How should politicians best represent us?
441300
Party line voting is wrong.  It is also wrong to be a wind sock for public opinion. That places the power in the hands of a small oligarchy in the first instance, and in the hands of the uninformed in the second.  A politician should vote for what is best for his constituants and not worry about his next election or even his popularity within his constituancy.  The people should only vote a person in office they trust.  \n\nIn truth, people are selfish and narrow-minded and vote for people like themselves.  An honest man running for political office doesn't stand a chance of getting elected and if he lucks out and does get elected will not be re-elected.  The people that put him in office (voters and donors)expect special treatment and will viciously turn on him if he tries to do his job fairly.\n\nTo Sandy_Sweet_Pie, Most of your military are conservative, they are the last people that want to go to war but when called to do so, they proudly fight for the right of leftist liberals like you to have freedom of speech.  To bad you have nothing constructive to say.
978014
First lets see who the dems put up.  If the dem choice is more conservative than the rep incumbent (as you have noted), then we continue to clean house.
868360
All politicians are evil lying scumbags who would sell their souls for a dollar, they serve corporatism, power and are only interested in control.\n\nlook up the 'new world order', that's what most politicians serve.\n\ngood luck with your project, i'm sure you'll do great. :)
883756
You mean like Democrats and Republicans? They both take an oath of office that says they are to represent ALL the people. That they will do what is best for the WHOLE country. And yet it seems they are only interested in representing the people who voted for them. And even them no more then they think it will take to keep them voting for them.
226308
respect 1st and foremost FREEDOM respect other opinions be kind and generous work hard and be honest. love life / get involved vote take stands maintain good morals. and always demand this of others
736983
Lawyers & Politicians ?
1058837
It is best to have proper legal representation.
445276
Our government is a Republic, which in the U.S. is a representative Democracy.  We elect our Congressional delegates, our representatives, to pass laws by which we will govern ourselves.
1131588
The situation we are in, and have been in for several generations, is one in which intelligent, representative government is increasingly impossible, simply because of the sheer size and scope of government. If we want a government that is controlled by our representatives, we need a government that is sufficiently limited in size and scope for it to be humanly possible for our representatives to know and understand what it is doing and what is being suggested that it do. For the people's representatives to regain control of the government, its size and scope must be radically reduced.
700497
No... Politicians are elected by a majority of those that vote. So if only nut jobs and fanatics voted that's the kind of government that you would get. It is better to be well informed and vote for who best represents your views.... from the primaries on... your Chance of finding someone that agrees 100% with your views is slim to none, so it is always a choice of lesser evils.\nIn short the only way to get a good government is for the people to be *informed* and *involved* Dropping out  gets you what you deserve.
843716
Both parties and all of politics support the people who give them the most money.  They vote on party lines, not for the constituents.  Politicians have lost sight of what they are there for, and that is to serve the people.  They serve other politicians, they serve big business, and over all, they serve themselves.
1048201
~Suffrage and representation.
473661
holding politicians accountable to their campaign promises?
545800
Issues and concerns change. The politician who does not change is often left high and dry. If a politician runs for a higher office than the one they currently hold, they have to take into account the larger, more diverse population which is eligible to vote for the higher office. \n\nPolitics is often called "the art of the possible," for these very reasons. It's also been said that "the primary job of a politician is to get re-elected." This implies that he or she must change with the people who elect him or her and reflect their concerns. Holding onto an early "mandate" can be very difficult when you have to change your original positions.\n\nOther problems: being elected on a "mandate" is one thing, actually DOING something about it when you get into office is quite another; many times, those elected on a "mandate" discover that they need more help getting the madate implemented than they can muster; there's also the fact that being together with other politicians in a location far from your constituents often makes the memory of why you were elected fade.\n\nPolitics is a constant game of balances and compromises.
1160409
I've read articles about this very question.  There's no question that better and more competent candidates are out there.  But a bright, ethical (potential) candidate is not interested in politics.  Why should he/she be?  If you're that competent and able, going into the political arena is like quitting your CEO job and GM and becoming a used car salesman.  The chief asset of a politician is salesmanship.  The ability to sell himself and an ego proportionate to his disproportionate image of himself.\n\nSo we the people are left to suffer with the used car salesman equivelent.  I know your pain.
172823
Contact your local congressman, and create a relationship with him and his staff.  Express your idea and be persistent.  They are generally responsive of their local constituents, as the ones that contact them are the one's likely to vote.  It wouldn't hurt if you got together with other members of the community to push your view as well.  If it is a very local matter, you can contact city officials and aks if you can include their support and endorsement of your "community action" in lobbying congress.
845072
Spoken like a true politician, which one are you, and what state do you represent?