Forum questions on gridlock

• How can the average citizen’s voice be heard over the voices of those who contribute money toward the growing cost of congressional campaigns?

• Many of our congressmen are afflicted by a disease called “I want to stay here.” Is it time to think about term limits?

• What is your opinion of the impact of the 24-hour cable news cycle? Does the avalanche of news feeds further polarize the electorate?

• How do you deal with special interest groups that disapprove of or discourage compromise?

• How can an ordinary citizen or voter volunteer help to get the fiscal framework in place to improve our economy?

• How does a citizen get involved in a grass-roots movement to make Congress understand that they must move?

• Which congressional district elected Grover Norquist to represent them?

• We have raised opinion to the level of fact. How can we begin to offer more information that can be verified?

• How will it be possible to resolve the current deficit issue when one man is holding the entire Republican delegation hostage to a 30-year-old tax pledge?

• It has been stated that simply removing the Social Security tax cap of $110,000 would make the system solvent. Do you agree and why?

• What member of the opposite party do you admire and why?

• How many hours a week do you spend raising money?

• Has Congress considered that their bickering instead of looking for compromises sets a terrible example for our youth and young adults?

• Are there areas of agreement regarding solutions? If so, how many and what are they?

• Is there a relationship between one’s political collaboration and one’s faith life? In other words, are there times when one’s responsibility toward one’s conscience or ideals or pragmatism trumps one’s responsibility to reach out to a political colleague on a path toward friendship and collaboration? Is there any way forward that does not involve self-sacrifice?

• So if you guys reach across the aisle and are so willing to compromise all the time, why does nothing get done?

• What previously held position would you be willing to give up in order to build consensus or find compromise?

• Please tell us what your party has done to foster interparty cooperation? What have you done individually to move this forward?

• How can redistricting be made non-partisan?

• How can public financing be achieved so less time is spent raising funds, and funders do not influence decisions?

• How can we mobilize moderates to vote in primaries or reform the system to favor moderates?

• How can we compromise when neither side will trust the other to live up to its end of the bargain?

• Survey data over the past three decades confirm that the position of the electorate on basic political and social issues remains in the middle of the political ideological spectrum and only a small portion are on the far right or left. The polarity exists among the political elites, such as members of the panel, due to gerrymandered districts, the primary process which attracts only a small number of activist voters, and a 24/7 media environment hungry for the next controversy. How will you who benefit from such a dysfunctional situation fix the problem?

• Gerrymandered districts seem to be a large factor in selecting representatives with little interest in compromise. Do you see any real path to having district lines drawn in a less party-defined manner?

• Would you support ending political ads on TV?

• Does the House leadership on both sides let the members vote their conscience or are they expected to vote the leadership way, even on issues that are not partisan?

• Considering that the main participants in electoral primaries are typically strong supporters of their party, and redistricting has led to more politically homogeneous congressional districts, can our primary system be held accountable for producing more politically extreme candidates?

• So what are you willing and able to do to help us move forward? REALLY.

• Simpson-Bowles made a good start in providing a template that balanced revenues and expenses, yet it went nowhere. Why is it so hard to at least get back to that point?

• Why do you think the Obama administration let the Bowles-Simpson recommendations fall into a black hole? And if you think his re-election will give him the political cover to do anything about it now?

• Why has the Bowles-Simpson proposal been so ignored by both the president and the Congress?

• How much gridlock occurs in the committees and subcommittees of Congress verses gridlock on the floors of the House and Senate?

• How can we change the seductive nature of being in Congress (perks and treated like royalty) back to the idea of public service?

• In 1995-96, Congress failed to pass a budget. Government shut down and the country did not default. Why do the Democrats say we will default now if we don’t increase the debt limit?

• Has the rise of so-called Independents left he parties vulnerable to extreme views and would broader participation by the electorate in the parties themselves lead to moderation and increased dialogue?

• Do we think we are experiencing gridlock because the president is an African-American?

• What will it take to drop the rhetoric and negotiate in earnest?

• Please discuss specifically the kinds of loop holes and tax expenditures that are significant enough to move the needle as far as closing the gap needed to raise enough revenue to avoid significant reductions to entitlement programs.

• What are your suggestions for finding common ground on the issue of clean energy?

• Once the gridlock is broken, what changes in structure and process should be made so it does not return?

• What would be your position in resolving the immigration status of the more than 10 million undocumented people in this country?

• Please give input on the legitimacy or illegitimacy of states invoking nullification of federal legislation.

• Confidence in Congress is lower, deservedly so. In turn, does Congress have a lower opinion of regular citizens? If yes, what can regular citizens do to regain the confidence and trust of their elected officials.

• Why won’t Republicans compromise, and by not doing so, risk putting the country over the cliff, and why won’t they work for the people who elected them rather than the super pacs?

• Do you think we will ever see the press return to the standards held by those such as Walter Cronkite?

• If Speaker Boehner had publicly admonished the S.C. representative who yelled “liar” during President Obama’s State of the Union address, would it have made any impact?

• Why with Medicare unsustainable do the Democrats demagogue the issue to the point of saying: Nothing needs to be done?

• What role does the president’s race play in the refusal to compromise?

• What are the global economic effects of the fiscal cliff scenario?

• How much has the rise of the tea party impacted the ability to have compromise?

• Why all of the drama suddenly? How is our fiscal situation more precarious than it was in early 2000?

• Why can term limits not be imposed in both the House and Senate?

• If tax cuts stimulate growth, why did we fall into a “Great Recession” after six years of Bush tax cuts?

• To all government double dippers and triple dippers, would you consider offering a part of your taxpayer benefits to help with the reduction in entitlements?

• How many years do you think it will take for the U.S. to stop adding to the debt and achieve a balanced budget?

• How can you reconcile the needs of the country, your constituents and the Grover Norquist pledge?

• Leaders model behavior. Why does Congress continue to maintain benefits and a pension plan superior to almost everyone in the country? Why do they continue to exempt themselves from insider trading laws?

• How does the need to fund-raise impede your willingness to find compromise for the good of the nation?

• As a recently displaced employee, is there an agreement that can be reached to bring our jobs back?

• The U.S. was prosperous and had full employment in the 1950s, when marginal tax rates on high incomes were at 90 percent. Bush administration tax cuts for the rich did not create the promised jobs, but instead further concentrated wealth among the top half of 1 percent. When will each of you publicly renounce the “no new taxes” pledge to Grover Norquist and encourage your congressional colleagues to do the same?

• The military requirements system is broken. It validates “requirements” which cannot be met by proven technology. Department of Defense and Congress refuse to challenge these requirements before tens of billions of dollars are wasted in what amounts to welfare programs for aerospace contractors. How would you fix this mess as part of a major reduction in military spending?

• Where is the data to support the claims that lower tax rates on the wealthy create jobs, when the most recent periods of large job creation occurred when taxes were much higher?

• Let us move toward a one-bill, one-topic methodology. This removes the horse-trading, which includes bad ideas along with the good bills.

• Taxes pay for the lights to go on, the water we drink, our security and so many important societal issues. Why are Republicans so afraid of taxes?

• Given the changing demographics of the country, in general, how will both parties try to garner support of these new groups?

• What is so difficult about bringing jobs back from overseas?

• Do you think both parties should look at all entitlement programs to eliminate overlapping government functions and non-productive programs?

• Now that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are ending, do you think it is possible to establish a firm, responsible budget for the Defense Department?

• Why can’t we admit that we’re engaged in a philosophical battle between capitalism and socialism?

• Since the president is demanding fairness for taxes, why don’t we have everyone pay at the same rate?

• Any reason why billions in foreign aid and various subsidies can’t be cut?

• How is cutting future increases in spending via sequestration the same as cutting spending?