by Cody Hodge

Created on: May 29, 2009   Last Updated: June 07, 2009

How do we break the cycle of grid-lock in Washington? Politicians need to end partisan bickering, and they need to start remembering who they represent. The point of congress is not to sit around and bicker about politics, it is to best serve the American people, and to advocate on our behalf. How do we get our representatives to represent, and stop spending so much time trying to one-up those whom they work with in Washington?

While I would call for more independent thinking candidates, I would first say that the voters should be thinking independently. We need to send the message to Washington that we will not tolerate the pracitces that hold our nation hostage on a daily basis. I don't want to hear about Nancy Pelosi, and how she didn't know about a CIA report, or her comments on the GOP. I want to hear what she is going to do to improve health care in this country.

Congress needs to stop acting like Parliament. We are not Britain, and we don't have fights based on party affiliation. Hear this Mr. Representative: You were hired to lead, not to bicker! If you have a belief on something, fight for that belief, the people are firmly behind you if you get elected. I don't care if you cross the aisle for a couple of issues if it helps the district you are representing in the long run. In fact, crossing the aisle is what congress should be doing anyway.

We need to stop electing the fringe leaders from each party to posts of leadership. I don't want to see another candidate pulling the stunts that McCain pulled by "suspending" his campaign for president supposedly for the good of America. Then to just go into the room and hold the entire process hostage is just ludacris. If we want to end the grid lock in this country, we need to start electing politicians who care less about scoring political points, and more about reform, and solutions to our problems.

Why don't we get rid of lobbyists? Why should a tobacco lobbyist be able to influence a politician more than the people who voted the guy in? Why should special interests be allowed to hold more sway than the American people? The American people need to hold our representatives responsible for the things that they say and do. If we keep electing the same people over and over again, why should they change the way they do business? Maybe we should seriously consider term limits too while we are at it.

The cycle of grid-lock in this country won't change until we change it. I have no problem with political parties, or the fact that they are so different. That is fine, and democracy allows for this. What we can't have is the hard lines that each side is taking, and the influence of outside interests getting in the way of our democracy. The people elect our representatives, not the tobacco lobby. Until we demand change we won't get it, and until we stop voting for special interests we won't get our change.

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