And you wonder why our borders are unsecured, we are at war, and the congressional people are on the take.....give me a break...no, its time for a New Revolution.

Both sides of the aisle guilty as usual. Can anyone spell term limits? Wake up America. There is only one way to fix this-no more professional politicians.

don.please.

lay off the drugs man,you are WAY out there...

Harry Reid(D)in a million dollar land deal in Arizona, Lamont(D) spending 8 million of his own money to get elected to a position that pays 165k a year, Kathryn Harris (R) spending 10 Million of her her own money to get elected to the senate in Fla. Walker (D) with 100k of "cold hard cash" in the freezer, What is going on? How long do politicians think they are going to get away with this????????

On average, a sitting Senator and Rep. spends 17 days a month actively campaigning to fill their reelection coffers. This, reported to me by a friend who is now sitting in the Chamber. He will not be running again as he has told me, “This is not what I came to Washington for.” I applaud him. So, ever wonder why nothing gets done in my home town?

1. Remove the lobbyists.
2. Set a standard limit for election funds, OR
3. Set a single serve term limit -

Either or, remove the lobbyists to a 100 mile radius perimeter from each elected official. It is indeed very sad.

the root of the problem is that the republicans (who are and have been in charge for quite a bit over the last 40 years) dont want any change in the lobbying as it now stand,they are ALL ABOUT HELPING BIG BUSINESS.

unfortunately for the dems ,they have to do the same just to say in the election game,underfunded as they always are compared to the republicans.

immediate and long term campaign finance reform people,thats whats needed here...

bah- poor widdle helpwess Democrats. Bah is right. They're all adults, and both sides are sleazing with the lobbyists.

Someone once said of politicians: they are like fish, the longer they lie around, the more they smell....or something to that general effect. Term limits.

Yep......Term limits (short term limits).......Some of the old foogies have been there way way too long!

In 2004 I swore I would never vote for another democrate or republican again. I think I will stick to that promise. Until we remove the BIG money from the political game, nothing will ever change for the general public as fast as it should. Good point for those of you that pointed out the question on why someone that's worth millions would take a job that pays a fraction of what they usually make. It's a power seat and power is worth more than money apparently. It's an extreme abuse of the "PEOPLE'S POWER" when you have the rich taking away our voices and our power to change anything for ourselves, this is no different than someone bidding to become your boss and then make decisions for you. We "THE PEOPLE" need to take back the power, voting for political parties that take contributions from BIG BUSINESS will NEVER serve your interests! EVER. It's pretty simple and disgusting. I'm not going to get mixed up in the ridiculous belief that a vote for an independent or green party candidate is a vote for the republicans. You need to vote for who you believe in! not vote for someone because they are the lesser evil, EVIL is EVIL. Vote from your heart and it will truly count! Only when people began to take on this point of view, will things ever began to change for the average person. Both major parties do have some clear differences, however, they are both getting paid by the same people. Don't vote for SELLOUTS!

Lobbying is free speech. It is access to speak freely about interests. Other interests are free to present counterpoints.

At the moment the power is in Republican hands. But you see all the straphangars hanging out with Sen Kerry, so you know that when power changes, so will the lobbying focus.

Should our elected officials not represent the needs of constituents? Businesses are constituents, too. Laws that help them assist their bottom line and yours in the form of higher stock prices, more jobs, and lower prices.

When the Democrats take the House, we will simply see a new set of lobbyists making their way to Washington. Unions are one example. Look how they "helped" U.S. automakers. Wait until they get their shot at retailers like Walmart. Say goodbye to slashed prices.

Bah wrote: "... the root of the problem is that the republicans (who are and have been in charge for quite a bit over the last 40 years) ..."

Bah, you need to check your facts. For 28 of the past 40 the Dems have been in control of the House, and for an overwhelming 30 of the past 40 years they've been in control of the Senate. Granted, the GOP has been in control of the White for 28 of the past 40 years, but the White House isn't the leader when it comes to campaign finance and election rules for Congress.

Bah wrote: "... the root of the problem is that the republicans (who are and have been in charge for quite a bit over the last 40 years) ..."

Bah, you need to check your facts. For 28 of the past 40 the Dems have been in control of the House, and for an overwhelming 30 of the past 40 years they've been in control of the Senate. Granted, the GOP has been in control of the White for 28 of the past 40 years, but the White House isn't the leader when it comes to campaign finance and election rules for Congress.

Jake,

While you point out that Democrats have been in charge, you fail to point out that Republicans have raised the most money, consistantly from special interest groups, for that 40 years.

- Be that as it may, I don't entirely disagree with you. Democrats are the bad guys here too. In their 40 years in power, the Democrats became very corrupt. The amazing thing is that it only took the Republicans 12 years to equal and best that corruption.

Election reform is what is needed, and now. I don't want to see the Democrats try to best the Republicans and return (entirely) to their corrupt ways either.

Breaking the cycle of corruption, and putting in the best of both parties (and other parties) is what will return to us a strong democracy.

In my opinion Mr.Cole, Lobbying is just a way for special interest groups whether they are Enviromentalist or Big oil to pay-off politicians. You see, money in politics only corrupts the system. I have no problem with lobbying, however, there's a difference between getting some time to sit down with a candidate and converse about your concerns, and then there's the "other so-called free speech" as you called it, where big groups pay large amounts of money towards the candidates as a "gesture" of good faith. It's pretty obvious that the money they are giving also comes with a "hey, you better remember us when that bill comes around" tag. See Mr.Cole, if you were to stop allowing lobbyists the chance to pay-off officials and put strict penalties if ever found guilty of it, then what you are doing is simply pointing out the fact that if the politicians is doing his job, its not because he's got a fat bank account, it's because he's representing everyone that voted for him and not just a few. I think it's pretty sad when you are trying to defend people that don't need defending, they can already afford good attorney's and there is a simple and clear reason why they need them. KEEP SPECIAL INTERSTS OFF THE TABLE!

Challenge for the weekend: Define "special interests".

In some way, shape and form, we are all members of special interest groups.

We are in a spiral out of control and there will come an end to it. The stock market will crash and the dollar will be worthless so all the swindlers and crooks who made money from someone else's blood (Iraq war for one), will truly pay. All that money they made- all the billions the oils and gas corporations made- all the "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" scenarios that went off to make money -just think - when the market crashes - they will be running in the streets wondering what happened. Things are worth absolutely "nothing" if it is not in demand. Soon the dollar will no longer be in demand because it will be worthless.

I work on the hill and seeing these rich jerks take money from anyone that will donate it to them for votes makes me sick. What would our founding father think about today's Politcal mess that is now called DC

If you believe that Brian Ross and ABC News are not trying to push their own liberal agenda then you must believe that water runs up-hill. Until ABC News and Brian Ross reports the entire truth then I refuse to accept any of their reports.

Republicans and Democrats are both EQUALY useless.

Maybe we have to accept the fact that our government is really a big red-light district, where phrases like "That'll cost you extra" are commonplace. It's a humbling thought, but Truth is best.

Gee it seems the concenseus to solve the money problem is term limits. I thought thats what elections were. So why does people keep voting them back in? Because one poitician has more money to spend on advertisments and etc--and you joe voter believe whoever has the most ads? IMHO, me thinks everyone should ask that person in the mirror who is at least partly to blame.