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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Special interests buy their own personal Congressmen



Your Vote Has No Meaning
Corrupt Billionaire Cartels of Labor Unions and Multi-National Corporations own the Congress and rule the US
  • Special interests buy Congressional seats in order to drain the Treasury for their supporters.
  • The Constitutional Republic created by the Founding Fathers no longer exists.
  • Voters are just an "optional extra".

By Gary;

Let's bottom line it. Congressmen don't give a flying crap that you even exist.  If you don't like what any Congressman does they know you can't do anything about it unless you are willing to write a check for $5 to $10 million to run against them.

Roll Call just published the spending in 2012 Congressional races.  There is only one conclusion - - - the Republic has died.  We are being ruled by Puppets totally financed and owned by ultra-wealthy special interest groups of unions and businesses all looking to rape the Treasury for money, tax breaks or subsidies.

House districts have grown so huge (700,000 people) that only millionaires or those bought and paid for by millionaires can win office.  The only "voters" that count to a Congressman are the ones shoveling millions in special interest campaign cash into their accounts.

Our Founding Fathers created a Republic where the average person could easy seek a seat in the House.  Article One; Section Two - "The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand."

Our Constitution has been ignored and the size of House seats is ridiculous.  For example, House seats in the United Kingdom and Canada run about 100,000 people compared to our 700,000.

Corruption of Big Money.
Voters no longer matter.
Here are a few examples of the insane spending for House seats.

- - - - Reps. Brad Sherman and Howard Berman set a record for spending by candidates in the 30th district California congressional race, shelling out more than $16 million between them. $4.5 million was outside PAC money.

- - - - $16.9 million was spent in the San Diego-based contest between successful Democratic challenger Scott Peters and GOP Rep. Brian Bilbray -- and $8.8 million of that total came from outside groups, with the bulk of it spent hammering the two candidates.

- - - - Florida’s 18th District: Republican Rep. Allen West vs. Democrat Patrick Murphy.  Spent $29.3 million for a single House seat.  Some $7 million by outside PACs.

- - - - Spending in the 17th Illinois Congressional District, Rep. Bobby Schillling (R-Ill.) v Democrat Cheri Bustos - $8,202,639

- - - - 11th Illinois Congressional District, Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) v former Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) spent $15.4 million.  Some $8.6 million was outside PAC money.


The insanity of "modern" elections.
The hotly contested and huge 30th district in Los Angeles has a monstrous 399,363 voters and 700,000 people.  For a candidate to mail only a single mass produced, bulk rate letter to every voter could cost $180,000 on up.  In any campaign many mailers are sent along with TV, radio, billboards etc.  Only millionaires or the corrupt can run for office.
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The Founding Fathers wanted the lower house to be a chamber of the people, so they made small districts.  But today with ultra-big districts the election winners only represent the wealthy labor unions and multi-national corporations.
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The House of Commons in Canada and the United Kingdom have districts of about 100,000 people.  To restore something of a Republic, the size of House seats needs to drop to the 100,000 level. 
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The House of Representatives has the power to reform our election process and vote for that change today.  While they are at it, they can slash their pay 50%, slash staffs, abolish their pension and benefits. 
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Make serving in the House a short term public service option rather than a lifetime career.


The Gerrymandering of seats backed by mountains of
corrupt big money has eliminated free elections.


In 1992, there were 103 members of the House of Representatives elected from what might be called swing districts: those in which the margin in the presidential race was within five percentage points of the national result. But based on an analysis of this year’s presidential returns, it is estimated that there are only 35 such Congressional districts remaining, barely a third of the total 20 years ago.

Instead, the number of landslide districts — those in which the presidential vote margin deviated by at least 20 percentage points from the national result — has roughly doubled.

In 1992, there were 123 such districts. 65 of them strongly Democratic and 58 strongly Republican. Today, there are 242 of them. Of these, 117 favor Democrats and 125 Republicans.

(Roll Call)        (New York Times)


A 19th Century Political Stump Speech.
Unlike today, true democracy existed in 19th Century America. Because the size of House districts was small the main expense a candidate had was to open a few kegs of beer, jump on the nearest tree stump and explain his positions to voters who may or may not have been sober. It is the opinion of many that a candidate sounds better with every additional beer.


Congressman Davy Crockett

Davy Crockett represented a Tennessee district of 60,000 people.  Candidates and voters could easily meet each other without special interest spending.

In 1834, his autobiography titled A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett. Written by Himself was published.  Crockett went east to promote the book and was narrowly defeated for re-election.

He said, "I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not ... you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas."


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