I disagree on so many levels. I think there is a huge value in actually personally interacting with your fellow congresspersons, and there have been dozens of cases where former congresspersons say that much of the rancor that exists now is partly to blame on the fact that these people can more easily demonize people they barely know, having only interacted with people on their own side.
Congress hould have to be in session far MORE, not far less. And I don't think people would have too much of a problem with more congresspersons, just not a TON more. It's not so much a matter of cost, it's a matter of people being able to keep track of their local representatives amid the din of all of the politicking they have to follow already. You're pretty naive if you think that $5000 in a smaller district will mean less than the same amount in a bigger district. Of course one on one campaigning can be effective, but so can a crap top of money, and it's not a matter of either or. Some candidates are just super charismatic and energetic, while some just plain aren't awesome at speechifying. Being good at door to door doesn't make you a better representative, it just means you're better at that particular skill. For instance I am one of those rare political creatures that loves door to door when I'm volunteering, while most people hate it. There actually a ton of science on this... how much of an effect various types of interactions with voters have on changing peoples' minds, and direct contact with the candidate is the most powerful, but a phone bank of a bunch of people, paid or otherwise, beats that out several times over because of how many more people you can reach. You can make your arguement emotionally about the power of door to door, but the science is beyond clear on this. The book 'Sidewalk Strategies' comes to mind. And comparing us to Britain is beyond absurd. Over there they don't elect people directly most of the time, they elect a party, who picks the people who actually sit. No damn way you'll convince people in this country to switch to a system like that, and lose the direct vote (out of my cold dying hands). Definitely a good idea to close the revolving door. I'd even go so far as to say if you ever work a day in your life in an office on the hill, or in the White House, you should never be able to work as a lobbyist. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
