Issues with Our Political System

originally posted by: Idreamofme
a reply to: Aazadan

Problem is the senators and congressmen are out of touch with the common people. You can talk to mayors alot of times and find they still are average people that know whats going on in their cities but you move up to federal level and they are just career out of touch politicans. Theres not a good answer how to fix it besides having alot less of them

But having fewer simultaneously means giving them each more power. Is giving each person more power really going to solve the issue?

a reply to: Aazadan

Itll help. Listening to just a few opinions and having to fight with just a few people is easier than having to listen to and fight with 500 people each one with diff opinions. Too many chiefs and not enough injuns. Thats why no matter whos in charge, they have a heck of a time getting anything at all passed. Imo its too counter-productive. They get no-where fast and keep going in circles. Less is more

originally posted by: Aazadan
a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

Incumbents are favored but they don't always get reelected. This comes down to primaries having become the political battleground rather than the general. Winning a primary is pretty easy because few people vote in them. If you can appeal to the fringe, you can win one. At the same time though, this also means that the general population isn't outraged enough to vote anyone out even though it's a very simple thing to do.

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

I would attribute most of the declining approval rate to better communication. The rise of politics as entertainment, especially the internets effect.

No one admits to actually liking these people, but yet they somehow get elected every term. How is this possible?

They attach riders to bills in Congress for pork barrel projects in their State . Such as 1,000,000 for the study of the sex life of a specific cricket in the Catskill Mountains. That money goes to local politicians and special interest groups in that state with very little finally filtering down to the research
How bout digging turtle tunnels underneath the roads of Florida ? And putting signs above them to make the turtles realize the tunnels were for them ? That was one of the shovel ready jobs. Cost the taxpayers 2,000,000

That question answered.