They weren't neutered, per se. The problem, as I see it, is two-fold: power and money.
When these Reps are stumping, they have grandiose ideas and the people love to hear it. Obama did the same thing when he was running for PotUS. Promise the people the moon and they vote for you. This strategy is based solely on the knowledge that a majority of Americans are ignorant of how our government works and how our Constitution guides it.
When they get into DC, they're taken on a whirlwind tour. They're shown things they'd never known existed. They're given things they've never had. It's like Disney World: on the way there, life is clear and makes sense. When you get there, common sense and understanding are cast aside in lieu of the fantasy world surrounding you. The hangover doesn't happen until you're 15 minutes down I4 on the way home and you realize that it really isn't always sunshine and lollipops.
Our Reps don't want that sunshine and lollipop land to go away, so they tell us everything we want to hear in hopes of being re-elected. And the process repeats.
They are drunk on money and power. Raging against the establishment machine means being blackballed and miserable. It means no pet projects to give to the voters at home. It means no invitations to dinners, balls, or galas. It means no seats on committees. It means less power than your colleagues, and we all know that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
I don't endorse term limits. I think the Framers knew what they were doing in trusting the electorate to keep the faces fresh in DC, and that really needs to be the focus of the TEA party. I don't care if you've been in DC for 30 years and given millions of dollars in pork to your district or if you've been in DC for two terms; you need to go. Our government works best when a constant stream of new faces come in to govern. That means fresh ideas.
We need to focus on voting out ALL incumbents and keeping the stream fresh in DC. Otherwise, we're all drinking the same stinky, bitter water from decades ago. Lord knows I don't want to bathe in Boehner's tub.
Sometime during the Vietnam Conflict, I came to the conclusion that, at my pre-qualified voting age of 17, there wasn’t a whole lot of difference between the two parties.
That opinion has grown more solid over the intervening years.
I started voting with a simple principal:
Without specific evidence that ANY incumbent had done something truly worthwhile during their previous term, or was the obvious lesser of two evils, ANY challenger is better than ANY incumbent.
I TRULY believe that the FFs had NO inkling that this nation would produce SO MANY bottom feeding career public “servants” who have NEVER done a single, solitary useful commercial thing in their lives, instead sucking the lifeblood out of We the People during their entire existence. (Guess the FFs were not perfect after all)
In a prior post, I stated:
With recognition of Lord Acton’s prophetic principal from 1887 about the relationship of power and corruption, may I reword it to fit what we have seen in these latter days of the USA:
Power corrupts and ANY SIGNIFICANT amount of power will begin the corruption process, usually not reversible, of most people today, beyond any hope of reversal or redemption. “Great” men/women are (or become), these days, seldom anything but selfish, power hungry bad men/women.
(Just review in your own mind for a few moments, the behavior of any member of the public service sector, from local and county through state and up to federal gubmint, and count up any SIGNIFICANT players who have NOT been corrupted.)
I challenge everyone to nominate an elected DC gubmint member who has proven that they hold dear and adhere to the ideals enumerated in the Declaration and the Constitution, with some CONCRETE examples of their defense of We the People.
I know of none, since Sara Palin never made it to DC and McLame certainly wasn’t one.
I do believe that there are still some well intentioned neophytes operating at the state/local level, but the spread of Cancer of the Character via the Corruption Virus escalates infinitely upon induction into the federal machine.
God Almighty, today I’m reading about:
>Wide spread armed drone use in our domestic skies, and a Top Secret Czar charged with maintaining the “Candidates for Assassination List” for the regime.
>The “conservative” candidate’s religion being SIGNIFICANTLY racist. Waiting to see what the regime will do with THAT issue. Forget Bain and all the other issues with Romney, if that aspect of Mormonism has in fact ANY truth to it, we’re doomed for sure.
At this point in time:
We know what has happened to this country.
We know how it happened.
The only questions I have are:
WHY did We the People LET it happen?????
and
Are we going to do something about it or are we going to roll over and let THEM finish the murder of the USA?????
I would add that they are shown things that curl their hair and warned that unless they play ball, the world ends and they will suffer greatly.
That they are shown every ‘wrong’ thing they ever did in life and told it will be made public, as will any other little issue people may scoff at from their sex lives to their bad habits.
I’ve long thought about this issue. It’s my belief that there are a lot of gay Republicans and that it’s held as blackmail to force cooperation. There is statistically no way that every pubbie just ‘turns’ once they get there. They are forced to cooperate.
Some are allowed to buck the system on a rotating basis to keep up appearances and bolster reelection prospects so as to not have to ‘retrain’ new members as often.
IMO, but I have yet to see evidence to the contrary.
Why do so many never inquire as to how their local Congressman went to DC in debt, only to emerge 2 or 3 terms later with a net worth in the millions? This is precisely why the Republicans operate on the theory of "safe seats" and cooperate so enthusiastically with the Democrats. They have in effect, sold the party's right to govern for the chance to make themselves, their families, and their supporters wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice.
Boehner.