ARCHIVE 2008

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080605    CONSEQUENCES OF 'NEVER REELECT'

One example is the fact that the Congress would then have a major presence of ‘inexperienced’ members. Whether this would be beneficial or a disadvantage is arguable. For one thing, almost anything would be better than the status quo. And the only people who consider life outside the Beltway as ‘inexperience’ are politicians.

On the other hand, after 3 or 4 election cycles ( to clear the pipeline of waiting “would-be careerists” ) we would have a truly representative body of ordinary Americans who were experienced in the ‘real’ world, and who were now in Congress for a brief tenure, to do a job, and will then return to private life.

I believe that Americans are, on average, decent, honest, and commonsensical people who, when given the opportunity to ‘do the right thing’, will do it. And that is what I believe will happen in a tightly term-limited Congress (such as ‘6 years and out’). The idea of ‘Never Reelect(ing them)’ will serve that purpose until we get the constitutional amendment to make it a fact.

Such a fresh Congress will be basically divorced from the special interests and lobbyists, especially since these freshmen know they are unlikely to need or want reelection funding because they were elected by voters who donot want to reelect anyone.

A great many of these freshmen, unconcerned with reelection, will think of the basic merits of the various bills which they propose or will vote on, and not about whether it will help their reelection odds. That would be the real Revolution!

Some people maintain that the built-in staff bureacracy of Congress will try to bias the freshmen to do what the bureacracy favors, and no doubt some of that will happen. But by and large, the new blood will make itself felt, and more strongly as time goes on.

Other more cynical types will say that these freshmen will make deals with special interests to guarantee themselves ‘good jobs’ after they leave Congress. Maybe a few such may happen, but I’ll bet a helluva lot fewer than what goes on now with all those ‘cozy’ connections developed over many years. Most freshmen will be honest, and then gone before they get tainted.

Remember, NEVER REELECT any Congressman or Senator, ‘til we get Term Limits.

I’m Nelson Lee Walker of tenurecorrupts.c
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(By the way, who made the Earth’s ‘Ice Age’ go away? It sure wasn’t 'Man' !)

The American people are not dumb, but the steady drumbeat of environmentalist strategy to thwart the harvest of energy resources has had its effect, especially on the career politicians in Congress, who rely on the financial and electoral support of this special interest to get reelected forever.

There is little question that the country is suffering a dire shortage of leadership, a shortage of people who are willing to confront these enviros, who don’t feel a need to be ‘liked’ by their peers, and who are willing to take a ‘pro-energy’ position which might cause them to be attacked by fanatical liberals and ‘greens’.

Free market principles AND ample energy supplies is what enables this country to continue to lead the world in prosperity, standard of living, technology, medical progress, low unemployment, etc. Without cheap, plentiful energy, our advances will shrivel into a mediocre, even backward, way of life.

I have nothing against wind, solar, etc, but they will always be puny, almost negligible, compared to what the future will need.

One of the principal areas of activity stifling our country’s overall vigor is the ever expanding federal government and its leviathan of regulatory bureaucracy, (e.g. EPA) of which the restriction of energy development is a prime example of how our creeping loss of liberty is a drag on American progress.

The chief villain in this story is the US Congress, which creates and empowers the stifling bureaucracies, and which has long since been corrupted into two chambers of sinecures, where the principal occupation of its members is to guarantee perpetual reelection and lifelong tenure, the well-being of the country be damned.

So how to end this shortage of leadership? I suggest one way: create a 100% turnover in the US Congress in the next few elections.

Since Congress is a key factor in proposing laws, policy, and debates in our country, and provides its members with the visibility to reach all the people (thru C-span TV), shouldn’t we strive to make it available to citizen legislators instead of career political hacks?

I’ll bet that 535 freshmen in Congress would be a great seedbed of REAL leadership! And how do we do that?

Simply never reelect anyone in Congress!

I’m Nelson Lee Walker of tenurecorrupts.com
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Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code. Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy. Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY
Don't you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common 'con' regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of Tip O'Neill, who stood up and criticized Ronald Reagan for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes. O'Neill is the speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE SCOUNDRELS
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that these 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Marines are in Lebanon, it's because they want them in Lebanon.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation" or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do. Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees.

This article was taken from the Orlando Sentinel Star newspaper
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080523    VOTERS & NON-VOTERS, LISTEN UP!

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Our dysfunctional Congress is the direct result of an apathetic voter population, which in turn, is the direct result of the absence of term limits.

Voters who really want an effective, responsible Congress, are turned off from voting because they feel voting is a meaningless exercise, since Congress is chock full of permanent, careerist, professional politicians, who are principally concerned with reelection first, good government last.

These politicians don’t want to do a civic duty. They only want a well paid job, which has generous benefits, no boss, is non-accountable, has a large staff, many perquisites, and possible lifetime tenure. And to get this, all they have to do is ‘con’ voters into always reelecting them.

Toward this end, the incumbents carefully manage their voting records and speeches to nurture the special interest groups who give them the most financial and electoral support for the next election.

And they are succeeding. Reelection rates for the House are 98%, the Senate is 90%. So the responsible voter says “What’s the use?”, and doesn’t vote.

In the early 1900’s, reelections averaged in the 60% range
In the 1960’s, House reelections averaged about 90%, voter turnout was about 62%, .
After 2000, House reelections reached 98%, voter turnout was down to about 50%.
I predict that when reelection rates reach 100%, voter turnout will plunge to below 35%.
And Congress will still stand rock-solid against term limits!

That will be the beginning of the end of our liberty, and our once great republic.

There is only one way to correct this slide into national oblivion. It requires the American voter to take back Congress.

We can do it, simply. It only requires determination.

First, we must, all of us, always vote, in every election. We must raise voter turnout from the current 50% level to over 80%. In every Congressional election.

Second, and most importantly, we must never reelect incumbents. Good or bad. We must always vote for challengers. Also good or bad. We must give up our party and incumbent loyalties, and concentrate on achieving a 100% turnover in Congress. We can do it in 3 elections. The whole House and 1/3 of the Senate is up every two years.

In reality, only a substantial partial success is required. When the media and the pols see the trend, they will panic. And new freshmen, seeing the trend, will then vote the way the voters want them to vote.

We can always go back to voting for our party and a favorite candidate AFTER we take back the Congress and install Term Limits. If we don’t win this battle soon, we will eventually no longer have any choice on who to vote for. We’ll have a fully permanent Congress. And it will be our fault!

I'm Nelson Lee Walker of tenurecorrupts.com

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080512    AMERICA, WANT CHANGE? TRY THIS... (text)

(Note: Only 40-50% of our citizens vote in any given Federal election. This piece is directed to the millions of Americans who don’t vote because they’ve given up on our crummy politics):

The most repeated word this political season is “Change!” The trouble is that it is only being applied to the presidential races, where change is going to happen anyway, thanks to term limits, no matter who wins.

Where “Change” REALLY needs to happen is in Congress, where things never change, regardless of who wins or loses, on either side of the aisle.

Do you realize that the reelection rate in the House is over 98%? In the Senate it is over 90%, and it has been that way for years. Kennedy(MA) and Dingle(MI) have both been there for over 50 years! 50 years! And many of their colleagues are catching up with them in tenure. Nowadays, getting reelected just a couple of times paves the way toward lifetime tenure. Who said that lifetime tenure was just for Supreme Court Justices? Or lousy college professors?

And to make matters worse, Congress refuses to let anyone propose term limits on Congress, even tho’ 80% of the American people favor term limits on Congress.

Some people oppose term limits, saying that “We already have limits, they are called elections!”

OK, I say, let’s use elections to do it. Simply NEVER REELECT anyone in Congress. Don’t let anyone serve more than ONE term! We can only get a citizen Congress and fresh ideas, and solutions, AFTER we get rid of the career politicians in Congress. Career politicians will finally disappear when voters allow only one term in Congress.

Is this too drastic a step? Got a better idea for real change? Well, a voter’s gotta do what a voter’s gotta do!

So how do we make “Change” happen in Congress? Simple! Just NEVER REELECT any Congressman or Senator. Never reelect ANYONE in Congress. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Throw the bums out after one term!

And how do we make that happen? Simple! Always vote, in every election, but always vote for challengers . Never, never vote for incumbents. Regardless of promises, platforms, or who will have the majority.

Remember, to get rid of the alligators, we must first drain the swamp!

If you don’t have a challenger in your regular party, vote for the next best challenger in any other party. Even if you have to hold your nose while doing it. Just NEVER REELECT any incumbent Senator or Congressman. Never!

After 3 or 4 election cycles, when Congress notices that election turnout is UP, but reelection rates are DOWN, they’ll get the message, and maybe give us term limits, just so that they can serve more than one term!

You can help by sending this message to all your friends and acquaintances. Frequently. (Repetition is the key!) We need everybody to vote in every election, BUT... they must always vote for challengers. Never vote for incumbents! No matter how much it hurts! NEVER REELECT anyone!

I’m Nelson Lee Walker of tenurecorrupts.com  (Comment)

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080316     A REVOLUTION TO TAKE BACK THE US CONGRESS (text)
                       by Nelson Lee Walker of tenurecorrupts.com

I am proposing that we create a popular, bloodless, political revolution in our country.

I believe that it is very necessary, very possible, and very doable.

The object of this revolution is the destruction of the professional political class which currently dominates and corrupts the US Congress.

I am convinced, as are many, many voters, that the bulk of our country’s political problems arises out of this ‘permanent’ Congressional political class, and their devotion to party power and to the financial special interests keeping them in power.

There is a simple way for voters to create this revolution: That way is to...NEVER REELECT any Congressional incumbent, anytime, in the House or the Senate, good guys or bad, in either party. Just NEVER REELECT!

It can be done easily and at no cost. All it takes is a national email campaign by all voters, getting their friends, and their friends, and their friends, to send out this NEVER REELECT message, frequently, thru out 2008, 2010, and 2012, and maybe longer...Just NEVER REELECT!

If we succeed in doing this for two or three election cycles, we would sharply reduce the rate of successful reelections from over 98% in the House. Similarly in the Senate. This leaves room for and encourages ‘citizen’ legislators. It would break the back of the special interests and allow ‘citizen’ legislators, using the Internet, without the help of special interests, to run for and win office.

The resulting larger contingent of freshman Congresspeople would enable us to call for term limits of  
“6 Years and Out”, and for publicly funded federal elections. Both of these changes would keep the professional politicians and their financial backers on the sidelines for a long, long time.

Let’s do it!
(Note to all readers: Please feel free to use this message, with or without attribution, for any purpose.)
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In other words, Congress should be term limited.

Since Congress will never pass term limits on itself, we have to do it ourselves.

And to do it, we simply have to NEVER REELECT ANY CONGRESSMAN !!!
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Please forward this message to your whole addressbook, repeatedly thru 2008, to urge all your friends to stop reelecting ALL incumbent Congressmen.

For a free ‘NEVER REELECT’ bumper sticker, send your PO address to nels96@gmail.com

The number of websites which promote the reform of Congress by eliminating permanent professional politicians is growing steadily. Some sites are much more interesting than mine. Here are a few if them:

http://www.KickThemAllOut.com
http://www.samadamsalliance.org           http://www.voidnow.org
http://www.termlimits.com                      http://www.goooh.com
http://www.tenurecorrupts.com               http://www.foavc.or

Nelson Lee Walker of tenurecorrupts.com Comment

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