To the editor:

The lobbyist Grover Norquist, has coerced all of the Republican members of the U.S. House and Senate to sign a pledge to not raise taxes at any time as long as they remain in office. If these people change their minds and vote for a tax increase, then Norquist and his lobbying group have threatened to fund a competitor to run against the traitors. Most all of the Republican lawmakers in the past 20 years have remained true to their pledge.

This threat has helped create a good share of rancor and to disallow any compromise with Democrats. This lone lobbyist has almost single handedly set up a divisive situation whereby Congress is unable to pass any bipartisan laws. The most recent polls rated these legislative bodies at 8 percent effectiveness. No wonder our country is in turmoil. Our legislative system of lawmaking is irretrievably broken.

An additional problem in Washington is that Congress has allowed our representatives to be so influenced by lobbyists who are allowed to pay the lawmaker for voting in their favor and calling this payoff a “campaign contribution.” We definitely need changes in Washington.