Name:   MartiniMan - Subject:   Define the swamp Date:   7/10/2018 8:37:54 AM

For me the swamp is the entire DC racket.  It is comprised of career politicians, their staff that move from one member to another and the bloated, ineffective bureaucracy in government (especially political appointees), K-street lobbyists and the entire apparatus.  It pains me to know that probably four or five of the seven richest counties in the country surround Washington, DC which tells you everything you need to know.  When fully one quarter of our GDP is controlled by government that puts way too much power and money in the wrong hands.  If you drain the swamp (reduce the size and scope of the federal govt) the alligators, snakes and blood sucking insects will leave.  That is the only way. 

Unfortunately, most politicians of either party define the swamp as those in govt that are in the other party.  They all think it will be right as rain when "they" are in control.  Sort of like the explanation of why socialism and communism have never worked.  It's not that the ideology is all wrong, it's just that the right people haven't been in charge.  The reality is that there is something corrupting about having that much power and money and it is indeed the rare person that can withstand it's allure and still remain grounded.  The fact is that govt does very few things well.  As a result it should do as little as possible and most of it should be at the local level where the politicians and bureaucrats are closest to the impact of their decisions.  /rant over