What do you get when you have those governed by rules making those rules? What you get is an organization that is totally out of touch with its original purpose and centered on its own survival and prosperity. That’s what you have with our Congress and if the Democrats have their way with HR1/S1, the entire federal government.
Its starts with how the parties carve up Congressional districts through gerrymandering. Both of them draw districts that assure their party prevails. This results in the one party’s ability to lock down that district against the other’s incursion, concentration of resources on other districts not yet secured, and ultimately, the grid lock in Congress as candidates who are beholden to the party for their very existence vote in lock step with their leadership. It also secures long tenures for the incumbents as once in, they are difficult to replace.
Incumbents don’t have to spend as much to campaign. They can build up a war chest that intimidates potential opponents and once ensconced, can be used to support other candidates in their quest for more influence and potential leadership positions in the party. Campaign finance rules, written by the incumbents, are always to their benefit. Asking current office holders to draw up rules for competing for their position is like asking a batter for the kind of pitch he wants to hit. All the talk about getting money out of politics is just that, talk. Franking privileges, “junkets” that get free airtime, large staffs that pump out website information and press releases are all paid for by we taxpayers. Despite these advantages, they still want public financing of campaigns! Who would qualify for these funds? You guessed it. The incumbent has a distinct advantage as many require measures of “legitimacy” to qualify like a number of signatures and/or small donors. With staffs and an organization already in place, who has the advantage? Anytime an incumbent says they want campaign finance reform, read the fine print!
The rules for how Congress operate are so arcane that there needs to be a referee (the Parliamentarian) to adjudicate issues. Rules that “get in the way” are dismissed and then when helpful, tossed in the opponent’s face. Reconciliation is the latest to get a public airing. That one party with nary a majority, can ramrod anything they want through the legislative process is scary. Add to this the talk about changing the structure of our country (more states) and courts (packing the Supreme Court) and it should give rise to question how we got to this point.
My Solution Suggestions
- Districts should be drawn by an algorithm that has as its output a geometric shape that is formed solely on the number of registered voters, not their party affiliation.
- All the campaign funding for that election must come from those eligible to vote for that office. No campaign funding can be carried over to another campaign. (No war chests)
- Eliminate franking privileges, reduce size of staffs and delineate specific duties for them that are focused on citizens and not re-election.
Current Day Publius 