Term Limits for Congress

#51
#51
TennNC said:
Serving the House or Senate is a full-time job. At least, it should be.
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And that, Sir, is where our philosophies are completely opposed. I feel that it should not be. I feel this way because 90% of the legislation that is proposed every year is absolute BS.
 
#52
#52
therealUT said:
And that, Sir, is where our philosophies are completely opposed. I feel that it should not be. I feel this way because 90% of the legislation that is proposed every year is absolute BS.
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this is a line that plays well to joe the plumber but is out of touch with what actually happens in Congress.

the quality of the legislation you reference is irrelevant. you're correct that most bills introduced are stupid resolutions naming banks and post offices and congratulating the hoboken high panthers' 8th grade gymnastics team. But that stuff takes up such a minor amount of legislators' working hours - it's a spit in the ocean.

Congress' job is to allocate and appropriate spending the federal budget (and to authorize the president to go to war, no?). That requires having a keen knowledge of what their constituents value and what would be wise in the context of the country and the world at large.

You think someone can represent the interests of 500,000+ constituents, keep up with domestic and foreign policy issues, whilst traveling to and from washington and around his/her districts/states, in what, 20 hours a week? Add a committee or subcommittee chair or ranking position to the title, and it's more than a full-time job.
 
#53
#53
they are some hard workers up there. Just look at what Obama's done since he has been there. His constituents must love having him represent them.
 
#54
#54
BigPapaVol said:
they are some hard workers up there. Just look at what Obama's done since he has been there. His constituents must love having him represent them.
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fantastic example.

how about someone who's not a presidential candidate?
 
#59
#59
TennNC said:
You think someone can represent the interests of 500,000+ constituents, keep up with domestic and foreign policy issues, whilst traveling to and from washington and around his/her districts/states, in what, 20 hours a week? Add a committee or subcommittee chair or ranking position to the title, and it's more than a full-time job.
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No, it isn't.
 
#60
#60
MG1968 said:
:cray: boo hoo, those poor politicians who have to re enter the job market because they can't rely on the taxpayers to provide them with a retirement plan.
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I don't have much sympathy for them either. What is even more amazing is they qualify for a pension for the rest of their lives no matter how long they serve, even one day.

That is the ticket. Get elected to office, and quit the next day. You have a guranteed income for the rest of your life. The whole thing is a racket. I would have no problem putting these guys out on the street.
 
#63
#63
TennNC said:
and your professional experience that would give you the credibility to make that statement is....
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It is definitely the fact that I have a full-time job.

Your professional experience that gives you the credibility to claim that sticking strictly to the duties that must be performed on an annual basis by Congressmen is a burden that can only be tackled by full-time employment is???
 
#64
#64
therealUT said:
It is definitely the fact that I have a full-time job.

Your professional experience that gives you the credibility to claim that sticking strictly to the duties that must be performed on an annual basis by Congressmen is a burden that can only be tackled by full-time employment is???
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the fact that I and many, many, many others had full-time jobs covering the work that members of Congress do is one bit of evidence. the other part is that I spent nearly every working day on Capitol Hill for 3 years observing what happens there. those who truly honor their service put in more hours than most full-timers. there will always be slackers in any industry, any profession.

read an appropriations bill - any of them - defense would be a good one. And tell me if you think that stuff just gets done like the Nokia firemen commercial. Think about how many competing interests there are vying for those dollars. Think about how many meetings, hearings, markups, floor votes, lunches, banquets, etc. they participate in for that bill alone. Then multiply it by 13. that's the work required from a member of Congress and their staff.

I don't know what you do, but wouldn't it be rather naive of someone to say that you could do your job in half the time?

you make many good points on this forum. this is not one of them.
 
#65
#65
TennNC said:
the fact that I and many, many, many others had full-time jobs covering the work that members of Congress do is one bit of evidence. the other part is that I spent nearly every working day on Capitol Hill for 3 years observing what happens there. those who truly honor their service put in more hours than most full-timers. there will always be slackers in any industry, any profession.

read an appropriations bill - any of them - defense would be a good one. And tell me if you think that stuff just gets done like the Nokia firemen commercial. Think about how many competing interests there are vying for those dollars. Think about how many meetings, hearings, markups, floor votes, lunches, banquets, etc. they participate in for that bill alone. Then multiply it by 13. that's the work required from a member of Congress and their staff.

I don't know what you do, but wouldn't it be rather naive of someone to say that you could do your job in half the time?

you make many good points on this forum. this is not one of them.
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Simply because they take forever doing their job does not mean that it has to take forever.
 
#67
#67
CaedmonVol said:
Agreed. I've been saying this for ages about General Petraeus. Great General, but would you PLEASE HURRY UP AND WIN THIS WAR!!
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Well, as of now, OIF is on pace to be the quickest successful counter-insurgency a western power has ever fought.
 
#68
#68
therealUT said:
Well, as of now, OIF is on pace to be the quickest successful counter-insurgency a western power has ever fought.
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Shhhh....he was just poud to know Petraeus' name.

Ray Odierno, on the other hand might freak him out and he would lose sight of the fact that war is hard.
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#69
#69
CaedmonVol said:
Agreed. I've been saying this for ages about General Petraeus. Great General, but would you PLEASE HURRY UP AND WIN THIS WAR!!
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The "war" was won very quickly. We even hung the bad guy that was in charge. You may have seen it on the news.

We are now an occupation force dealing with a small guerilla insurgency. A police force, for lack of a better term.
 
#73
#73
CaedmonVol said:
Of course war is hard. So is running Congress.
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are you kidding me? It's a debate society that takes enormous amounts of vacation annually.

The size of the staffs and the colossal waste is pathetic.
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