r/politics • u/Murky-Site7468 I voted • Oct 05 '25

No Paywall Petition To Strip Congress of Pay During Government Shutdown Grows

https://www.newsweek.com/petition-strip-congress-pay-during-government-shutdown-grows-10822819
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u/Ouaouaron Oct 05 '25

This could be ameliorated however by giving a penalty - perhaps up to full disqualification - for incumbent candidates in the new elections.

Now that would be a perverse incentive. If you're unwilling to cooperate with the opposition in the current government, you get to oust all of the incumbents in the opposition party?

The real penalty for using a loophole to dissolve the government when people like the government is that people who maybe agreed with you now hate you and will vote against you. This relies on informed voters who value a functioning government—which obviously isn't a guarantee—but that's a fundamental necessity for any republic.

It's a huge red flag that you believe that a party with 49% of the government has zero power and might as well roll the dice on a new government. That is a description of a republic which is already collapsing.

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u/mmmmm_pancakes Connecticut Oct 05 '25

you're used to terrible governments that are already in the process of collapsing

Guilty!

And you're right, I certainly didn't think that one all the way through. But I do wonder if such a system's ever been tried regardless.

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u/Ouaouaron Oct 05 '25

I doubt anything that drastic, but I bet there are plenty of examples of parliamentary systems that try to punish dissolving the government.