If this saying is true, then politics today must have another meaning. Considering the increase of incivility, police intervention and prisons, our problems are not being solved . Why does politics fail to solve our problems?  In reality, politics means "bringing unrelated factors into the problem-solving process." Problems remain unsolved or grow. Problem solutions are simple until the politicians introduce the complexity of campaign welfare, that is, getting something for nothing for their campaign contributors.

How ironic that the phrase "economic privilege" indites the habitual politicians for corrupting public law-making to help private citizens. "Privilege" is Latin for "private law." Each economic privilege is a theft from the general public to aid a politician's private friend. Not only do our public laws contain too many private thefts, but the existence of Political IOU's ensure more privileges that steal from the money we could have for better health care, shorter workweeks and earlier retirements.

Does it require a rocket scientist to recognize that we have a lot of growing, unsolved problems? What is the common unrelated factor that our Congressional politicians bring to the table of solving our national problems? Their re-election. Do they vote first and foremost on how to solve our problems? Or, do they vote in order to solve their re-election problems? A common criticism of Congress is that they are always running for reelection. What's the solution?

We need to properly label our national politicians who are obsessed with reelection. Should we continue to call them "professional" politicians. No. The word "profess" means to speak truths that take one forward: "pro faire". Do they speak truths in the problem-solving process to liberate us from our problems? No. Career politicians is more descriptive. But that's not quite right either.

The needed word jumps out if you look at the characteristics of our politicians. Do their habits cause a lot of pain and suffering? Are they addicted to or intoxicated with power? Yes.

What do we call the members of our community who repeatedly offend and harm us? Habitual offenders. Likewise, because of their habit to cause pain and suffering and because of their addiction to power,

we should call the members of our Congress "habitual politicians."

The only thing that habitual politics achieves is the jockeying of position and seniority to see who can steal the most from the taxpayers to buy their reelections. To think that habitual politicians have more integrity, care and ability than other citizens flies in the face of how the political cesspool destroys integrity. Term limits with election reform will give us leaders free of the corruption of the cesspool to create laws.

Why did we have a revolutionary war? Habitual Politics! A hereditary king is a habitual politician. We can cite specifics--the tea tax or George III was crazy--but the general reason was that we did not want a monarchy. What is a monarchy but a hereditary habitual politician. We need a new Declaration of Independence. Or, a Re-Declaration of Independence.

Are elected habitual politicians any better than hereditary ones? No. Why? Because of how habitual politicians ensure their reelection. They use the public laws to pass laws to benefit their friends who help them get reelected. It is slick how they hide the connection between campaign contributions and tax-beneficial legislation for their big campaign contributors. On must-pass legislation, they swap sponsorship for bills benefitting their campaign contributors, to wit: "You help my campaign contributors steal through the tax system (deductions, credits, or supports) and I will do the same for yours!"

The more they get reelected, the more powerful they become. With this power they are able to help their friends even more. At a certain point, they are so powerful that no one wants to challenge them at election time.

In 1998, more than half of Virginia's Congressmen ran without an opponent from the opposing major party. And, if you kept up with the 1998 Congressional redistricting after the lawsuit against racial gerrymandered districts, the local Congressmen (Bliley and Scott) were allowed to redraw the districts to their choosing. Someone wrote that the voters didn't choose the officials. Rather, the politicians got to choose their voters to ensure their reelection. Now this is true democracy.

Mark Twain said we have the best Congress that money can buy. When I think of Samuel Clement's comment, I wonder if we shouldn't change the name from House of Representatives to House of Ill Repute and renaming the Speaker of the House to Madam of the House.

Because of habitual politicians, Congress is like a crooked police force. A new, good cop can't do anything unless he starts taking bribes and graft. Likewise, a new, good Congressman can't do anything unless he goes along with the theft of taxpayer dollars. Habitual politicians have made public policymaking a cesspool into which no good thinker can enter without becoming a stinker. Retired politicians who complain about the system after serving many terms remind me of pensioned gas-chamber guards complaining about genocide.

What's the difference between a Republican and Democrat? One's a thieving robber and the other's a robbing thief. What are they steal ing? Our taxes, our dignity, and our freedom from problems. In short, they steal our time. Haves and have nots has less to do with money than with having a life and not being worked to death. The habitual politicians have given us longer workweeks and longer work lives with time for self, family and community.

The number one problem of humanity is the habitual politician. No human life nor human hour wastes as much time as the habitual politician. Faster than a computer, habitual politicians corrupt the public problem-solving process to benefit the private wants, not needs, of his friends and supporters. For the new millennium, do we need the habitual politician? No, we don't need habitual quack doctors.

Habitual politicians remain in power because they give privileges to their friends and supporters. This unfairness creates a class of disadvantaged, denied and unprivileged. Two problematic conditions arise. First of all, the denied are not able to share the solutions to their problems within the political system. Society suffers chronic, habitual problems. Secondly, from within the multitude of denied and disadvantaged arise the intelligent, bitter individuals who will reward the habitual politicians with habitual terrorism. The solution to habitual politicians is term limits. We have them in place for the U.S. President as legislated by Congress. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

If you have questions or comments about habitual politicians, you can participate in a weekly call for questions (Friday's topic) by submitting your question at on-line democracy.  Until further notice, you will receive lifehour tax credits for participating in this on-line forum for questions.

If you have questions or comments on the thesis of habitual politicians, you can democratize them at On-Line Forum as well as review others' input. Or, you can return to the top of this essay to use the submission form. Other writings on this topic are: Problems ... Terrorism ... Politicking ... Cures.

Re-Declaration of Independence

What do you call a habitual politician who's father was a habitual politician? A son of  habitual politician, e.g., Gore and Bush.