CBS’ Bob Schieffer Blasts Congress, Proposes ‘Second Congress’ That Would Take On Important Issues

In the commentary portion of Face the Nation today, Bob Schieffer put forth a modest proposal for a new American government which ensures responsibility and accountability: a second Congress. Yes, it’s Congress 2: Electric Boogaloo, and unlike most sequels, this one shows more promise than the original. Schieffer’s desire to reform government comes from watching how divisive Congress has become in the last year.

Congress 2.0 would be elected for a single-year term, and after that they would not be allowed to run for office again. And since this Congress would not have to deal with winning reelection, it could do all the heavy lifting like taking on entitlement reform, the tax code, infrastructure, and everything else Congress 1.0 is too divided to address in a responsible manner.

Schieffer noted that in the earliest years of the original Congress, elected representatives were not concerned with reelection, and that’s why his model of a new Congress has some basis in American political thought. But what would the original Congress do?

“Well, they’d still be there, we’d just strip them of all power and no longer pay them. With nothing to do, they could devote themselves full-time to what they do best: plotting against one another, dunning people for money, cranking out press releases, issuing declarations, dreaming up excuses, threatening to shut down the government every month or so, and otherwise finding ways to avoid doing anything that actually mattered to anyone but them.”

What do you think? Does Schieffer have a point about Congress, and if so, does his blueprint for a second Congress sound appealing?

Watch the video below, courtesy of CBS: