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Lott of Chutzpah

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Some people you can always count on. Like former congressmen and current lobbyist Trent Lott.

Count on Lott to confirm that he’s a true-blue partisan of gravy-train politics-as-usual, a dyed-in-the-wool establishmentarian committed to extinguishing each faint, flickering chance to downsize Leviathan.

The man is a rock.

“We don’t need a lot of Jim DeMint disciples,” Lott with calm, sneering authority recently told the Washington Post, as his granite-hard jaw jutted with stern, rectitudinous integrity. “As  soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them.”

What kind of creature is a “Jim DeMint disciple”? What terrible deeds will these zombie-like Jim-DeMintians perpetrate if the heroic former congressmen and his redoubtable cohorts fail to co-opt them in time?

The creatures are affiliated with the Tea Party rebellion against the super-escalating scope and reach of the federal government, as manifested in the looming takeover of the medical industry, trillion-dollar annual budget deficits, etc. Senate candidate Rand Paul told the Post that the goals of Jim-DeMintian Tea Party sympathizers like himself have something to do with fighting for term limits, a balanced budget amendment, and legislation that is consistent with the Constitution.

Sounds like if they make any headway we can expect more freedom, more real wealth, less red ink, less Washington-based strangling of everybody.

Hence, Trent Lott to the rescue.

Thanks a lot, Lott.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

7 replies on “Lott of Chutzpah”

I really was not surprised at hearing Trent Lott’s comments, since they go right along with so many of the RNC Republicans.
I am very pleased we have Jim DeMint and Michell Bachmann to advance the conservative cause, and they are certainly taking a hard thud from the left AND the right. Don’t believe Jon Boehner and Mitch McConnell have any backbones or guts to stand up until after the fact when they know their positions are more secure. What a shame!
Our senators from Maine are the same way. I follow the money, after the votes they handily give over to the left of left Dems, and sure enough, more comes into Maine!
The RINOS need to be filling out their Democrat registration forms soon so they can vote their “conscience” in November.

Trent Lott ain’t much.

Gramma is right about empty suits Boehner and McConnell; it is surprising that neither simply spills out of his suit like the flushing of a toilet.

One Ryan Paul is infinitely better than any number of Boehners as it would be like multiplying by zero: you end up with zero. Boehner and McConnell are both zeroes.

Ryan Paul, on the other hand, grasps the issues and has presented workable solutions. Boehner is in a tanning booth somewhere, contributing nothing.

I contacted McConnell by snail mail in ’07 after Mr Jacobs reported on “hot-lining,” a quick and dirty way to “vote” in the Senate. My first paragraph read:

>>While I have viewed you in the past in a favorable light as a somewhat avuncular, but respectable, Senator and American patriot, I read the enclosed article by Paul Jacob about a despicable betrayal of the American people known as “hot-lining,” by which you can “pass” legislation without bestirring yourself to actually vote on “routine” measures…that include spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the most slapdash fashion imaginable. Not answering the phone is a “no” vote. This is contemptible in every way imaginable.

Sorry. I, of course, intended Paul Ryan. (I tend to confuse him with Rand Paul, but I’d vote for either, given the opportunity.)

If my memoryserves me, Lott was elected on the Newt Gingrich “Contract With America” which most of the signers imemdiately disregarded upon taking office.

To me, the most telling moment of Lott’s true views was after Katrina. He was a loud cheerleader for the insurance companies and against all law suits; etc. His hosue was damaged, and in an interview, said something to the effect, he was going to get a lawyer who was down and dirty to kick ass when suing the insurance co. (Words are not a quote-but the gist); gone was his restricting lawsuits, etc-I guess, unless for him and his wallet. he is as phony as, in my view, Gingrich. (Family values? his first wife had cancer, in a hospital-filed for divorce to marry his secretary or office worker or similiar; is now divorced or divorcing her to marry-same-guess family values are okay, but he likes younger women

What America needs is the 28th amendment. See below.

Amendment XXVIII

In order to restore control of government to the People and States of these United States and to make accountable the executive, legislative, and judicial branches to the electorate, the following amendment will be effective immediately upon passage as prescribed by Article 5.

Section 1. Members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen every eight years by the People of the several States. Members of the Senate, two from each State, shall be chosen every eight years by the legislatures of the States which they represent. The President and Vice President shall be chosen by the People of the several States every eight years.

Section 2. Every two years on the first Saturday in May of the normally prescribed election year there will be a vote of confidence/no-confidence for all elected positions. If the office holder receives a vote of confidence by a simple majority he/she shall continue in office. If the office holder receives a vote of no-confidence by a simple majority his term will expire in January of the following year. The vote of no-confidence shall be validated within 30 days of the election. New candidates (members of the House, President, and Vice President) may apply for and run for the position in the election to be held on the first Saturday in November of the same year. Members of the Senate receiving a vote of no-confidence shall be replaced by the legislatures of the States which they represent by the first Saturday in November of the year in which they received a no-confidence vote.

Section 3. Officials voted out of office by a vote of no-confidence shall not be allowed to run for office again for a period of twelve years from the date of removal. Officials completing their eight years may not seek the same office until completion of eight years between his/her last service except that they may run for office as write-in candidates after completion of eight years of service. Officials completing their eight years of service may seek a different office without any break in service.

All individuals currently holding office when this amendment takes effect who are in excess of eight years of service shall not be eligible for election or a vote of confidence/no-confidence. All individuals with less than eight years shall have their total time in office limited to eight years and subject to the next vote of confidence/no-confidence.

Elected members of Congress, the President and Vice President shall receive compensation and raises for their services as recommended by Congress and approved by the People of the several States.

Section 4. All members (Judges) of the judicial branch shall be limited to a time in service of 16 years. All currently serving members of the judicial branch who have served for more than 16 years shall be replaced beginning with the most senior member of a particular court. Less senior members shall be replaced at an interval of every two years so as to allow for a smooth transition to the new limits.

Judges shall receive compensation for their services as recommended by Congress and approved by the People of the several States with a simple majority.

Section 5. Individuals running for elected office shall only be allowed to receive donations from individual registered voters who have voted in a federal election within the last four years in the district for which the individual is seeking election. In the case of President/Vice President donations shall be allowed from registered voters in any of the several states, districts, and territories that have voted in a federal election within the last four years. Contributions shall be limited to 1 % of an individual’s adjusted gross income from the previous tax year.

Section 6. Article 5 shall be amended to require that the States hold a convention for proposing amendments no less than every ten years.

Section 7. Amendment XIV Section 1 is modified to read “All persons born to at least one parent who is a citizen of the United States or naturalized in the United States…”

Section 8. States shall make no laws restricting or limiting a person’s access to being placed on a ballot for office except as noted above. (Keeps the 2 party system from controlling the ballot access)

Section 9. Congress shall pass no laws from which they exempt themselves. Congress shall within five years be in compliance with all laws to which they previously exempted themselves.

Section 10. Congress shall have no authority to delegate the ability for another entity to establish laws that are binding upon the States without the approval of the People of the several states.

Section 11. Amendment X is modified to read “The powers not specifically delegated to the United States…”

Section 12. Article 1 Section 8 shall be modified to reflect that Congress shall “…regulate commerce among the several States only in so far as to promote fair trade among the several States…”

Section 13. Amendment 17 first paragraph is deleted.

So what are the benefits of this amendment?

To name a few:
1. Accountability of all elected officials to the people on a two year basis.
2. If the official is given a vote of no-confidence the election season for the new candidates is short to prevent excessively long election cycles.
3. Elected officials will make decisions based on their accountability to the electorate and not have to worry about re-election. This should result in our elected officials having an improved ability to listen to the electorate.
4. Campaign financing will be less problematic since officials will not have to build big campaign chests for re-election
5. Lobbyists will have far less influence since they will not be able to donate to re-election campaign chests since there are no re-elections
6. Our elected officials will be able to listen to lobbyists more objectively without having to be conflicted by donations

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