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Time to spank the petty politicians: raid their campaign kittys

The two-party system is broken. The standstill in Washington over the debt ceiling is proof that petty politicians will do almost anything to posture instead of proceed to solve the problem at hand. We’ve already seen the FAA stop collecting taxes on airlines, soldiers are having essential training cancelled (while still being asked to go to war) and financial markets (which are already a mess due to lack of a spine to reel in wild speculation and dangerous practices) are again starting to react to uncertainty.

But, now, Tea Party Republican Jim Jordan, R-OH, is being threatened with having his district redrawn according to the Columbus Dispatch:

Jim Jordan’s open defiance of Speaker John Boehner’s efforts to solve the debt-ceiling crisis could cost the Urbana Republican his safe House seat in next year’s election.

Two Republican sources deeply involved in configuring new Ohio congressional districts confirmed to The Dispatch today that Jordan’s disloyalty to Boehner has put him in jeopardy of being zeroed out of a district.

“Jim Jordan’s boneheadedness has kind of informed everybody’s thinking,” said one of the sources, both of whom spoke only on condition of anonymity. “The easiest option for everybody has presented itself.”

Jordan’s rural 11-county district, which has a 60 percent Republican voter index, “is easy to cannibalize because it stretches so far,” the other source said….

After The Dispatch posted the story on its website today, Jordan linked to it on Twitter and posted it on his Facebook page, telling followers and friends: “I would be interested to hear your comments on this article suggesting that my vote will result in my congressional district being eliminated.”

Breaking up and parsing out Jordan’s 4th district and throwing him into a new one that is competitive would solve a dilemma for GOP congressional map-drawers who, because of population shifts, must reduce the number of Ohio congressional districts from 18 to 16 before the Feb. 8 candidate filing deadline for the May 3 primary election….

One of the Republican sources said Jordan, a former state legislator, became inoculated against compromising by his comfort in a district he has represented since 2007 and which he typically wins with more than 60 percent of the vote.

via Payback may be coming for congressman’s ‘disloyalty’ | The Columbus Dispatch [1].

This crass suggestion of those in power that they should be able to override the wishes of voters as easily as redrawing the map- as opposed to the people of Jordan’s district having the right to vote him out of office for his actions shows how petty our two-party system has become- and how meaningless our system of “election” has become. Even if we move to a more democratic system like instant runoff ballots, we’re still at odds thanks to the oddity of letting the foxes have the key to the hen house door.

Here is a better way to solve the impasse- before a single U.S. debt payment is missed, all members of Congress and the president- those who have brought us to the brink of bankruptcy- or at least, default- should have to forfeit their campaign chests- and start amassing debt against their campaign fund raising ability for every dollar that isn’t made right by our government. This would almost guarantee passage- or a complete transformation of our government. Accountability would begin instantly.

It’s time for a solution to this partisan BS. It’s our country- not John Boehner’s, not Jim Jordan’s, not Barack Obama’s. Get to work you jackasses- or we’re going to take your bribe money away.

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Dad

This scenario is highly unlikely, Republicans gerrymandering a Republican out of his seat.
It’s almost certain that they’ll get rid of the district now represented by Dennis Kucinich, and perhaps that of Marcia Fudge.

John Ise

…from blogger P.M. Carpenter. Can anyone honestly disagree with his point?:

Not since Abe Lincoln took office has a president’s political opposition been so ruthlessly determined to oppose — even to the point of national disloyalty, which is precisely what the GOP’s treacherous machinations over the debt limit represent. It is futile to look back on Obama’s first two years and speculate that he should have done this, or that he should have done that, and then this or that might have proceeded better; it is futile because whatever path Obama might have chosen, his opposition was acrobatically hellbent on obstructing it.

Bubba Jones

It’s almost certain that they’ll get rid of the district now represented by Dennis Kucinich…” – Dad
 
It would be a cryin’ shame to see Kucinich gerrymandered out of his office.  The man is a Congressional icon and full of great ideas!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Q52PwFVgE&feature=player_embedded
 
Plus, his 33 year old wife is pretty much babealicious!!

Bubba Jones

…from blogger P.M. Carpenter. Can anyone honestly disagree with his point?” – John Ise
 
uh…. Yeah, it’s pretty easy to honestly disagree with his point.  I guess you think that Obama is doing a tremendous job?  If so, I’d love to hear the reasons why.  If you do post these reasons, it would be great if you would also include your perspective for the reasons.  In other words, are you: rich or poor, self employed, employed by a private company, employed by a governmental entity, a union member, opposed to unions, high school education, college educated – associates, bachelors, masters, phd., etc.  And, what the heck – go ahead and throw your race and sexual orientation in there for good measure!

David Lauri

Bubba Jones says, “It would be a cryin’ shame to see Kucinich gerrymandered out of his office.”
 
It seems that Rep. Kucinich is considering moving to Washington State.  See the article “Kucinich considers moving politics to Washington” from earlier this year in the Seattle Times.

Bubba Jones

That would probably be a good move for Kucinich.  I think his political views are a better fit in Washington State than in Ohio.
 
And, if “Dad” is right, maybe he sees the writing on the wall.

John Ise

To Bubba, this is from Andrew Sullivan but sums Obama up for me.

He avoided a second Great Depression. The bank bailout, however  
noxious, worked. GM may soon be returning a profit to the government.  
Health insurance reform will stick and, with careful oversight, could  
begin to curtail runaway healthcare costs. Financial re-regulation  
just passed. Two new Supreme Court Justices are in place after failed  
attempts at culture war demagoguery. Crime – amazingly – has not  
jumped with the recession. America is no longer despised abroad the  
way it was; torture has been ended; relations with Russia have  
improved immensely; Iran’s regime is more diplomatically and  
economically isolated than in its entire history; even the Greater  
Israel chorus has been challenged.

Etc. Etc.