Disband the House & Senate?

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  • Garret
    Hills of Vermont
    • Apr 2005
    • 48618

    Disband the House & Senate?

    OK - now that I have your attention.... I don't really mean disband.

    I was talking with a very RW fellow geek a while back & he & I found something we could both agree on. This thread was sparked by a post about lobbyists in the China Trade Thread.

    With today's technology - why do our representatives & senators need to go to DC? Here's the thought:

    Have them stay in their own district/state. Set up commonly available teleconferencing equipment so they can attend sessions, make speeches & do all that kind of stuff. All "conversations"/speeches/votes over the system would be recorded & be public information.

    This way they are closer to their constituents, we save a ton of money on duplicate offices & staff & best of all - any lobbyists would have to either travel to each state - or "visit" via teleconferencing - which would also be recorded as public information.

    Maybe they need to meet quarterly for a week or some such - but they could stay in a Days Inn for that & not take their whole office with them. We'd probably need some staff (for the entire senate/house - not individual senators/congressmen) to coordinate things.

    Yes, I realize that this could have a devastating impact on the city of Washington DC. Maybe we could help residents get productive jobs with some of the savings? There'd still be all the jobs related to all the federal agencies to employ people.

    I realize I'm dreaming - but thoughts anyone?
    Last edited by Garret; 01-28-2012, 02:44 PM.
    "If it ain't broke, you're not trying." - Red Green
  • skuthorp
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2002
    • 73596

    #2
    Re: Disband the House & Senate?

    Decentralise government? All the lobbyists in Washington would be up in arms and possibly out of a job. And your 'representative' would have his constituents on his doorstep every day. Hmm, possibly a good idea.

    Comment

    • Garret
      Hills of Vermont
      • Apr 2005
      • 48618

      #3
      Re: Disband the House & Senate?

      Originally posted by skuthorp
      Decentralise government? All the lobbyists in Washington would be up in arms and possibly out of a job. And your 'representative' would have his constituents on his doorstep every day. Hmm, possibly a good idea.
      'zactly.
      "If it ain't broke, you're not trying." - Red Green

      Comment

      • bobbys
        Senior Member
        • Jun 2009
        • 30711

        #4
        Re: Disband the House & Senate?

        Perhaps we could get "Czars" and a Executive action ball point commemorative pen and Put a crown and Robes on Obama and Just put his face on Postage stamps to save money..

        Hey Maybe we could name all the Sports teams after him to.

        How about renaming the Chevy Volt The Obamas Peoples car.

        Who needs this pesky constitution when a Democrat is in office anyways!

        Comment

        • Garret
          Hills of Vermont
          • Apr 2005
          • 48618

          #5
          Re: Disband the House & Senate?

          Boy did you ever misinterpret what I was getting at. Or did you respond without reading my initial post?

          I have no interest in increasing the power of the presidency. I do have an interest in increasing the accountability of our representatives though.
          Last edited by Garret; 01-28-2012, 02:43 PM.
          "If it ain't broke, you're not trying." - Red Green

          Comment

          • peb
            Papist and Texan
            • Feb 2004
            • 14281

            #6
            Re: Disband the House & Senate?

            Originally posted by Garret
            Boy did you ever misinterpret what I was getting at. Or did you respond without reading my initial post?

            I have no interest in increasing the power of the presidency. I do have an interest in increasing the accountability of our representatives though.
            On the surface I like your idea a lot. But my first thought was also that it would greatly increase the powers of the executive branch. It is not misreading your post or your intent. Your intent is to be lauded. The problem is that congress is heavily involved in executive brnach oversight. A lot of their work, perhaps the majoriy for most members, is along these lines. Not in just making legislation. While the cat is away,the mice will play. I don't think we want our congressional committees out of sight of the bureaucrats that much.

            Comment

            • bobbys
              Senior Member
              • Jun 2009
              • 30711

              #7
              Re: Disband the House & Senate?

              Originally posted by Garret
              Boy did you ever misinterpret what I was getting at. Or did you respond without reading my initial post?

              I have no interest in increasing the power of the presidency. I do have an interest in increasing the accountability of our representatives though.
              .

              Sure lets do your plan and do away with the President.

              Comment

              • Paul Girouard
                Banned
                • May 2005
                • 16591

                #8
                Re: Disband the House & Senate?

                Your idea has merit , but you and I both know it ain't gonna happen! How would they work out their sweet heart deals ? Line their pockets , lube their buddies gears , public RECORD, nope ain't gonna happen!

                Comment

                • George Jung
                  Senior Member
                  • Jan 2004
                  • 31057

                  #9
                  Re: Disband the House & Senate?

                  Truth on both sides of this discussion. One nice thing - it would decentralize our lobbyists. And wouldn't it be interesting how things would unfold if all business had to be carried out under the purvey of the constituents.

                  AFA 'keeping the President in check' - not sure how that would make a difference, at all. They're not in the same building. They could probably wire the WH for teleconference, as well. I understand we have the technology...
                  There's a lot of things they didn't tell me when I signed on with this outfit....

                  Comment

                  • Blowtorch
                    Banned
                    • Feb 2011
                    • 407

                    #10
                    Re: Disband the House & Senate?

                    If we had govermet by Referendum that would fix a lot of problems too. Congress proposes a Law and the People vote on it. We have the Internet now we really dont need a Representative body like we did 200 yrs ago.

                    Comment

                    • peb
                      Papist and Texan
                      • Feb 2004
                      • 14281

                      #11
                      Re: Disband the House & Senate?

                      Originally posted by George Jung
                      Truth on both sides of this discussion. One nice thing - it would decentralize our lobbyists. And wouldn't it be interesting how things would unfold if all business had to be carried out under the purvey of the constituents.

                      AFA 'keeping the President in check' - not sure how that would make a difference, at all. They're not in the same building. They could probably wire the WH for teleconference, as well. I understand we have the technology...
                      Federal departments and agencies are required regularly to submit to oversite committee hearings. We only see these when they make headlines, they are immently important. The committee members are also doing other work behind the scenes, making sure federal departments are following laws, etc.

                      Do not accept the idea that we just need congress to pass laws; the president to propose them, sign them, and work on foriegn policy; and the bureaucrats can be trusted to implement everything as intended. Governing is hard work, there is a lot going on.

                      If you want a citizen legislature; then we have made the federal government WAY too big. Since it has been made so big, there is really no practical way to not have professional, fulltime legislatures.

                      Comment

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