Rotten in DC

To even the most obtuse observer of the Washington, DC scene, it's clear there is something rotten there that we've been trying to overlook far too long. Our government is struggling with monumental issues with one hand tied behind its back, and more.

The core problem is money, campaign finance reform, to be specific. Campaigns for high office should be financed by the government so that exceedingly wealthy people who want a new challenge or whatever, can't simply lay out $100 million and become a governor, senator or judge. (No judge should ever have to run for office.) In addition, campaigns for national office should be limited, as they are in many other western countries, to 3-6 months. No more continuous 24/7 campaigns that never end and require ever greater time devoted, not to governing or legislating , but to fundraising. It's going to be hard to make much progress on these matters until the Supreme Court is persuaded that corporations are not people. As it is, the High Court has just made it infinitely easier for corporations to influence legislation using stockholder money. This makes corporations super persons. Let's give them names like Watson for IBM, Jack for GE, Mickey for Disney, Uncle Dick for Halliburton, Jamie for JP Morgan Chase. These men will be able to spend whatever it takes to continue Wall Street's dominance of Washington, thanks to the Roberts Court.

Unfortunately, there is much more to be done to improve congressional effectiveness. I have always been for term limits that would force lawmakers to leave office after say two terms as a senator (12 years) and 3 as a congressman (9 years).
Election to office should not be a lifetime meal ticket. Term limits should be law and any expertise denied the nation because of shorter tenure can be easily overcome by an improved civil service and a steady supply of new talent.

Archaic rules should be changed, especially in the Senate where secret holds on nominations make it impossible for a new president to establish control over the government. Earmarks should be transparent and greatly reduced. Ethics Committees should be reconstituted and required to work in the open. Filibuster rules should be changed to prevent the tyranny of the minority that can immobilize a determined opposition.

And that's just for starters. The country has to break the grip of Special Interests before we can return to our ideals and the phenominal promise they hold. Business can't be rigged so that only a tiny percentage of people benefit and that will mean heavy, determined lifting for many years. The same goes for farming, mining, oil and coal. The subsidies have to go, the playing fields levelled. Until then, it's just going to be more of the same - "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire, burn and cauldron bubble."