politics

For those of you who know me I am not very political.  This is because politics in our country don't seem to work the way they are supposed to.
Here is my simple idea.
Instead of being voted into politics to get there and stay there how about getting into government to make a difference for the country and do what is best for people!
A few ideas.
1.  Lower salaries of politicians.  They are public "servants" not public rich representatives who take money from political action groups and lobbyists and others who throw money their way to sway a vote.  Oh, and they get huge salaries on top of this?!?!?  When is the last time you saw a politician wearing a run down old suit or a pair of slightly worn pants with a regular button down shirt and tie and a sports coat?  Isn't that what most of us wear when we work because we can't afford the really nice stuff?  Doesn't that mean we are working with what we can?
How is it that a person can claim to represent us when they have no idea what kind of money the "real" people make?  What it is like to hold off on stuff you want all the time because the bills of the month are due?  I am not saying they have to live in poverty, just saying that when you are making hundreds of thousands of dollars you really aren't doing much to relate to us.
This will of course never happen because the people who have to vote for this to happen are the people who are getting the money and who actually would vote themselves a lower salary?
p.s. - This would help the deficit and debt and even give us extra money for jobs and resources, wouldn't it?  What a way to help those problems if people who are supposed to be dedicated to service were being paid like they were serving and not like they were royalty!
2.  Limit the lobbyists.  If I give you a million dollars to endorse my brand of shoes or my restaurant then you are probably going to take it and you will peddle/support what I ask you to.  That is fine when you are talking about something as simple as shoes or food or music, but what about when the good of the country is at stake?  What if I gave you a million dollars to ignore the fact that I was torturing your kid?  While we may not be doing that literally we are going down that road and that is what we are going to be doing to generations if we keep up with the "I am going to grab all I can for me because that is what counts" mentality of the politicians.
3.  People should realize that just because you are in a political party you don't have to conform and the opposition isn't always wrong.  I realize and understand the reason for political parties.  You want a choice and to vote and it keeps us from a dictatorship and from someone coming in and ruining democracy.  But people are so for and against party lines that they hate the other side for no more than what they are called.  And worst is the fact that people can do something bad only because it is the view of their party.  Shouldn't it be that no matter who is in charge, what party you align yourself to, and no matter what you stand for, that you should always be working for the good of the country as a whole, not just the couple people that you want to represent?

I realize that this isn't much but then I just said a few ideas.  It would just be nice if politicians would work for what is best for the country and not just to stay in politics.  Instead of being a part of the "game" wouldn't it be nice if they only wanted what was best for the country even if it meant they only spent a couple years in congress and then went back to their regular lives?