Remember the Capra/Stewart classic, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington? Well there is no sequel, Mr. Smith Serves His Fourth Term, because by then Mr. Smith has had all the idealism and integrity squeezed out of him like a tube of toothpaste under a steam roller.
Want a one-page picture of the problem? Click the first link, below, go to the cover story, and then click up the replacement "Table 1." There's the story of incumbent dominance on just one page. I hope it scares you. I hope it scares you into action.
Congressman Billybob
Click for "Til Death Do Us Part."