You betcha!
I find it amazing how a number of Democrats in Congress have not jumped onboard with their fellow Dems in the howl for impeachment of President Donald Trump. Either they believe there is not enough evidence to move forward, or...
Oh, no, wait, they all are in districts where Trump won in the 2016 election and still has a strong presence among voters. In other words, they want to save their jobs and asses rather than vote their conscience.
No, this is not a Democrat phenomenon. There are a number of Rs who fear their livelihood by speaking their conscious.
You see, being a congressman/ woman is a risky business. No, the job really does not pay all that well, but amazingly, few politicians who follow the ‘Yellow Brick Road’ retire in the poor house.
Both legal/illegal shenanigans seem to build upon one’s wealth the longer they are in office. Strong lobbyists have a way of ‘enticing’ legislation to go their way. Again, this is not a particular party preference.
Both congressmen/women, senators and even presidents, pretty much retire as multi-millionaires. How can this be if the standard pay/retirement package is a small portion of their savings?
Yes, some hit the jackpot after leaving office, but again, how can this be? Money talks and anything can be up for auction for the right price.
So, how can we have a true democracy, but at the same time have the right people make important decisions that affect us all?
For one, term limits. Yes, this may actually backfire as short term politicians attempt to grab the brass ring in an accelerated fashion. Perhaps though, it would inspire those same political figures to follow the very reason they sought political office, to do better and follow their original promises and agenda.
Another avenue is to make retirement and health benefits are the same as the average people voting them in.
Shut down/limit the influence of lobbyists. Severely limit pork barrel expenditures in exchange for votes, or for those powerful congress folks and senators in high ranking positions.
Yes, capitalism has its good points, but it also has a way of corrupting individuals. By the way, even socialism and communism have money grabbers.
Limit spending on campaigns and limit PACS supporting their favored candidate.
Allow electronic media (TV and Radio) to deny political ads if they are deemed unfair, or just false. Currently, under law those media outlets, unlike newspapers, are required to run political crap, even though it may be false.