Article 1, Section 6, Paragraph 2
No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
So What Happened?
Quite a few things happened!
First, government got a whole lot bigger than it should be, or needs to be, to function well. With government being so large, accountability has vanished.
Second, those elected are not godly, honest, law-abiding citizens. These officials do not care about staying clearly in the way of righteousness, but want to know how close they can cross the law and not get hurt. They have gone to great lengths to protect their office and hide behind others.
Third, instead of legislators meeting briefly every year or two, and quickly voting on laws and then going home, these lawmakers have made themselves kingdoms with servants, staffs, and elegance that would make the self-sacrificing founding fathers blush in anger.
Fourth, bribery is the game of the day. Committee leadership is auctioned off to those who march the best to the ruling party. Qualifications are not the heart of the issue, nor the need for such tax drains on Federal Funds.
Fifth, people do not know those elected to office. They also are over ridden by lobbyists and corporations that pay millions of dollars to be in the audience of the legislator, his or her staff, and so be represented in the Houses getting bills passed or failed according to their whim.
Sixth, the motivation to be in government by legislators is not usually pure. The prestige and power, that is not supposed to be attached to the office has become the attraction. The bribes gained in office makes the office even more appealing.
Seventh, citizens have not done their job, nor held enough interest in politics to stop this broad standing corruption of the government. Instead we stand quietly by and bemoan our losses.
Our country is in grave danger of lapsing into democracy or some completely treacherous system of government, because the Constitution is ignored.
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