Evidence mounts that across the political spectrum, officeholders see themselves as lords of their own petty fiefdoms rather than temporary public servants meant to return to the body politic as regular people
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This keeps me up at night. The naked contempt for their constituents is breathtaking and a recent development. I know they can’t all be on the same group chat, so I assume what’s in the trough currently is dissociative as well as addictive.
In this case, they *are* the important people. And there’s nothing stopping them from using information gleaned from public service for private financial gain
As I have said many times before, they should be made to work for minimum wage. That alone would force an increase to the minimum wage, and more importantly, it would reinforce that they are public servants
Unfortunately most now see it as winning the lottery and also become convinced that they are indispensable to the process of government. Which is why you’ll never see term limits in your lifetime unless there’s a bloody revolution.
It’s actually deranged that having spent a life in public office they cannot imagine anything fun or worthwhile in retirement. Like why aren’t there more Barbara Boxer types out there (she did a great job and now lounges next to a pool all day I love it for her)
If you can’t imagine a life in retirement what kind of road did you lay the groundwork for in your lifetime of public service?
Ds especially need to know that the work is never done but the foundation needs to be constantly repaired and ready for someone else to build on top of it.
It’s like one of those old people who pass away just a little bit after their spouse or partner because they can’t really live without them
…
Except it’s an elected official and a public office that belongs to his fucking constituents
I got accused of agism and racism for saying he isn't owed his position and that "what do you expect me to do with my life?" isn't a compelling pitch for reelection.
Also, everyone else who retires asks that question too. Isn't the answer, "get a hobby, also relax and enjoy yourself some"?
But I recognize (because my father was like that and had to ease into it with part-time employment) that not everyone knows how to do that.
There is so much that a retired Congressman with a full pension could afford to do—especially in his district! There are community organizations that could probably use some help with outreach and connections, funding, lobbying…part time he could stay busy!
Yeah then we can get fresh faces like Krysten Sinema and Margarine Tater Grease. The problem begins and ends with rich people owning politicians of any age.
So many of them get hired by the industries they were supposed to regulate anyway, so I'm not even sure why he's crying so hard about being asked to retire.
"Democrats serve later in life" + "more Democrats have died in office since 2005" is an interesting way of saying that Republicans put up primary challengers and Democrats don't.
The answer to that is to get involved in the DNC to change that, like David Hogg is doing. We need more David Hoggs.
Republicans hate primaries too, but they’ve been having them anyway and it has pushed our country’s politics to the far right. We should be doing that on the left.
EVERYBODY GETS A TURN ON THE SWINGS NANCY YOU CAN GO PLAY IN THE SANDBOX FOR A WHILE OR SIT QUIETLY WITH YOUR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS BUT YOU DON'T GET TO HOG THE SWING SET AND DO INSIDER TRADING ANY MORE
JIM YOU JUST HEARD WHAT I TOLD NANCY STOP CRYING WHILE TRYING TO SUPERGLUE YOURSELF TO THE SWING
At the same time, public office is a vocation, we haven’t been a small r republic in a long time and the requirements of state make it unlikely to go back to that.
I may have been unclear, I only meant to use “republic” in the narrow sense. I’m not suggesting that we can’t get back to being a well functioning constitutional democracy.
I find it very hard to think of a time where Black voters being suppressed from the vote overlapping with a functional republic. Maybe you have a non-racist vision of our history that squares that circle but I’m not inclined to hear it out
Republicans are propped up by a dichotomy of either/or and also having unfair representation also by Electoral College for small groups of white ppl surrounded by cows being equal to millions of diverse people in bigger states. They're literally on life support I hate them so much.
It’s also evident in the post retirement use of the title of their
office. If you aren’t sitting in congress/the senate why should you be addressed as congressperson/senator?
Impeach. Remove. Imprison. We should be calling for it every day. Impeach. Remove. Imprison. He has capitulated to the enemy. Impeach. Remove. Imprison. He manipulated the stock market to make the rich richer. Impeach. Remove. Imprison. He is kidnapping American citizens. Impeach. Remove. Imprison.
I don't see why these guys and gals have such a hard time with the "rake in some cash with some board seats and retire to palm beach to build your wine collection, play golf, and see your grandkids" option. This is a compelling option for 99.9999% of human earthlings!
So very few of them exercise any power while in those privileged positions. The advantage of seniority for them isn't a greater ability to enact policy, but the opportunity to swing a gavel.
Some polity, an Indigenous one perhaps, used to publicly beat their corrupt and recalcitrant leaders with sticks. Since politicians seem immune to shame now, maybe the ability to feel shame should be beaten back into them
Yup, they've been trying to turn representation into aristocracy for decades. Never mind that dying in office creates a mess for the constituents and even the party, using office as a substitute for a social life is apparently more important
You still haven't, technically, then. Even so, I'm impressed you realized the original subject was a metaphor about politics and not about a historical analysis of fiefdoms. You're a cut above.
I think to prevent this we need to set up a new nation state, one that’s built on the idea of there being no aristocrats and regular citizens being eligible to become heads of state.
Our entire system is fucked it's too hierarchical. We need numerous political parties and ranked choice voting, more equitable input from a group of leaders. The two party system keeps white supremacy and conservatives from dying out.
Similarly, Capitalism is feudalism with extra steps.
Whether it's an economic elite or a political elite, a ruling class cannot be allowed to exist. Democracy requires the equal distribution of both political and economic power. Or rather, the two cannot be considered separate.
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Ds especially need to know that the work is never done but the foundation needs to be constantly repaired and ready for someone else to build on top of it.
like trump people do.
…
Except it’s an elected official and a public office that belongs to his fucking constituents
But I recognize (because my father was like that and had to ease into it with part-time employment) that not everyone knows how to do that.
Their position should not be a retirement home, and people should be comfortable to retire. If they want to provide advice and help, they can do that.
Republicans hate primaries too, but they’ve been having them anyway and it has pushed our country’s politics to the far right. We should be doing that on the left.
JIM YOU JUST HEARD WHAT I TOLD NANCY STOP CRYING WHILE TRYING TO SUPERGLUE YOURSELF TO THE SWING
Look mate I'm pretty pessimistically defeatist at times as well but assigning a probability like "unlikely" outta the gate is a bit much even for me.
We can start with aspirations without immediately going "and here's why this is probably just gonna fail anyway".
office. If you aren’t sitting in congress/the senate why should you be addressed as congressperson/senator?
Requires having served with distinction. Not just held the job.
I cannot comprehend why you'd think it fair, because the title of their position whilst in public service is somehow their life long social rank?
Apparently *any* level of power corrupts 😆
They are PUBLIC SERVANTS.
They must represent the people of the country and not a political affiliation or agenda.
They work for us!
THEY DO NOT WORK FOR THE “PRESIDENT “!
He’s not and will never be a King!
Term limits, at least at the state level, tend to make lobbyists more powerful due to loss of institutional knowledge.
At the federal level it would also likely benefit machine politics. Electeds would come into office like Henry the Young.
Wait a minute…
Whether it's an economic elite or a political elite, a ruling class cannot be allowed to exist. Democracy requires the equal distribution of both political and economic power. Or rather, the two cannot be considered separate.