Reason #10: Dealing from a Stacked Deck — the Rigged Seniority System

Once you’re an incumbent from one of the two D.O.P.es, you’ve got it made – and not just because you’re probably in one of the 400 or so “safe” districts across the country or because the D.O.P.es have boxed out any possible independent challengers. You’re also guaranteed a huge advantage in fundraising as well. That’s because big business, big labor and other political machines know they have to play ball with you if they want to get laws passed or regulations relaxed. They lavish their pet incumbents with billions of dollars and send their memberships into the streets to campaign for them. Unknown and underfunded challengers don’t have a chance against that kind of money and muscle – even if they do jump through all the hoops to get on the ballot.

To make matters worse, congressional committee assignments and chairmanships are usually handed out based on seniority. The longer you’ve been in office, the better chance you have of chairing one of the top committees like appropriations or intelligence. That means lifetime politicians are actually rewarded for holding onto their seats at all costs.

It’s hard to overstate how powerful committee chairs are. After the Democrats retook the House of Representatives in 2006, 18 term congressman John Murtha was named chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Every year, that assignment gives him almost singlehanded control over half a trillion dollars of federal spending. Weapons makers and other defense contractors know they have to take care of Murtha if they want him to cut them a slice of that pie. In 2007 and 2008, they poured more than $300,000 into his reelection accounts and Murtha did not let them down. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named him one of the 22 most corrupt members of congress for steering lucrative contracts to his biggest contributors.

The rigged seniority system is one of the main reasons why so many fed-up Americans, myself included, pushed for term limits back in the 1980s. We didn’t believe limiting the number of times someone could be reelected would solve every problem. But it was a last resort, a desperate attempt to pry the lifetime leeches off of the body politic.

NEXT: Reason #11: Government by Anesthesia