Posted on 01/02/2010 10:04:37 AM PST by DavidFarrar
On January 1, 2010, I received an email message from Janet & Norman, members of the American Re-Tea Party, group: "The RIGHT Movement".
In short, they want to send a powerful message to the political establishment by sending all 435 incumbent House members -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- packing in the 2010 elections, as well as all 33 incumbent Senators.
"All that is asked is that You consider the suggestion here:
"The entire Congress of the United States is corrupt. And we mean both Houses and I mean both major parties..We realize that a few Members of each House are trustworthy, but, as a group they are absolutely the most corrupt bunch to ever disgrace our Nation. In November of 2010, the entire House of Representatives will stand for reelection; all 435 of them.
"One third of the Senate, a total of 33 of them, will also stand for reelection.
"Vote every incumbent out. And we mean every one of them...no matter their Party affiliation. Let's start all over in the House of Representatives with 435 people who have absolutely no experience in running that body, with no political favors owed to anyone but their own constituents.
"Let's make them understand that they work for us. They are answerable to us and they simply have to run that body with some common sense.
"Two years later, in 2012, vote the next third of the incumbents in the Senate out. We can do the same thing in 2014 and, by that time we will have put all new people in that body as well.
"We, the People, have got to take this Country back and we HAVE to do it peacefully. That's what the Framers of our Constitution envisioned.
"We are also suggesting term limits on the new bunch: 8 years for Representatives and 12 years for Senators no exceptions. The longer they stay in office, the more power they get, and they love it and will do anything to get reelected. We have term-limited the President, now lets term-limit the Legislators.
"This thing can permeate this Country in no time. Let us give our Country a fighting chance.
"VOTE THE POWER ABUSERS OUT...
"LET'S TAKE AMERICA BACK !!!!!!!!!
"IF YOU LIKE THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING IN OUR COUNTRY, THEN DO NOTHING...THAT MAKES YOU PART OF THE PROBLEM".
I must confess, I did not really realize that ALL U.S. House of Representative seats will, in fact, be open in the 2010 elections.
My response was as follows:
"I will, of course, seriously consider your suggestion that all 435 House incumbents should be sent packing in the 2010 elections, as well as all 33 incumbent Senators. Not that it would necessarily accomplish the political objectives you seek -- indeed, it will probably act to consolidate political power into fewer and fewer hands. Nevertheless, it would, indeed, send a powerful "People's" message to the political establishment that we, the People, can now act -- thanks to the Internet -- in a unified and collective way -- a very, very powerful message, indeed!"
In short, I have had an epiphany when it comes to following this particular political strategy. It is wrong, of course. There were courageous House and Senate members from both parties who did do the right thing and voted against the TARP bill -- which, to me, was the defining political moment between a government protecting our freedoms and liberty or one that seeks to establish its own power at the expense of our freedoms and our precious liberty. I cannot speak for you, dear friends, but as for me, after the TARP bill was passed, I now know we have a government that considers itself sovereign and not the people it represents.
In my humble, it is time we, the People, need to demonstrate to our entire political system, that we, the people, have now awaken and will act to protect our freedoms, our liberty, and our sovereignty.
ex animo
davidfarrar
Meh...baby, bathwater...you know the drill...
I agree, all should be sent home! We do not want career politicians in any way, shape or form. Send them all home and come up with term limits for all.
Amen:
Pure nonsense.
My representative to the house is probably the most conservative member in the entire house.
Virginia Foxx.
She is also probably the most conservative person in politics in the entire state, not just my district.
To give her the boot would be more stupid than stupid.
Are you going to be sending campaign contributions to the Democrat challenging Michele Bachmann?
Throwing the baby out with the bath water may make the Angry Always political fringe crowd giddy, it would be politically stupid. All this simplistic moral equivalence grandstanding accomplishes is to get good people fired while the wicked one are reelected year after year after year.
People like this author ran around screaming how "better a Conservative Democrat then a RINO" in 2006 and 2008. Now every single one of those "Conservative" Democrats is voting to nationalize the US Health Care system, every single RINO is voting against it. Yet rather then learn from their errors, people like this author keep screaming the same failed dogmas.
There are many GOOD Congress critters. Bachmann, Wilson, Pence, Bourn, Demint, Colburn, Inhofe, Kline et all. Firing them because people are too stupid, or too lazy, to bother knowing what is going on in DC would be utterly childish.
The solution is not to mindless advocate stupid grand stand plays like this idea but to get off your asses and learn who is who and what is what in DC
I like this idea in general. In my cong. dist., Brian Baird recently announced that he will not seek reelection. He wanted to spend more time with his family. He was the one who referred to town hall protesters as “brown shirts.”
On the other hand Sen. Patti Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell are firmly entrenched. Would love to see them go but I don’t see that happening.
Why would we want to vote out conservative Republicans. Isn’t that shooting yourself in the foot? We should focus our efforts on defeating the socialists not those that are on our side. Doing anything but is helping the enemy. Why spread resources thinner than need be by going after those that are on your side? Why punish those who have been doing the right thing?
Has the TEA Party movement been infiltrated by the socialists? Who else would suggest such a stupid idea of going after everybody including incumbent conservatives?
Interesting concept. Even though congressional approval ratings are in the cellar, most people believe that their own concressperson/senator is doing a good job!! Of course, this explains why these people keep getting re-elected.
Why do people think they do a good job? Its the shell game of the sheeple paying tribute to the federal gubment, and our congresscritters and sinators ‘work hard’ to bring back home some of that bacon. That is why earmarks are so poisonous...and now we have the Nebraska Compromise and the streetwalker from the big easy as well.
But...I like my congresscritter. She is in her first term and has a good voting record (Lynn Jenkins). If there were a movement to get rid of encumbants, I fear only voters with a conscience (Republicans) would do it....isn’t that kinda what happened in 2006?
Some very short-sighted thinking in this “send the whole lot packing” approach, which makes it so dangerous that it almost seems the dream of an Emanuel or an Axelrod.
For one thing, I can only send one congressman packing - mine is a donkey in what used to be a swing district, and I’ll do everything I can to help her join the unemployment lines she helped extend.
But I can’t vote out Frank, Waxman, Hoyer, Pelosi, etc, etc., etc. - and neither can the whole damn Tea Party movement - those jerk-offs are elected by constituents so stupid that they’d vote for their democrat clown even if one of the Founding Fathers was running as an oppenent.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it till I’m blue in the face - this “throw all the bums out” approach will only lead to the solidification of political power in Democrat hands, because it will drag down lots of at least acceptable Republicans while HAVING NO EFFECT AT ALL on the worst of the donkeys, who will be reelected by the sheep in their district no matter how crooked and/or stupid they are (see, for example, Alcee Hastings, Maxine Waters, Ed Markey, Fortney Pete Stark, Charlie Rangel, etc., etc.).
ex animo
davidfarrar
These people are obviously idiots that do not understand the system, how it works, or how to change the system for the better.
I used to say that they needed to be ignored.
Now? I say shout them down and call them what they are:
Stupid, brain dead, insane cranks who are hurting the Conservative cause!
Throw them all out? - How stupid is that?
I vote for the good guys and I vote against the bad guys.
I see no gain in voting against an incumbent good guy
just so that I can be represented by a novice bad guy.
Just as important as voting the scoundrels out, do your homework and be careful who you vote in.
Otherwise, you’re likely to end up with someone even more corrupt.
While I’d never, ever, vote for the ultra liberal alternative to my congresscritter, my vote will go to the candidate who campaigns for my vote, which will likely be some obscure third party candidate.
The time to throw the bums out, though, is now, as the primaries are ramping up. Find good candidates to challenge the incumbents (or if unseating a liberal, find a REAL challenger rather than the bookmarks which are usually put up against them...) If that means putting down your name, and campaigning yourself, then do it.
But let’s be honest for a moment. While throwing the bums out of Congress is important, it will mean nothing if cities, counties and states continue to exhibit even worse natures. Leaping to the national stage without fixing the local will just turn into an empty gesture.
I agree that the limbs of our tree of liberty need trimming, but let’s fix the roots that are crumbling the sidewalk rather than worrying about the random rotten fruit that drops upon us from above.
Start at City Hall, end the massive payoffs to benefits plans and contributions to state benefits plans. Hold them accountable for the millions upon millions that are wasted each year. Grow the seedlings of a political movement, and you’ll have a far more lasting effect.
Why should any current member of Congress even try to do the right think with nuts like you out there?
“Reward your friends”
“Punish your enemies”
These are the rules of politics.
You are part of the circular firing squad, the “eat your own” stupidity of those who have never tried to pass good legislation or get anything done, positively.
All you want to do is complain.
You are a political Vandal, wanting to make your “mark” on the world, good or bad -—
It does not matter to you as long as you “mark your spot” like the rabid dog you are.
Please note...nobody is saying you can’t vote for a good conservative in the primaries. You can throw a good, fiscal conservative out of office and still support another good, fiscal conservative in the primary.
But the point of my message is clear...at this particular time in our nation’s political history, I now consider it more important for the People to find their voice and send a message to our entire political establishment rather than supporting individuals, regardless of their political persuasions
ex animo
davidfarrar
“Please note...nobody is saying you cant vote for a good conservative in the primaries. You can throw a good, fiscal conservative out of office and still support another good, fiscal conservative in the primary.”
More idiocy.
What’s the reward for being “good” and a “fiscal conservative” if the result is you’re tossed aside because of some mimdless electoral strategy?
And winning the primary isn’t the goal - winning the general is. So there’s a terrific strategy - let’s have conservatives chew each other up in primaries, so it’ll be easier for some jerkwad donkey to win the general.
Lookit, you want term limiits for all, count me in - but until you come up with a REALISTIC way to clean Pelosi, Frank, Conyers, Rangel, etc., out of the House, this approach is about as stupid a route as one could possibly imagine.
My point goes beyond mere political persuasion. It goes to the entire political establishment as a whole.
The whole political establishment is now dividing the People so it can retain political power itself, and not the People. Therefore, we, the People, must think as a whole if our freedoms, our liberty and our precious sovereignty are to be protected.
I realize this is a completely new political concept. One hitherto impossible before the age of the Internet. But, I believe, it just might be where we, the People, need go within our political system to protect the republic in times of political excesses by the system itself.
ex animo
davidfarrar
What's the incentive for a conservative representative to try to turn this country around, if the people that actually SHARE their viewpoint are going try to get them thrown out of office at the next opportunity?
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