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Aside from the vote today to block the "Election Bill, SB1", I've been thinking about how we got to this position so we can eliminate a return to this type of madness. Looking for the cause instead of the effect, as it were. The first revulsion is having to swallow the worst negative attack ads in history we're going to be inundated with. The second is having to vote for one of the two lesser evils. Throughout the entire ballot, there will be a who's who of baby kissers, liars, and pontificators who've signed on to a party platform like a good little doggy just to get their support. The chilling thing is when you realize that we only get to vote on the puppets, not the unseen puppeteers. Once you're elected, when you go to your local office, you meet the "staffers" who will control your every move/word for the duration of your term or they'll throw you under the bus. Then, you go to the Dang Cesspool, where you attend indoctrination and are informed about where you stand in their grand scheme of things. Your only chance is a list of extremely rich mega donors who support you. Then, your "staff" sits you down and explains your new life/death to you. If you don't listen, or argue, you're already finished. As soon as you get there, your staff has already prepared the paperwork for you to sign creating your re-election campaign. The staff there will be made up of "friends" of other staffers you don't even know. You are now relegated to the position of fund raiser, and that's your wholly consuming task. Luncheons with lobbyists. Dinners with PACS. Foreign junkets with influential donors. As long as you keep the money coming in, and share the wealth with the "Senior" members, you'll be fine. You'll show up when/where you're told, vote how you're told, and act like you're told. Any deviation from their script gets you an ethics violation investigation, "leaked" sexual affair allegations, or anything else they can dig up on you from your entire past life. They have access to FBI and NSA files, as well as pit bull investigators who'll make UP "evidence" where there IS none. Just the inference shuts down the influx of money, which is your life blood. Remember "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "Evan Almighty"? Those movies didn't randomly appear in the writer's brains. There's truth behind every human thought. True election reform IS required, but not by federalizing elections. It starts by forcing politicians to live under the same laws they pass without exception. Impeachment for failure to comply with their oaths. Having to answer for any/all crimes committed against the American people. Total and open financial disclosure and expense accounts. Open and current tax returns filed yearly. No special "perks" at taxpayer expense anymore. Term limits, and transparent GAO records of any/all expenses attributed to each politician. Names of every staffer as well as salary amounts. Longevity cap requirements for staffers. Stronger penalties for wrongdoing and attempted cover-ups. Full prosecution for ANY offense committed that We The People would be charged and prosecuted for. Retirement/benefit packages ramped down over time. Absolutely NO money from PACS, lobbyists, or special interest groups. Maximum cap of $500.00 per contribution, and they've got to live within their budgets, which are reported weekly to the FEC. No special caucuses pertaining to skin color, race, creed, religion, or sex. You're there to work FOR the American people, or pay for your failure to do so. If we continue to allow this bunch of mongrels to degrade our country, there'll be NO country left. #FREEDOM ! #AMERICA !