Me too. I think, though (and this is not an excuse, it's an observation), that in the climate we've had for the past 8 years (more than 8 actually), with all the corruption everywhere, it would be more surprising to me to find anyone in politics who HADN'T cheated on their taxes (or who doesn't owe money).

And just because you have back taxes doesn't necessarily mean you cheated. It just means you didn't pay them. Is that wrong? YES, especially when you work in politics. I'm sick to death of all the greed and corruption in our society. But owing back taxes, there could be a reasonable explanation for that. I'm just saying...

I'm not interested in excuses anymore - These people need to be held to a HIGHER standard than the rest of us.

The IRS should investigate every single one of them. Starting at the top and going through the Senate and then the House, until every elected official has been done. Then they can work on the lobbyists and so on. The IRS needn't bother with the average American. I'm certain they will have more than enough to keep them busy with these guys till the next crop comes in in 2010 and 2012.

I think they should start with the lobbyists, and then go through the government.

How many of them are there? nah - Lets get the ones up for reelection first - start with them.

We will never change the balance of power until we introduce a viable third party that can gain seats from the majority party and take away their overall majority in both houses.

2 of the 3 will go in cahoots and there will be no equality.

Yes but that would force compromise agreements to be formed among uncommon thinkers. That might be refreshing.

There are probably hundreds of them for each person in Congress. Let's start with them. hell, just do them at the same time.

HEAR, HEAR!

Not gonna happen, for a variety of reasons, the first of which is the fact that the people that fund the two major parties will crush a third party like a bug.

Why pay for three, when you only have to pay for two?

Also, any 3rd party that actually gained any power would be corrupted instantly, because the problem isn't with the parties, it's with the people.

It's with the way elections are run. I said this somewhere else, but we really to change that. No more lobbying, no more donations. Elections should be paid for from a public fund. They should last only about 4 months, so politicians actaully WORK instead of campaigning for the next election the moment they're in office. TV networks should give equal access to all politicians (commerical time), because the airwaves are owned by the people and should be for the benefit OF the people. No more smear commercials paid for by third parties or PACs. There should be weekly debates between ALL candidates for the 4 months prior to the election.

It's ridiculous how much campaigns cost nowadays, and it's ridiculous how campaigns and elections seem to be ongoing now. For crying out loud, they are already talking about (and asking people) who will be the next presidential nominations. Are you kidding me? We JUST had an election. The next one is almost 4 years away. WTF!?

Don't ask me, I'm just a troll, right?

rite

Well, sometimes you do engage in troll-like behavior. Do you not know that?