Any observer of the Washington political scene surely recognizes the power-brokering, backroom deals, and partisan talking points off of which our nation’s capital feeds. Are the days of the citizen-legislator over?

We are far removed from Thomas Jefferson, who once wrote, “I advance with obedience to the work, ready to retire from it whenever you become sensible how much better choice it is in your power to make.”  Jefferson, of course, understood that politicians derive their power from “the consent of the governed,” not from any presumption of power or entitlement of birth. We have moved from a constitutional republic to kleptocracy in just a few generations. 

This week, however, House Appropriations Chair David Obey (D-WI) introduced a sensible new rule: he banned “monuments to me” in this year’s appropriation bill.  Our humble leaders were not pleased.  Maxine Waters (D-CA) immediately shot back, arguing that her $1 million earmark for the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center ought to be fully-funded, and of course named after its primary benefactor.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new.  Politicians have left their humility in their districts and given their egos first billing when taxpayer money is on the line.  Despite a national debt over $11 trillion – $37,000 for every man, woman and child – the list of politicians who conspire to fund “monuments to me” continues to grow.

Famous recent examples include: the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service and the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport (serving the city’s 21,832 residents).  Republicans are not immune to eponymous outbursts; Ted Stevens named Anchorage’s International Airport after himself, and Don Young not only named a multi-million dollar highway in Alaska after himself, but also in an act of spousal affection, decided to rename part of the transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU) after his wife, Lula.

Taxpayers hope that with great power comes great responsibility, and when it comes to our tax dollars, Washington appears to be shirking its responsibility, instead favoring the sort of self-aggrandizement that our founders loathed.  Rather than fighting each other for more power and more pork, taxpayers would like to see politicians take credit for abdicating power, lowering taxes, easing regulations and allowing market demand to dictate where our national resources are allocated.

This perceived entitlement to power also extends to the very House and Senate seats themselves.  Vice President Biden seemingly brokered a deal for Senator Edward Kaufman to be a placeholder for his Senate seat in Delaware; that is until Biden’s son, Beau, returns from Iraq.

Biden is not alone in seeking to give the gift of higher office.  For example, Duncan Hunter (R-CA) helped to ensure that his son, Duncan, would take over his southern California House seat last year.  Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL) also inherited their fathers’ House seats in relatively easy general election matchups.  The list goes on.

Thankfully, all hope is not lost.  There are some politicians who recognize self-serving legislation when they see it.  Michael McCaul (R-TX) has been a leader on “monuments to me,” successfully banning them from the Federal Aviation Administration authorization bill and the Veterans Affairs appropriation bill.

John Campbell (R-CA) echoed these efforts, noting, “[I]t means there’s a recognition among an increasing number of Members that these ‘monuments to me’ are a really bad thing that the public believes is emblematic of waste and self-dealing.”  Unfortunately, the uprising against these projects is not enough, because they are still commonplace on Capitol Hill.

One goal for taxpayers over the next several years should be to put so much pressure on Washington to ban this wasteful spending that politicians won’t even consider the idea.  The national Tea Party effort is a strong start to bring the nation back to the idyllic citizen-legislator, rather than the “me-too” groupthink that is so pervasive today. 

Mr. Jefferson would surely approve of such an effort.