Defrauding a lender is a fairly serious offense. Claiming to be a resident of a state other than the one you represent in Congress is prohibited by Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. Though not a crime, such a condition disqualifies someone from holding said office.

This is really nothing new. Former Representative Fortney H. “Pete” Stark, also of California, declared his Maryland home as his primary residence so he could get a discount on his property taxes. His homeys in Congress refused to investigate, but Eric Swalwell eventually challenged him in the Democrat primary… and now holds that seat which Stark had for forty years.

The sixty-four-dollar question has to be “How many other senators and representatives have played fast and loose with the status of their residency… mostly for financial gain?” You can bet the farm that Trump and his new entourage have already had this thought cross their minds.

The real meaning of MAGA is that modern government is more of a problem than a solution. Reducing the size and thus the influence of government can lead only to happier and more prosperous lives for all of us ordinary folks. Meanwhile, the barnacles clinging to the hull of the mega-state will go to extreme lengths to maintain their comfortable, though parasitic, “careers.”

Catching the villains in Congress violating just one of the rules only goes so far. Keeping up the pressure, however, will cause them to put out pathetic defenses… leading to serious electoral challenges.

Lurking within this dynamic is the sad fact that public office often attracts unscrupulous, self-aggrandizing charlatans. Can you say Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul made $38M worth of stock trades before inauguration? This also brings to mind the insider info that Hillary Clinton’s son-in-law got about a Greek bond issue… which, however, didn’t end so well.

Would it benefit the republic that seekers of office were even more motivated by patriotism than personal advantage than they are now? You think? This can be assumed to be Jefferson’s and the Founders’ intention. We are, however, where we are. It is, of course, not a perfect world… but critically important systems should be set up to sustain positive results.

For starters we could consider (ahem) term limits for members of Congress. Since the elected members would never propose such an amendment, only a convention of the states would do such. So, don’t hold your breath… at least until the anger of the electorate reaches such a fever pitch. And therein lies the essence of the current dynamic. Government, at all levels, has been screwing its constituents for so long -- and various sources of information have been cataloging the details -- that it’s hard to ignore the profound antipathy.

Image: Frypie