EDITORIAL: Throw the bums out

OPINION:

Washington’s recent missteps over mismanaged legislation, poor oversight and mishandled deregulation have become old news. Republicans have been fighting with each other and Democrats are fighting with each other. That’s old news, too. Neither party seems to be in agreement with its own members - let alone American voters. Now comes news from American voters, although politicians and bureaucrats inside the Beltway may not be pleased.

An President Bush has a disapproval rating of 66 percent and Congress has a disapproval rating of 78 percent. Now this: 59 percent of all voters, according to Rasmussen, would like to replace all of Congress, right now. Seventy-four percent of Republicans would like to throw out the entire Congress, while 62 percent of independents and 43 percent of Democrats agree. At the same time, only 25 percent of Democrats would like to keep the entire Congress, which is controlled by their own party.

History will show that our Founding Fathers did not expect that lawmakers stay in Congress for very long. At the time the U.S. Constitution was written, turnover in the state legislatures was high at 50 percent each election, and terms were short. Moreover, congressmen did not spend as much time deliberating issues. The concept of a career politician had not been invented. The New Deal changed the game since it expanded the power of the federal government.

Less time in Congress and shorter careers for politicians before the New Deal also discouraged our modern-day legislation and power mess born out of relationships with professional lobbyists. Today, it is common for one to come to the Capitol, work for a congressmen using their time to make connections in other congressional offices and then take a job as a lobbyist. Moreover, congressmen would have less to gain from trying to create legislation to keep their office, as they would be motivated to make decisions based on what is best for the taxpayer.

Neither candidate for president has helped quell the problems with the financial bailout. Both candidates had a chance to push against the plan and neither took the opportunity. The question is how do voters pick a president when both candidates represent the branch of government that Americans are so disgusted with at the moment?