Actually all congressional fights provided by the Air Force should be grounded. Let them all take to the airways with the regular folks and experience the problems we face.
I don’t believe they should fly at all. My solution is to shut down D.C. Let them stay in their districts. With today’s technology there is no reason for them to be there. They have the ability to videoconference and electronically vote from anywhere.
That would make it much harder for special interest groups to lobby them and they would be more accountable for their actions when constituents are banging down their door every day all day long.
They are not accessible to the people who voted them into office while in D.C. Bring them home to their districts to stay.
That would make it much harder for special interest groups to lobby them and they would be more accountable for their actions when constituents are banging down their door every day all day long.
Very good points!
The technology is certainly available, and we could attract better candidates, ones who don't want to leave their families, or move them to a $h|thole like D.C.
I take the opposite view. Most Members of Congress should travel more outside their districts. Yes, they should fly commercial, but they should go.
We're getting this backwards. What needs to be dismantled is the congressional perpetual reelection machine. We pay for them to shuttle back and forth each weekend to campaign. We pay for overly large staffs both in Washington and in the districts to answer mail and do constituent service. We pay for mass mailings, which are just campaign literature. All that needs to go to level the electoral playing field.
That said, however, I am all in favor of congresscritters traveling more outside their districts. As it is, it is very easy for Members to live in a bubble. They need to get out more -- away from Washington, away from their staff handlers, away from the atmosphere where they are the center of attention from lobbyists and constituents. Travel can be abused but the remedy for that is full disclosure.
There is also no substitute for getting out and actually looking at something you're responsible for voting on. What would you think of a general who never visited troops in the field or a corporate CEO who never set foot in a plant or a store?