The only way to fix the nation’s problems is by electing “good” people to office, right? I have a better solution.

Every two years, all 435 representatives and 33 senators (a total of 468) can be replaced. However, the real problem is that the incumbency rate of Congress is, on average, 95 percent. That means, realistically, only 23 people are replaced every election.

In order to pass good legislation, a simple majority is needed, which is 218 in the House and 51 in the Senate.

Just for the sake of argument, let’s assume that voters leave 50 “good” people in the House and 10 in the Senate. To have a simple majority in the House, 198 representatives would need to be replaced; 40 in the Senate. Therefore, in order to reach a simple majority in both branches, it would take 11 election cycles (22 years).

That also requires that one faction wins 100 percent of the elections, every person who got elected staying in office for at least 22 years, and none of them gets corrupted by the temptations of Washington, D.C. (yeah, right).

On the other hand, the average time to ratify a constitutional amendment (excluding the 27th Amendment, which took more than 208 years) is one year, eight months and 10 days.

Much more can be accomplished in less than two years with an Article V Convention of States to propose amendments that limit the federal government than voters can do by electing “good” people.

Ken Quinn, Lisbon Falls

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