Americans are not high on our political system

Per a Pew Research Center, Americans are not high on our politicians and political system. Here is one excerpt:

“Just 4% of U.S. adults say the political system is working extremely or very well; another 23% say it is working somewhat well. About six-in-ten (63%) express not too much or no confidence at all in the future of the U.S. political system.”

Many moons ago, I used to hold Congress in higher regard when they collaborated more and did more homework. It used to be they campaigned on rhetoric, but governed more off facts. Now with PR folks involved and 24×7 social media and news, they seem to govern more off rhetoric.

Plus, they don’t work on our behalf as much. A retiring Congressman said he spent over 1/3 of his time raising money. I think we should cut their pay by a 1/3 as a result.

As an independent and former Republican and Democrat, neither side can claim all the best ideas and both sides have some god-awful ones. We also tend to listen too much to the extreme voices in both parties and less to those in the middle. Most of the people I know have some conservative bents and some liberal bents which probably drives the PR bumper sticker people crazy.

Gerrymandering has allowed some people to get elected to Congress who are not among our best and brightest. Yet, if they are vocal enough they get national attention that their credibility and experience do not warrant. We also see far too much name calling, labelling and bullying from these more strident politicians - that is not debate, that is barking dog politics.

To me, we must get non-partisan folks to deal with the gerrymandering. The election should not occur in the primary when a strident candidate can win. We must also have term limits. Since a president is restricted to two terms, so should a Senator. A Congressperson could also be limited to three terms. Both parties could use some new blood in my view.

Finally, voting your conscience should not come at a price. If a party member does not like a party stance, it should be OK to vote against without getting bullied. LBJ was able to pass the Civil Rights Act working with a couple of dozen Republicans, eg. And, no more of this zero-sum politics, where I must be against your idea because you are on the other side, even if it has veracity. That is a disservice to us citizens.

When I speak with staff of members of Congress, I tell them we are pleading for better governance out here. Your bosses owe us the truth and they need to stop trying to keep their job and do their job.