Senators Say Ethics Beyond Lobbying Reform

"Members of Congress must look at their own behavior as well as lobbyists' if they are to regain the trust of the American public, senators said Wednesday."

Ok now everybody get on the bus! Now that it is all the rage to say that the Congress has ethics problems, every Senator and Congressional Representative is coming out to say that we need changes. Right right, so where the hell were all of you for the last 10 years?

"But speakers at the hearing also said members of Congress must look at how they do business and get elected, larger issues that could complicate quick passage of the first lobbying reform bill in a decade.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., co-sponsor of one of the major lobbying bills, said Congress must tackle the problem of earmarks, special interest projects that get inserted in larger pieces of legislation, often with the help of lobbyists. 'We're not going to fix this system until we fix the earmarks,' he said. 'It's disgraceful, this process.'"

Yeah disgraceful. It has been disgraceful for many MANY years! How can I take you seriously Senator McCain when you have sat by and watched this happen for so many years, with so many bills? Come on!

"Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also noted, in a broader sense, that Congress must look at how lawmakers finance their political campaigns. 'Unless and until we address this in an honest fashion, we are carping on trifles here.'

In the House on Wednesday, Democrats David Obey of Wisconsin and Barney Frank of Massachusetts said they would introduce legislation to eliminate all private money for House elections, turning instead to public financing. 'The problem with politics is more fundamental than meals or trips with lobbyists,' Obey said in a statement."

Now we are talking! I think we should really look into making our system of elections a publicly financed process, and get all this special interest money out of the game. Of course there will be loopholes, and we have to work to fix them. It's worth a shot.