Have we all lost touch with our electoral process?

I continue to see a theme being played out over and over again in discussions about politics and the political process, each side is convinced that the other side is the one unwilling to compromise. Well guess what folks, it is both sides being driven farther and farther to their extremes by the complete loonies in each party that are making this occur (and I have talked about this before, http://losttouchwith.blogspot.com/2011/09/losing-touch-art-of-compromise.html).  So what can we all do to bring some sense and compromise back into politics?

1. Get corporate money out of politics. A business is not a person, and should not be allowed to give any tax free untraceable donations to a political party or person. Period, end of story. Abolish Citizens United. Does this mean looking at ways to possibly socialize the dollars that are used for elections? Heck yes, it might be one way to go! Do things like require a certain amount of donated political ad time for your FCC license, and the more states you have or provide FCC channels, radio time, any communications space, the more free time you have to donate. And make certain that it is being regulated, not for content, but for equal time slots.
2. If you get the corporate dollars out of elections, you can't stop there. You also need to get it out of the senators, congressmen, courts, etc. Pass laws that force politicians to relinquish health care and pensions if they accept any form of corporate bribery (yes, that is what lobbyists participate in if they are giving any money to an elected official, they are participating in corporate bribery). Make the job of politics only a job of politics, not a paycheck outside of the job. Funny thing is, if most people were caught moonlighting by their current employer, they'd be out on the streets right away looking for another job. Why should politicians be allowed to take any money (regardless if how it will be spent IE campaign contributions) during their normal working hour, which is 24x7 if you are a politician).
3. Do not ever allow any politician to become a paid lobbyist. This one is worth a mention, but I don't know if I actually want to deny anyone the ability to make a living in America. Even politicians should be allowed to make a living after politics (I'm not that heartless). As soon as we start denying equal employment opportunities.....well that would be like requiring identification of people like the young, the poor, the elderly and minorities that can't afford said identification to vote based on the fact that voter fraud is so rampant in the USA. That would never happen in America, would it?
4. Remind our representation that their job in Washington is to find compromise. And remind them that no one elected official in any state or national election has been elected by 100% of the voting public. There are always multiple views, and while it is the job of any one politician to represent their elected constituencies viewpoint, they also do need to keep in mind that tipping the balance too much the other way could lead to their being unelected. So to solve the problem of non-compromise.....
5. Go back to appointments for the Senate and remove the requirement that they be elected. It might not be a bad move to do the same with Congress. That way there is a little more of a responsibility for representation of the entire state instead of to a specific party. You then become beholden to the elected state body, and also don't have to spend your time raising money for your next election. You can actually do your job, representing the entire body of people that appointed you (and were elected themselves). If you don't like that, well that is what the Electoral College is all about at the national/presidential election level, so you're already participating in a representative electoral process. It would also take the dollars out of the hands that tend to bend elections (or at least funnel it down to the state level, and if republicans really do want to see states gain more power, then they would be the first ones in line looking to approve this step). And as a reminder to those who don't get why this might be a good idea, we are a country with a government that is founded on representation, so we make certain that we have more state level control of the electoral process by bringing back appointments rather than watching the cash being bet on big election outcomes.
6. Get the big PAC and SuperPAC money out of elections, yes on both sides of the aisle. To say that these organizations are not collaborating with their side is ridiculous, boldface lying, contemptible, and anyone that believes otherwise has their head in the sand and their brain is dying from lack of oxygen.

Who is on board? My guess is everyone but the politicians, and especially lifelong politicians like Paul Ryan, who met his wife while she was lobbying (read Corporate Bribery assistant) for multiple organizations and consulting firms in Washington. And he is not the only one, there are enough of these types of politicians on both sides. Instead of signing a stupid document that states you won't ever raise taxes (which is fiscally irresponsible, but I'll leave that for another day), why not sign a document that states an elected official will not take any corporate donations, bribes, pocket lining, and will represent their state to the best of their ability. After all, we are the United States of America, aren't we? Maybe we should start acting that way.