A Clean Sweep

I propose a new political plan, one that will ensure that congress functions as it should. It's called Leave Every Congressperson Behind. It's very simple; when at the polls, always vote for the new candidate. Vote out the old.

In Washington today, there is an endemic problem caused by buddy systems, exclusive clubs, ingrown party affiliation, misguided oaths and loyalties, pork barrel politics, greed and yes, money, either too little or too much. These perpetual sores are not so likely to afflict a first time, single term congressperson.

How necessary is experience in congress today, really? Does the value of experience offset the harm done by block political voting, intimidation from power groups, leverage from lobbyists, or intimidation from political party leaders? I think not.

To those who would argue that the systems in Congress and in Washington, the codes and codicils, the processes and procedures are too complex for the initiate, I say, simplify them. After all, complexity breeds fraud. My congressperson should question the status quo, should test the old assumptions, and should ask the stupid questions.

I want a congressperson who is fired up to solve problems, ready to take a fresh look at issues, one who wants to safeguard democracy and to help the American people, an idealist. I want a representative who always has his/her constituents in mind, regardless of their rank or class.

I do not want to be represented by an individual who no longer remembers those inaugural ideals, who has learned the insider game, who treads water, who has succumbed to excuses and believes that some things are just not possible. I do not want a representative who has been bent and battered by the pounding surf of political pressures and corrupted and minimized by the erosion of short cuts and temptations over multiple terms. I do not want my congressperson to hide in a crowd.

I want a representative who is a Washington outsider, because I am a Washington outsider. I want my representative to be an American first, a citizen of my state second, and a resident of Washington D.C. last and least. I want a representative who views the work of a congressperson as a job, a mandate, a responsibility, and an obligation. I want a congressperson who does not adjourn for vacations or leave on holiday until the work is done. I expect the same of myself. I want a congressperson who will discuss issues with his/her colleagues on both sides of the aisle and continue to search for resolutions until they are found.

I do not want a congressperson who allows his/her political party loyalty to supersede the needs of the people. Ever.

I want a first time, single term representative, one who has not had the chance to learn 'who's who, 'how things work', or 'who to please'.

Where will I find this individual, this paragon of democratic idealism and virtue?
Not in the rolls of incumbency. Vote out the old, vote in the new. Leave every current congressperson behind and bring in a whole new crop. Let's restore to the American people a fully functional United States Congress.