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Old 08-30-2009, 11:01 AM  
urgeag
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 100
Quote:
Originally Posted by theking View Post
Exactly...and the people chose him to serve them for 47 years...the third longest sitting Senator...in the history of the United States. Outstanding.
well not exactly- there has been a huge problem for many years when it comes to congressional seats- this is the first article of many that popped up:

Congressional stagnation is an American political theory that attempts to explain the high rate of incumbency re-election to the United States House of Representatives. In recent years this rate has been well over 90 per cent, with rarely more than 5-10 incumbents losing their House seats every election cycle. ... One of the main reasons incumbents seem to have such a complete advantage over challengers is because of their significantly better financed campaigns. In the 1990s the typical incumbent in a contested election had somewhere between 83 to 93 percent of what was spent by all the candidates in the district, and these incumbents typically captured about 64 to 67 percent of the vote. Wikipedia Article on Congressional Stagnation In The United States

The above-quoted article sets forth a number of reasons why Congress is not representing U.S. Citizens, including the Incumbent Financial Advantage, Pork Barrel Spending, and Gerrymandering.
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