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Re:How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon s... by 1123581321 on Saturday May 14, 2016 @02:44PM (#11697495)
They are acting in self-interest, not doing their job.

The job of a US senator is best expressed by the oath of office they take: “I do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

The actual day-to-day duties of a Senator are: "Senators, along with members of the House of Representatives, propose, author, and vote on federal legislation that touches upon all aspects of U.S. domestic and foreign policy. Senators provide advice and consent on executive nominations and treaties and conduct oversight of all branches of the federal government."

I realize that few if any senators take their oath seriously, but it's still wrong to say that they are doing their jobs when they do the wrong thing.

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/F... http://www.senate.gov/index.htm

Re:How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon s... by nickff on Saturday May 14, 2016 @06:57PM (#11698437)
Senators are there to represent their state's interests, not those of the nation; this is very clear from the fact that it was originally the government of the state that selected the senator, rather than the populace. You are forgetting the "States" part of the "United States of America".
Re:How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon s... by 1123581321 on Saturday May 14, 2016 @10:04PM (#11699028)
It's expected that the Constitution doesn't contradict a state's longer-term interests (senators serve longer terms than those in congress) and if it does, it will be amended.

Note that's quite different from saying senators should serve the interests of a national government.

Re:How Elon Musk exposed billions in questionable Pentagon s... by kiba on Saturday May 14, 2016 @05:03PM (#11698028)
Perhaps, but the people who can fire a senator are the voters of his state, not the American people as a whole.