[joebuck]

"I'm actually at the point now where I truly believe all politicians are crooks. Every single one..."

Welcome to the club, I've been there for awhile. No matter who they are when they come to Washington, politics corrupts everybody and everything it touchs.

[cherry]

we need a balanced budget amendment....no ifs,ands or buts....

as long as the crooks can rake us over the coals in the name of the "children" or "health care" or the "teachers" or any of the commonly promoted crisises of the day, we are sitting ducks....

[firebrand]

Actually, you can't get the job in the first place if you're not at least a little bit corrupt. Everyone who is already on board knows that no one will be able to make a corrupted deal with you if you're honest, not to mention the fact that you could blow the whistle if you're too much of a Boy Scout. So you can't get past square one with the local manifestation of your party.

Our government culture has tipped. You can't move in unless you're of the same moral (immoral) persuasion.

Earmarks are actually not such a bad thing per se, but the abuse is.