The problem is more pronounced in Virginia, for specific reasons I think, but it’s definitely there, and then end result is Congressional disapproval ratings consistently in the high 50s to 60s and even 70s in some recent months.
But here in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, with a Democrat who needed Obama’s hand to get him across the finish line (a hand that won’t be on the ballot in 2010), you’d think strong candidates would be lining up to run for Congress.
You’d be wrong.
Chuck Smith unabashedly is campaigning for it, and he’s a quality candidate, but the list of those who have thought about it, or have been approached, and decided not to is long and distinguished (no Top Gun references, please).
Why would good candidates rather run for the General Assembly or City Council than Congress?
Every Virginia office has no campaign fundraising limits. Congressional races have contribution limits on individuals to $2,400 per individual and bans corporate donations entirely. Nye and the Democratic Party spent 2.5 million dollars defeating Thelma Drake. Raising that kind of cash 2400 bucks at a time is not exactly loads of fun.
Then there’s Washington DC. It’s tough to convince a Republican to buy a second home in DC and spend most of his time there when the state legislature only is in session 2 months out of the year and most members are home every weekend. Or even a local office, with once a week duty for an afternoon/evening.
Some of the arguments at our nation’s founding centered on whether to enact term limits on Congress, but the thinking against them was often “who’d want to stay longer than they needed to.” Congress was not the top of the political food chain, and in Virginia it still isn’t.
Plus, there’s the thought that as large as the federal government is, good candidates are ones who want to have impact and accomplish things, and the chance of anyone changing much of the federal government from one Congressional seat without years and years of seniority is nil. And once you have years and years of seniority, how much “change” can you still have in your blood?
Some of the blame is on current elected officials, who spend significant amounts of time playing political chess by “encouraging” or “discouraging” potential candidates for office. It’s nothing new, but the end result is a narrower party more than a growing one.
When the list of candidates who won’t run dwarfs the list of those who will, it’s time to wonder why. I know – incumbents have no vested interest in changing a system that is built to discourage potential opponents.
But it does make me think about redistricting.
It does make me think about significantly increasing campaign contribution limits.
It does make me think about term limits, especially for Congressmen who took the oath of office when Jimmy Carter did.
And it makes me think that sometimes the kingmakers are the last to know they are only unclothed emperors.
