Posted on 11/17/2011 2:30:55 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
....Cornyn neither condemned nor endorsed the proposal by a fellow Texan that would cut the salary of House members and senators in half, cut their staff budgets in half and cut their time in Washington in half.
You know the old saying in Texas? Cornyn wondered. We have a legislature that meets for 140 days every two years, but many Texans believe it ought to be two days ever 140 years.
Texans believe in limited government and see Washington as the antithesis to limited government by expanding government responsibilities, consuming more taxpayer dollars and intruding even more on our individual liberties and our rights, Cornyn said, echoing some of Perrys anti-Washington themes.
But the idea of becoming a part-time senator after eight years in office didnt sit well with Cornyn.
I believe representing 25 million people (in Texas) is a pretty big job, Cornyn told reporters in a weekly telephone call.
And Congress has wider responsibilities than part-time state legislatures such as the legislative branch in Texas.
The world doesnt stop when Congress is out of session, Cornyn said. We need to have a Congress that fits our needs as the worlds premier power.
Cornyn conceded that lawmakers could make much more efficient use of their time (in Washington) and that the more Congress is in session, the more likely it is to spend more money and pass a bunch of laws that we frankly dont need.
But Cornyn diplomatically broke ranks with Perry. As Cornyn put it: Im not advocating a state legislature-type schedule.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.chron.com ...
I take it that Stuny, and the rest of the house cancelled their month long summer vacation, their spring break and their winter break to focus on these serious matters?
STFU Stuny!!
1. My suggestion was not from Rick Perry.
2. I first proposed it to a Pol in Oklahoma City in the mid 1990’s. It was technologically workable then, but a no-brainer now.
3. The Texas legislature only meets every other year for a few weeks unless the Governor calls a special session. That has worked pretty well for a long time.
4. There is no reason for Congress to be in Session for most of the year.
5. I know some Pols who would prefer to live in their district instead of DC.
6. Power corrupts and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely ~ Lord Acton
7. See my tag line. It is truly what I believe. If that makes me unrealistic, I think you need to study the attitudes of the founders a bit. The world has changed since those White Guys lived, but much of human nature has not.
I don’t think it’s unrealistic to start booting out all Congress critters after so many terms - too many of them get in office and rather than represent us, they start to focus on the next election.
Nor do I. Those who have been there a long time are generally totally corrupted. You are correct.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.