[clue-talk] A fsck'ed up view on campaign reform

[David Rudder]

Why do we have 100 senators and however-many congressmen/women.  Why?
Ask any high school kid and you'll hear "2 senators per state and the
house is determined by the state's population".  But, how many senators
and congressmen do we need?  How many people does it take to get done
the serious business of making the laws of the United States of America?

If the number is significantly less than the current levels, then what
are these elected officials *doing* the rest of the time?  Campaigning.
Okay, cool.  It's messed up, but I'm okay with it.  Or, let's at least
assume I'm okay with it, since I'm really not.

What happens if we take money out of politics?  Politicians don't have
to spend so much time campaigning.  And then they do...what exactly?
Make more laws?  God forbid.  Can we fire Florida's reps?  Probably not
:(  You know that this is a void that will have to be fixed.

We could say that the congressmen could be required to have a real job,
but then there's conflict of interest issues.

Maybe they have to volunteer?  Must teach a class at some university in
their state?  Can we make them file reports at Walter Reed?

-Dave