fray they are seriously and dangerously deluded.

There is only one, slim hope for us in this country as regards politics. We ALL need to immediatly divest ourselves of anyone tied to either major party, anyone endorsed by anyone from either major party and ALL incumbents irrespective of party. We most definitely DO need to vote --- despite our collective dissastisfaction with everything --- because the scenario presented above is the ONLY means we have to send a clear, unmistakeable message to TPTB.

I think some politicians go in to the game thinking they will work for the people and be able to change everything. Once they are in they realize that's not the way it is. Corruption is like a cancer, once they are in for a little while they become one of the corrupted. Another reason to put more limits on how long they are allowed to serve. Cut the terms in half and have them voted on and replaced sooner.
One thing that comes to mind is also the Supreme Court Justices, they should not have lifetime terms! When they are on their deathbed and senile and still don't want to give up their chair, that is entirely to long!!

Originally posted by Jeremiah Johnson
I think my title says it all, though I agree with much of what the Tea Party represents I think once they get bought off by the special interests it'll be more of the same old. If a similar thread has already been posted I apologize, I am pretty new to ATS.

Here's what you're supposed to do. You vote, but for most schmucks it ends there, they forget that their civic duty doesn't end there.
You are SUPPOSED to communicate with your elected official as often as you can. That's the problem with our system. Apathy... we vote then forget that we voted.
I complain to my elected officials so much that they have forgone the typical printed letters they send to everyone and I get hand written stuff. I think most officials LOVE to see constituents involved in the process. Exercise you voice don't stop at the voting booth.

I am serious and I agree with you, that was the whole point of my post. Power corrupts, doesn't seem to matter what the ideology is, that is the most frustrating part is that it's a lose-lose situation anyway you look at it. I refuse to vote because of this.

LOL @ anyone who believes they aren't already corrupt...at least most of them

Lol... 100 million+ in donations from Corporate CEO's, not exactly "grass roots" either...

The consensus seems to be that the mere act of rising to political office de facto results in corruption.


If true, then we have no hope of escaping the bonds that hold us, save for complete anarchy.

Which, itself, is subject to corruption, but on a personal scale so massive as to be indistinguishable from utter chaos.



If we, as a society, can have so little faith in our fellow citizens that we believe None of us are above corruption, then our society is dead.

It would be best to bury the rotting corpse.

reply to post by Bhadhidar


In case you're wondering when this started happening:

Check out who's stood next to Reagan during his inauguration. Yup, the CEO of Goldman Sachs

reply to post by MrXYZ


It started long before the Reagan adminstration.

Just study American history.

For that matter, just study Human history!


And each generation has honed the craft to an even finer and more efficient point since.


We have become very effective, indeed, at stabbing each other in the back!

About a year and a half ago.

I agree that most politicians are corrupted sooner or later.
I believe it is much the system which allows such things to occur.
The donations of enormous sums of cash to get people elected to office preclude an honest person ever getting elected or staying honest for long.
Also the social structure is in part to blame for this type of personality, wil gravitate to such positions within the society as that facilitates their personality traits.
Few proactive and outgoing personality types will be able to sustain the useless unproductive existance without going bonkers....leaving it up to the nitpickers and power trippers to do the govermental two facing.
We need to reprioritise ourtselves and rethink many old concepts before we can progress to a better political and govermental way of operating.
We definately should not have a structured society where the governing gets done by the petty tyrants and stooges of corporate intrests reign supreme.

I am tired of feeling powerless and I know I'm not alone on this regardless of your or my own ideology. I can understand now more than ever what drove our fore fathers to start a revolution, at some point you have to say enough is enough.

THe bulk of the Tea Party STARTED corrupt. It was a fake grassroots movement; you can't be grassroots if you're founnding members are all already wealthy and well-known. Maybe their ideas are good -- I personally disagree with them, but that doesn't matter much -- but their methods are founded on a base of lie-filled corruption.

Well, you start with a pure soul.

They cannot be corrupted.

Those saying that they can, are looking into their own soul and projecting their own thoughts and desires.

You are basically saying that anyone is corruptible, do not believe it folks, that way leads to tyranny.

If you actually believe that, why do you not just stay out of the political debate?

Or do you have an agenda? I think the agenda is your spiel.

Or refute my postulate.

If you ACTUALLY believe everyone is corruptible, why the debate, why the spiel?

Let us see if anyone takes this tenet on.

First of all I'm an American and as long as I am a citizen of this country I can and will say whatever I want about the mess we are in regardless if I choose to vote or not. What we have representing us now are scum and I'm a democrat but I am not brainwashed and have an open mind.