The time to party has passed. It's closing time.

However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

If Washington thought they were outliving their usefulness then, think how overripe he'd find them now.

I'm a Democrat. I've been a Democrat. I was a Democrat. Well, I don't like some of what's going on now. I'm not as thrilled with Obama as I thought I would, though he's far better than the alternative. I just don't know. I think we need change.

That's me, squeaking from thinking liberal to independent and not knowing quite where to go.

This year, we have the opportunity to change over Congress.

I mean really, change it over. Representatives are elected every even year. That means we could throw them all out. Yes, all of them. Doesn't matter what party. Doesn't matter that some of them have been there a long time, that some are doing a decent job. Whatever the heck they're doing in the Capitol right now needs to change. Now.

Define serving. Before I go on, I do not want this blog to be an anti-King campaign message, nor do I want it to be a pro-Campbell or pro-anyone else message. The message of his blog is a message to every district in our nation. Congress has gotten too comfortable. They feel entitled. They're not serving our best interest. Throw them all out. From Nancy Pelosi to Steve King -- all of them. Gone. It's time for new minds, new hearts, and new attitudes.

I took a look around the non-biased, non-partisan Project Vote Smart. There's no agenda here. It's just a record of the representative votes.

I concentrated on King's record in 2009, which would be his work since he was last elected in November of 2008.

In October, 2009, King voted no to rural development appropriations, including domestic food programs, conservation programs and agriculture programs.

Wouldn't those be programs with a lot of force in northwest Iowa? Why would he vote against bringing funding to our rural economy?

The bill also prohibited the use of taxpayer money to fund first class travel for employees of agencies funded by this appropriations bill. Apparently, King would rather have our tax money go to fund first class travel for government employees.

The bill also funded safety precautions and inspections of Chinese poultry processing facilities before allowing the import of chickens from China. What that tells me is King doesn't care about our safety, but wants to open up free importation of agriculture products from China, when we could create jobs by producing more chicken here -- right?

The bill did pass and become law -- but no thanks to Rep. King.

All right. Fair enough. Let's move on.

To be fair, King did vote for the Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2007, which did benefit our region greatly. I didn't include it here, because I want to know what he's done for us (or as it would seem against us) lately -- since the last time we inexplicably elected him to office.

Just a month ago, King voted against the Omnibus Public Land Management Act.

This act added land to the Wilderness Preservation System. It authorized the Bureau of Reclamation to take on new water projects (a plentiful supply of water is always good) and in a rider, had expanded treatment for paralysis.

I don't know anyone with paralysis, but I would like it if they had adequate treatment to live full lives, wouldn't you?

Not if you're out of work. Just a week ago, he voted against extending unemployment benefits. That tells me he's out of touch with the pervasive unemployment in our district and just doesn't care about the struggling families in our region.

He doesn't really want to make it easier for you to find a job, either. Earlier this month, he voted no to HR 2847, the Jobs bill.

In December, he voted against regulation of the United States Finance System. Let me see if I have this right. He doesn't want to extend unemployment benefits. He doesn't want to pass a job creation bill. But if banks and financial institutions want to play fast and loose with our money to maximize their profits -- that's fine with him.

I'm picking on Rep. King because he's our congressman. I've met him a couple of times and I have to say, in person, he really is a likeable guy and I can see why he has his supporters. But being a nice (while alternately completely out of his mind) guy does not make him the congressman we need right now.

While I'll miss hearing about his statements that become more outlandish with each passing season, hearing of his dreams to go start his own country, and sighing when my out-of-state cousins tease me on Facebook for being in his district, I still think it's time for King to pack it in.

I think the doors of the congressional office buildings in Washington, DC all need new name plates. A lot of representatives are giving us a head start by not running again, including Kennedy and Bayh. That's great. Let's keep the momentum going. Whether you're from here or from another district, let's not allow incumbency to alter our perceptions.

They've all had their chance and they're all part of a broken system.

Vote in November. Vote for something new -- replacing Congress can go way beyond rhetoric about hope and change, change and hope, hope and change and hope.

I'm a new Independent. I'm open to anyone with a mind up to the challenge and a desire to actually serve.

Maybe it's Campbell. Maybe it's someone else.

Let the opponents have their say.

http://firecongress.org/