Ummm... so let me get this right... this is a petition to not allow individual congressmen and congresswomen to vote for what they feel is best for the country, but instead force them to vote along party lines? Essentially meaning that individual senators would not have their own vote? I thought Congress was supposed to be 435 representatives and 100 senators, representing the will of the state or district that elected them. I didn't realize that we actually just elected the GOP and the DNC, and agreed to allow whichever one has the most members to make all of our decisions?
It's a democratic process. The bill will be refined and improved until people can agree on it. If a Democrat is opposed to something their party is pushing, there's a distinct reason for that. Then revisions need to be made to the bill until a majority approves.
The entire notion of this petition is flawed, and it undermines any democratic principles. It's essentially saying that elected leaders cannot make their own decisions, and just become puppets of whichever party they joined. As a congressman or congresswoman, there is ONE and only ONE entity that has authority over you - the state or district that elected you. The President doesn't have authority over you. The political parties do not have authority over you. The lobbyist groups do not have authority over you. You were NOT elected to Congress to represent the interests of the Democrat Party - you were elected to represent the interests of the voters who elected you.
"If you want to run for Senator as a democrat, that's fine, but just make sure you don't vote for what you feel is best for the country - you have to vote for that the Democrat party feels is best for themselves, and if you don't do as you're told, you're kicked out of office so we can replace you with someone who knows how to follow orders"
rJA, I know you get a little fanatical at times, but do you not see how bad this is? The longer it takes healthcare reform to pass, the better it's going to be. You can't slap together a 1,500 page law in 2 months and expect it to be any good. If it doesn't pass, it gets improved and refine. It needs to be analyzed and reviewed, not just pushed thru and have it suck and then we need to make another healthcare reform in a few years to fix all the oversights and mistakes in this one. Let's take our time and make sure it's right, not threaten legitimately-elected officials with removal from office if they refuse to follow "orders" from someone in a political party.
