Vote all Incumbants Out!

I am beginning a new movement for 2010 and beyond. Vote against every incumbent at every level in the government. If we really want to affect change in this country we have to take action now. Career politicians have had their chance and they have failed, it is time to make the move and vote them all out of office. Of course I have reasons for all of this.

The Founders never meant for "politician" to become a career. The initial idea was that people would serve for a term or two and return to their careers and homes, at that time service was the privilege and power was to be feared. The tables have turned, power is now the goal. Service means nothing to any of them anymore, if it did they would listen instead of trying to buy off voters with pork and earmarks. The original men who served this country did so reluctantly and with great respect to the new institutions that they were forming. John Adams was famously quoted on several occasions as being against service because he thought himself not up to the task mentally or financially. At that time the pay for the position was paltry, as it still is today for the most part, but the influence was nil. There were no special interest groups to perpetuate the career politician, eventually they had to return home to maintain financial solvency. This set of circumstances led to unwilling and selfless leaders. Unwilling to lead out of ego, unwilling to gain great power and selfless in that the country was always put first.

In voting out all incumbents we could also solve the Lobbyist problem and impose term limits on our own, without the dogfight of a Constitutional Amendment. In getting rid of all incumbents we get rid of all lobbyists. When the incumbents are gone lobbyists will have no long term relationships or influence, should that influence begin to reassert itself it will not matter because every two years in the House and six in the Senate we, as voters, will clean them all out again anyway. I would love to see lobbyists deal with that proposition, they would actually have to argue their stands based on the merits of the issues, talk about some real debate.

Obviously this is a pie in the sky notion, but it is one I am all for. Republicans have left me in the cold, and the Democrats have never come out of the cold. I believe that the country is ripe for this kind of movement, now all we need is a spearhead. My mantra will be find me a guy who does not want to be in the House or Senate, and I will show you the guy we, as voters, should want in there....