Having actually worked in Congress, I am far more qualified to speak about federal politicians' general behavior. Politicians are some of the most intelligent people on earth. As an example, Ted Cruz, notorious for being an idiot, graduated from Princeton cum laude for his undergrad and magna cum laude from fucking Harvard Law School. Harvard is one of the most difficult and prestigious legal academies in the world, and Ted Cruz graduated with honors on honors. He is incredibly intelligent, and the biggest problem the Democrats have is underestimating their opponents intelligence just because their ideas are out of touch with reality. That's something you said yourself: Politicians aren't stupid, even the stupid ones.

Now, as for "politicians are selfish." They are, but no more than you or I are. Interestingly, politicians care tremendously about public service, and it's important to note they almost always think they're doing what's best. They certainly do care about their own well-being; they want to keep their reputation clean, their family and friends safe, they want to stay well-liked by the people who they represent, they may even be ambitious and looking to claim a higher office.

But did you catch something in there? "The people they represent"? Ted Cruz doesn't really care overmuch about what the people of Minnesota need or want or think of him; they have absolutely no power over him and he knows nothing about them. Likewise, Al Franken doesn't really care too much about what the people of Texas think of him. He doesn't represent them. In Congress, NONE of the representatives are there to represent the country. None. Zero. Not a one. Here's the thing: that's not their job. They aren't elected to represent the country: the executive is. Congressmen are elected to represent their constituencies. In the case of Ted Cruz, he is representing a state who despises the government and has wanted to be their own country for almost 200 years. In Al Franken's case, he's representing a very progressive state, the only one to not vote Reagan.

The big issue with government right now, is with the executive office. Congressmen are doing their jobs the same way they've always done their jobs. But the NSA, CIA, FBI, as well as a hundred executive departments, are now completely free from legislative control...beholden to one man (the executive). If you want to actually fix the NSA's programs, if you want to actually do something about Snowden's revelations, it's about neutering the power of the executive branch and placing checks and balances back onto it by the legislative branch. Executive orders have got to go. This hogwash about "sensitive military intelligence" has got to go. Either eliminate the NSA or monitor it, because if neither of those happen, you're right. It will affect my life in a profound and personal way, and by then it'll be too late to do much about it.