Wow.

Congressman [score]Thomas Massie[/score] (R-KY) recently sat down with the Daily Independent, a popular newspaper from Ashland, Kentucky, and explained how both parties use bribery and corruption to advance their own agendas.

Massie has long been one of Eagle Rising’s favorite national politicians, due in large part to his willingness to buck his own party’s leaders and fight for the beliefs and philosophies that most conservatives say we hold. Unlike many of the politicians in D.C., Massie (along with a few others like [score]Justin Amash[/score], [score]Rand Paul[/score], and [score]Ted Cruz[/score]) says what he believes and then does what he says he will do… even when it gets him in trouble with party leaders.

In his conversation with the Daily Independent, Massie managed to both enlighten and outrage the average American with his candid explanation of the graft and corruption that runs rampant in Congress.

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From the Daily Independent:

Every election cycle, U.S. Congressman Thomas Massie said he is “extorted” by the Republican Party to pay $300,000 for his committee assignments.

“I call it extortion, they call it assessments,” he said.

These “assessments,” essentially dues to the Republican party, are fundraised through political action committees and lobbyists as a price to pay for committee positions, Massie told a crowd of about 25 during a recent coffee and pizza forum in Flatwoods.

He told them, “I can’t go and do a fundraiser and raise $300,000 and stand up in front of people and tell them, ‘Well, you know what? It’s not really about the election. I need the money to buy a committee seat.’”…

News of committee seat price tags is not new. National Public Radio reported on the issue in 2012, but many seem to have forgotten or are apathetic to the situation, Massie said.

“People know about this, sometimes it becomes an issue…. but it just doesn’t get enough people mad enough…..It just doesn’t have enough interest for people,” Massie said…

“I don’t want to give you the impression committee seats are for sale,” Massie said. “They’re for rent.”

That is some pretty disgusting stuff.

We must demand more from our politicians, America. This kind of behavior breeds corruption and graft; as our political leaders marinate in this mire in Washington, they become desensitized to it. As they become desensitized to it, they begin to believe that acting like a fixer instead of a leader is completely acceptable. However, we did not send these men and women to Washington to be ‘fixers’ — we sent them to represent us and to move our agenda forward.

Perhaps Rep. Massie has unwittingly given us another reason to argue for term limits on our representatives. If they aren’t given the opportunity to sit and steep in the morass that is the D.C. political game, they’ll not have the time to become so acquainted with corruption. It’s time that we the people take back our power, that we take back our blessing of this corruption, and that we demand greater accountability of the men and women leading our nation. Now is the time, and we are the citizens with the power to do it.

The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by EagleRising.com