A Short Lesson On Congress, Or Why The Senate Is So Screwed Up

Everyone knows what the House of Representatives is supposed to be - the voice of We the People. We select, through direct election, those people we think will most closely represent our social-economic-political beliefs to speak for us in our form of government. Hence the reason they've always been elected through direct election. The House was the only body in our federal government to have such elections, and here's the most important part - the only one MEANT to be directly elected.

The Senate, on the other hand, was meant to be the voice of their individual states, and only indirectly be a voice for the people.

The Founders, given their natural (and completely understandable) fear of a strong central government, wanted senators chosen by the state legislatures of the individual states. Their intent was to ensure that the federal government's power resided in the states. Hence the reason every state - from smallest to largest, least populated to most populated - have just two senators.

Until Woodrow Wilson, that is. That brilliant progressive, in his infinite wisdom, decided we'd be better served with directly electing our senators. Why? It's simple really - progressives, above all things, crave power. Not necessarily for themselves, but for the strong, overbearing, and centralized federal government that couldn't be had with senators that are beholden only to the states they represent. Progressives, liberals - call them what you will - all leftists believe that they know better what's best for you than you do - and what better way to enforce their vision of "best" than a government capable of intruding into every aspect of your life.

We are now forced to endure the likes of Harry Reid-iculous, John McCan't, Lindsey Graham, et al, because becoming a senator is more of a popularity contest than doing what's right for the state you serve.

Had the brilliance of the Founders been left as they intended, those senators (and many others throughout the years) wouldn't have lasted as long as they have, because the ones they damaged most - their state - would have removed them from office, and the rest of us wouldn't have gotten stuck with them. ~ Hunter

What's Wrong With America: Professional Perpetual Politicians

Part of the problems facing this nation, at least as I see it, lies in the fact that we now have a ruling class, something to which the majority of the Founding Fathers were vehemently opposed.


Benjamin Franklin, arguably the greatest mind ever to set foot on this earth, believed that a person elected into office should be a "common man," motivated solely by helping out his fellow citizens as best he could, then stepping down and making way for the next common man. He also believed that public servants shouldn't receive a salary, as the office should attract people "...wise and moderate... the men fittest for the trust..." The idea of a "career politician" was anathema to the Founders.


Thomas Jefferson, the second greatest mind of his time (behind only the aforementioned Franklin), said, "(a) government of representatives elected by the people at short periods was our object." Writing about a proposed Constitution for Virginia, Jefferson favored a single long term for senators, thus preventing senators from conducting their office to further their own careers, with the added benefit of focusing a senator's perspective on those whom they represented. Holding public office was to be a public service, not a means of lining one's own pockets.


George Washington, our first president, eschewed his $25,000 yearly salary and voluntarily left office after two terms to make way for others who wished to serve their fellow man. Try finding a politician who would make this same sacrifice today. Washington gave us the example to follow, like he had for so much of his life, in that the duty to serve was never supposed to mean a longevity in office. Until Franklin Delano Roosevelt, no other president served more than two terms.


The intent of the Founders was to limit time spent in public office. If it isn't, it leads one  to become besotted with his or her own power, the belief in one's infallibility, and the notion that you, and you alone, can solve the problems you were elected to fix in the first place (yet done next to nothing to actually repair). A case in point - FDR. His "New Deal" prolonged the Great Depression by several years, if not decades, while raising federal taxes threefold over just seven years (1933 to 1940). In combination with several other policies, hundreds of thousands of jobs were lost, not to mention the jobs that were never created due to a lack of capital overall.


Today, we have politicians who spend lifetimes in public office. That's true on both sides of the aisle. I'm sure most, if not all of them started their political lives with a sincere desire to do good things for their constituents, but like all things that grant power over others, they became addicted to that power. They're focused more on how to stay in power rather than focusing on how to exercise that power to benefit the nation. It's time to put an end to it.


I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm pretty sure the Founders of this great nation would have already ended it, given that it was leaders they wanted, not rulers. ~ Hunter