Electing a New Congress, Redressing the Old

I have come to the suspicion, amounting almost to a conviction, that our political system is screwed up beyond any hope of fixing. Short, that is, of an economic, military, or environmental disaster that wipes out the status quo and forces us back to basics.  But one interesting solution was thrown out there by CBS News guru Bob Schieffer in an opinion piece after his Sunday TV show.  Noting accurately that the present congress in Washington has done nothing meaningful in the entire year of 2011, Schieffer proposed the following:  That we elect a new congress and Senate. Elected members will serve one year, with no term beyond that. They will deal with the Nation’s problems without the distraction of running for re-election and will have no reason to sell out their offices for campaign contributions. The will simply work earnestly on the problems at hand. The old congress will be left there, with no powers or pay, but free to carry on their feuding, bickering, posturing, and spending their time running for re-election.  In short, doing what they do best.  But it would have no effect on the Country. The real business would be proceeding in the New Congress. That’s Shieffer’s idea.  I would add one refinement.  That members of the now disempowered present Congress be required to wear clown motley, complete with red putty noses and floppy shoes.