On the July 9th edition of The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton, Zack Exley (a former Bernie Sanders supporter) discusses a new political idea, "Brand New Congress": The idea is quite intriguing. I'm not sure if they'll be able to get their legs under them, but if they do, could such a movement take root? Given the shrinking relevance of the party system (neither Donald Trump nor Bernie Sanders really belong to the parties in which they ran), maybe it's time to give this idea some consideration. Thoughts?
I like the idea. I read yesterday that about 80% of incumbents who run are reelected.The main problem is everyone wants to clean out everyone in Congress except their own Senator or Representative. It would have to start by taking back control of whichever party you belong to by primary challenges. Both parties have been hijacked by a relatively small group of people, many of them extreme. Another problem is that Senators and Representatives are not held responsible by those that elect them. I would hope that people who are not willing to consider voting out their incumbent won't expect everyone else to do it.
It would be difficult to get enough decent candidates in one election year to pull something like this off, but a national targeting of the most "establishment" house members might be workable. I just see this as a game for Republicans. I can't imagine Democrats mounting any similar effort.
About the topic: This is not something that will ever happen, sorry. The way our political system is set up is to guarantee there are always two sides, at least, vying for power. To suggest that we're going to vote out everyone that's in there, simply as a matter of course, and start over completely, is a pipe dream. The only way the government is going to change at this point is: 1) Civil War 2) Total societal collapse 3) States seceding from the union While all three -could- be related to the same thing, they're not all required either. One of the big ways we could see change is by outlawing lobbying in the US, and, by making P.A.C.'s illegal. This would cut out a massive chunk of the corruption base on both the left and the right, and would also ensure that we don't have outrageous spending on something that's essentially a clown fiesta. Our politicians -should- be the most exposed, scrutinized, and transparent entities in this country. Unfortunately, how it's all set up, is that they're the most secretive, and even when something valid is brought to light, there are layers over layers of blackmail, extortion, and political hand-jobbing to get through before the American public even begins to see a portion of the truth.
You do run into an issue of continuity though. A system like this would make every decision slow to an absolute crawl. Additionally, I feel like this would actually make people MORE corrupt than fix the problem. If you can only be elected for a single term, you literally have no fear of re-election. There's nothing to hold you accountable for your actions during your term.
