vote on iraq war corporate bailout. i think what they were asking everyone to do including themselves was to self-assess. your segment is great, don. too bad more people in the u.s. can't be as civil to one another as these retiring congressmen. agreed. how much money are they leaving with? many came to congress with nothing but -- nothing and now they're multimillionaires. they broke the government. and robbed the bank. very good dialogue. thank you, very good comments. i'm don lemon at cnn headquarters in atlanta. see you back here 10:00 p.m. eastern. a jack cafferty file special report on broken government begins right now. good evening. this country of ours is beginning to circle the drain. almost nine out of ten americans think our government's broken. 75% think that our government officials are dishonest. that's great. the question is, whether it can be turned around before it's too late. here's a little bit of a wish list. politicians on both sides of the aisle stop playing games. stop trying to score cheap political points and instead try

doing your jobs. you can begin by tackling the huge generational problems of education, health care and the national debt that is rapidly approaching being unfixable. during the next hour we'll show you why things are a mess and see how we go about trying to fix our broken government. we begin tonight with one of the root causes of all the paralysis in washington. a recent poll found just 8% of americans think that incumbents should be re-elected. the fact of the matter is way too many of them get re-elected, term after term after term. here's cnn's jason carroll to explain why. >> reporter: partisan bickering, republicans and democrats unable to find common ground. searching for reasons why? california state senator allen loent thrks al says before looking in washington try looking much closer to home in your own district. do you think most people out there who are, you know,

wherever they may be, really have a keen sense of how their districts are drawn? >> no, this is very brothering. this is a yawner. most people don't really care about this. >> reporter: lowathal is working to change an old practice, one he says is taking place next to his old district. gerrymandering. >> it's all been designed to protect the incumbents. people think they're having vote of choice but they don't. >> reporter: gerrymandering is named after massachusetts governor elbridge gary who signed a bill redrawing a district looking like a salamander to give his party an advantage. centuries later it's still happening. illinois' fourth district held by a democrat, carved like a pacman, pennsylvania's 18th, held by a republican, a war shack blot. lowathal, a democrat says the shape of the district next to him, a sore thumb. >> is it true my district was carved around my house? yes. it was. >> reporter: this is lowethal's

home in long beach, california, just across the street is the 46th district. it used to look like this, but it was changed in 2001 making it a republican stronghold. how? using a narrow strip on the edge of largely democratic long beach to link two traditionally republican communities. costa mesa and pal los verdes. to illustrate how narrow this section of the district is, i'm going to stand right in the middle of temple avenue. if you look right where that stop sign is, that's where the district starts. to show you where it ends, look right where the water is, just beyond that stop light. this section of the district is essentially just one block wide. just about 300 yards. 46 district gop congressman dana ror balker did not agree to an interview. joel epstein did. a voter. a democrat who lives in rorbacher's district.

>> i vote because i vote but i know my vote is worthless. >> reporter: epstein blames republicans and democrats who hatched the deal to change the district and he says protect incumbents. >> it makes the government stagnate. there's no no blood in congress because of this. and there's too much happening. nothing is goaling done these days. >> reporter: redistricting experts like douglas johnson not surprised by congress' unwillingness to compromise. >> these people don't have to worry about being re-elected back at home because of the way their districts are drawn. >> exactly. the grassroots movements, whether it's the tea party today or the obama movement last year, you would think they would have more influence but really the incumbents don't have to answer to them. they answer to the voters they chose so they don't respond. >> reporter: lowathal is responding by pushing for an initiative to have an independent commission redraw california's congressional districts. >> how do you think this issue is going to resolve? >> i think ultimately we will have independent commissions and

draw our boundaries. this is a wonderful strength of our democracy. we move forward two steps and back one step. >> reporter: lowenthal wants to take another step forward. he's hoping the initiative will get on california's november ballot. they have half the signatures so they are half way there. jason carroll, cnn, los angeles. since jason filed that report congressman rohrabaceh sent us a statement. in 2008 the voters passed a initiative to create a commission to draw all districts in california except for congressional districts. i'm supportive of a current initiative to add congressional districts to that commission's mandate. he said he had nothing to do with the shape of his district. the system works well. for the politicians. in the last election 94% of house incumbents, 83% of senate incumbents, were re-elected. what is wrong with us? and if you think they're going to go voluntarily vote for term

limits, you're dreaming. it's up to us to vote them out of office. there may be no better example of our broken government than what's being called the blanket hold, when a senator stalls a president's nominees to pressure the white house on an often unrelated issue. for example, the obama administration blasted senator richard shelby of alabama for putting a hold on nearly 50 nominees. dana bash reports. >> reporter: a refueling tanker long overdue for retirement. this senator wants s its replacement made in his home state, alabama. richard shelby says the air force competition is a sham. so in protest he did something drastic. he blocked most of president obama's nominees to an array of federal agencies that have nothing to do with his issue. blanket hold. nearly 50 nominees. >> 40 something. that's right. >> reporter: that's pretty extreme. why did you do that? >> i did it to get the attention of the administration.

>> reporter: and did he ever. he made headlines and became a symbol of gridlock. but in his first tv interview on the subject he makes no apologies. what it sounds like you were trying to do, very upfront about it, is put money, put jobs back in your state of alabama. >> well, ultimately i'm a senator from alabama, but i wanted to make sure there was fairness. if there's fairness the jobs will go there. >> reporter: shelby eventually lifted hold on all but three nominees for senior air force positions. pentagon spokesman geoff morrell tells cnn, without the highly qualified professionals we're not firing on all sill zers. they're leveraged? >> that's part of the life up here. >> reporter: it is part of life in the senate. it's not in the official rules but by tradition any senator can put a hold on any presidential nominee for any reason. and both parties do it. honns was nominated by president

bush for the federal election commission. a democratic senator held him up over a voting rights issue. which senator? >> senator obama. >> reporter: that's right. then-senator barack obama. >> so it was not because i didn't have the qualifications. it was because he disagreed with me on a substantive issue. >> reporter: now the president has a different perspective. >> well-qualified public servants shouldn't be held hostage to the pet project or grudges of a few individual senators. >> reporter: take a closer look at obama's first-year success with his nominees before the senate. it looks very similar to his predecess predecessor's. in 2009 the senate confirmed 353 of 569 major obama nominations. compared with 360 out of 513 during bush's first year. senate historian don richie calls the hold a time-honored tradition. >> it makes them powerful individually and it allows them to stop things that they feel

are -- need to be adjusted or were wrong to start with. >> reporter: that's missouri senator kit bond's argument for his hold. he says the general services administration is dragging its feet on moving 1,000 federal employees out of a dilapidated kansas city building. so bond blocked martha johnson for gsa administrator. >> i have only one way of getting their attention and i put a hold on the nomination of ms. jauns. >> reporter: it has nothing to do with martha johnson? >> mar that johnson will be a fine administrator. >> reporter: when democrats finally forced a vote after an eight-month delay bond voted yes. people from the outside looking in saying, why did the senator hold up somebody who he thinks is qualified for a separate issue? >> because an unresponsive bureaucracy will not respond to the needs of the people we represent unless you have a means of getting their attention.

>> reporter: nominees in limbo. broken government to some, but to senators in both parties -- >> it's not a symbol of broken government. it's how government works. >> reporter: dana bash, cnn, capitol hill. still ahead, who's really running washington? it's all about the 25-1 ratio. i'll explain what that mean. and why does health care cost so much? dr. sanjay gupta will show us with the help of a $1,200 stapler. next. if you have overactive bladder and you worry your pipes might leak (pipe doctor) ask your doctor about treating with vesicare.

(pipe woman) then you could treat yourself to a night out with fewer urges or a day with fewer leaks or a trip with fewer overactive bladder problems. (pipe doctor) once daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to reduce frequent, sudden urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder, do not take vesicare. tell your doctor right away if you have a serious allergic reaction, severe abdominal pain, or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. (pipe woman) so, you could treat yourself to more time with friends and family or more of whatever you like to do with fewer urges and leaks. ask your doctor today about taking care with vesicare. ow. like our award-winning cc. white one! [ chuckles ]

or the fuel-efficient jetta. ooh! red one! [ sighs ] or the tiguan. black one! oh. two for flinching. plus, every volkswagen includes no-charge, scheduled, care-free maintenance. silver one! ohh! on any volkswagen? yeah. [ male announcer ] with great deals on all 13 models... white one! ...it's a whole new volkswagen. and a whole new game. ♪

back now to our broken government special and the lobbyists who run washington. there are over 13,000 registers lobbyists in washington, d.c. that's more than 25 lobbyists for every single member of the house and senate. they spend almost $3.5 billion, and their money, of course, buys a tremendous amount of influence. we have the best government money can buy. as a candidate, then-senator obama promised to keep lobbyists out of his administration. remember? for all of his words the president has not banned them outright. here's drew griffin, of cnn's special investigations unit. >> reporter: he was the surprise appointment that literally announced president obama's first broken campaign promise. >> so help me god. >> congratulations, mr. president. >> reporter: william lincoln fi, number two, weeks after mr. obama became president.

a shock because william lynn spent most of the last decade as a lobbyist for rathon. it is, of course, the same old revolving door we've seen from administration to administration. except it was supposed to be different in this administration. remember this? >> take on lobbyists than any other candidate in this race and i have won. i do not take a dime of their money and when i'm president it won't find a job in my white house. >> certainly sli having william lynn, the top raytheon lobbyist go into the administration is a revolving door at itself worst. >> reporter: all accounts, the four government watch dog groups we consulted including melanie sloan's responsibility for ethics in washington, says william has not broken any laws but say he's a poster for

everything wrong with how business gets done in washington. mr. lynn declined an interview with cnn. pentagon official who tried to discourage cnn from reporting this story issued a statement, saying that since returning to the pentagon deputy defense secretary lynn has not participated or sought to participate in any way whatsoever in any budget or contract decisions involving his former employer. the statement goes on to say that lynn has skrups youly adhered to ethics pledge and agreement but stated there is absolutely no evidence of any impropriety or conflict of interest by deputy secretary bill lynn in carrying out duties at the pentagon. but how did this lobbyist get back to the pentagon? in washington, government watch dogs, like steve ellis, say it's all about those revolving doors. >> and certainly the revolving door is still spinning. >> reporter: william lynn's

first government job was into the office of senior democratic senator ted kennedy back in 1987. he was kennedy's liaison to the senate armed services committee. six years later with democrat bill clinton in the white house, lynn moved to the pentagon. eventually becoming the under-secretary of defense in charge of the money. >> congratulations. >> reporter: in 2001 a power shift. and lynn was heading to the revolving door. early in the bush administration that revolving door brought him right here to this building. home of one of the biggest defense contractors where he became their big lobbyist. raytheon is a $25 billion a year defense contractor. it makes and sells guided missiles including the patriot and tomahawk. as its top lobbyist william lynn was paid pretty yell.

last year "washingtonian" magazine estimated his personal wealth somewhere between $2 million and $5 million. yet another election and yet another revolving door. with bush gone and the democrats in charge that revolving door revolved again for mr. lynn who's now right back at the pentagon. the pentagon also pointed out to us that the value of defense department contracts with the company haven't changed. nonetheless, raytheon's sales, which include overseas contracts that must be approved at the pentagon, are up 7% since its former lobbyist moved back to government service. drew griffin. >> reporter: leslie paige with citizens against government waste say lynn's hiring by the obama administration is an example of the same old broken government. this is exactly what they, what he said was not going to happen.

>> this town has a problem. this problem -- this town is dysfunctional. you get to say anything you want when you need to say it. when it comes to actually commitments and making those commitments reality there's a huge disconnect. it's not happening. >> reporter: the obama administration says it is adh e adhering to its promise, granting a handful of waivers only do those lobbyists like william lynn who are critical opponents. in this freedom of information request to the pentagon asks if lynn met with contractors and if so, when. it's a letter the watch dogs the project on government oversight hoped they would not have to write. the change did not happen? >> this is not the change we hoped for. no. over the last decade defense contractors including raytheon have consistently placed among the top ten lobbying interests

with spending of more than $135 million last year, alone. a $ 1,200 stapler. they're used in operating rooms all across the country, but $1,200? dr. sanjay gupta adds up some of the hidden costs of some of the costs in emergency rooms. americans say they're fed up with congress. why are we all paying so much for their pensions and perks? sty too long to say goodnight? mom: g'night john boy. g'night mary ellen. mary ellen: g'night mama. g'night erin. elizabeth: g'night john boy. jim bob: g'night grandpa. elizabeth: g'night ben. m bob:'night. elizabeth: g'night jim bob. jim bob: g'night everybody, grandpa: g'night everybody. @y jim bob: g'night daddy. vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more.

a glaring example of broken government is the effort to overhaul health care. costs are spiraling out of control. what you see on your hospital bill's not the whole story. dr. sanjay gupta takes us inside the operating room to break down system of the hidden costs of health care. >> reporter: one of the questions that comes up all the time, what about hospital bills? how do they break down? it's no question, it leaves a lot of people scratching their heads. i want to give you an example by taking you inside this operating room. this is the hospital where i'm a neurosurgeon. having an operate performed in a room like this costs about $3,000 an hour. that's for starters. give you a couple of quick examples. if you look at a hospital bill, you might see an i.v. bag charge. $280 for the i.v. bag.

that might strike people as very high. stapler, often used to surgery. something like this costs $1,200. this is a chests tube. if someone has compression of one of their lungs they might need a chest tube like this, $1,100. you'll find examples like that all over a room like this. suture, something used to every operating room in the world. this type of suture costs about $200. if you look at devices like, this is a needle that's used for biopsy. if there's a concern someone has a tumor they would use a needle like this. this is going to cost about $800. it's important to keep in mind if you ask the manufacturers of a device like this, why so much money? they'll say it took years to develop something like this. research and development costs are significant and they're guaranteeing a certain level of effectiveness of this needle. that costs money as well. when you look at a hospital bill it's not just the cost of the supplies. there's also administrative costs built in. there's the cost of covering

people who simply don't have insurance or can't pay. that's built into these costs as well. finally, keep in mind what is charged and what is ultimately paid are two very different numbers. >> the typical hospital collects about 4% of every dollar that they -- about 4 cents of every dollar they bill. it's not coming out in massive profits. it's coming out as a result of underpayment from the government. >> reporter: i'll tell you, you know, the cost breakdown like i gave you on lots of these different supplies a lot of people simply never see. what we found, a lot of people don't care as well. if you're insured some people may not even open the hospital bill. there are about 50 million people uninsured out there and care very much about hospital bills like this. what you can do is call the hospital and get detailed breakdown. while you're on the phone with the hospital, if the cost seems still too high or just hard to understand, you might be able to negotiate some of these prices down. coming up next, we'll tell

you about something that isn't broken in washington, but you probably wish it was. also, the man who's been described as an incumbents worst nightmare. the always outspoken ron paul is here next. my eyes water. but with new zyrtec® liquid gels, i get allergy relief at liquid speed. that's the fast, powerful relief of zyrtec®, now in a liquid gel. zyrtec® is the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine. it works on my worst symptoms so i'm ready by the time we get to the first hole. and that's good because the competition's steep today. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air.™ and that's good because the competition's steep today. [ female announcer ] let go of ordinary. and see what extraordinary feels like. be who you are... and who you could be. ♪ your days don't define you. ♪ your dreams do. unlock the secrets that lie within you in the u.s. virgin islands.

you unscripted. an everyday moment can turn romantic at a moment's notice. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis. with two clinically proven dosing options, you can choose the moment that's right for you and your partner. 36-hour cialis and cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right. day or night. >> tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. >> don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. >> don't drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache, or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. >> if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, stop taking cialis and call your doctor right away. >> 36-hour cialis or cialis for daily use.

ask your doctor if cialis is right for you. you can be ready for your moment with cialis. let's go with the ah... basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose your service, choose your savings. like an oil change for just $19.95. meineke.

at least one group of americans would probably tell you the government's working just fine, thank you. those would be the retired members of congress. while the rest of us wonder whether we've saved enough for our retirements, former senators and representatives can count on a generous guaranteed pension for life and it comes out of our pockets. >> reporter: he has worked for more than 45 years in the auto industry, promised a pension when he retired. after his former company, auto parts manufacturer delphi went bankrupt, his pension was being cut by 30%. >> i felt betrayed. i felt betrayed mostly because i'd put 37 years years in with a

company, following the rules, doing everything i should. then all of a sudden i found out for the rest of my life things would be changed. come on. let's go. >> reporter: like many americans, he is worried about how is he going to cover his bills in retirement? one group doesn't have any worries. that's members of congress. they can draw on their pension beginning at age 50, depending on the years of service, they can get as much as 80% of their final salary. there are cost of living adjustments added on and they're still eligible to receive social security. according to an analysis by the national taxpayers union, senator chris dodd will have a starting pension of $125,500 every year starting next year when he retires. senator byron dorgan, counting his years in the house and senate, stands to get more than $116,000. senator gregg, average of $63,000.

senators bond and bunning both taking a way $58,900 in annual pensions. >> unlike state and local pension plans the federal congressional pension system is simply a direct line into the taxpayers' wallet. there's no investments that need to be made, no fund balances that get worried about. whatever the liability is for a given year taxpayers cough up the money for it. >> reporter: we called the senators to get a response. our calls were not returned. the congressional retirement system was reformed in 1984 to make the system less generous and more in line with that of other federal workers. still representative howard cobble says the system is broken. he has tried repeatedly to reform the pension program which he says hasn't won him many friends on capitol hill. >> well, it's too lavish. to generous when you compare it with pensions across the country. i elected to refuse the pension on the ground taxpayers are

subsidizing my salary now. i figure when i leave they've taken good care of me, let me go the best i can once i leave after the service in the congress has been accomplished. >> reporter: up until recently even if a congressional member committed a crime they could still get their pension. a 2007 law barred members convicted of felonies from receiving pensions. there are a number of members like william jefferson, corruption offenses took place before that year and will still receive a pension paid for by the taxpayer. lisa sylvester, cnn, washington. a lot of americans think the way to fix our broken government is to have less of it. less government. is big government necessarily bad government? my next guest says it is. ron paul won the presidential straw poll at last week's conservative political action conference, cpac, much to the dismay of mitt romney and sarah palin and tim pawlenty and other

main-stream republican hopefuls. ron paul a congressman from the 14th district in texas, former presidential candidate and warning all of us about a lot of these issues for a long time. we're delighted to welcome you to our program. >> thank you, jack, good to be with you. >> recent cnn polls, 86% of americans think our government is broken. 75% of americans think government officials are dishonest. when you look to the future of this country, what do you see? >> well, what i see is a bankruptcy coming. yes, the government is broken. it doesn't work, but it's because we're broke. the people now feel like they've been lied to. they call them dishonest. there's a lot to that. politicians tend to say things and they don't follow through. whether it's in the category or lying or not. it certainly is a lot of untruths passed around out there. i don't see any easy way out because when a country or an individual is broken -- is broke

they're supposed to quit spending money and supposed to pay off their bills. the only thing we've done here in washington, the admission that there's a crisis going on is we've accelerated everything. we've expanded government. expanded spending. expanded borrowing. and, of course, expanded the function of the federal reserve. that is to create more money and credit to try to bail out the problems they created. yes, we're in for a lot of trouble yet to come. >> present company accepted, do your colleagues in the nation's capitol have any idea the increasing degree of contempt in which they're held by the american public? >> sometimes i don't think so because they continue to do the same things that have gotten them into trouble. no, i don't think so. i mean, the whole fact that i may do well at a cpac poll, just totally amazes them. and i think -- >> you were booed when the results were announced. they were booing, right? >> yeah. and i think you're aware of the fact a lot of young people, as a matter of fact, the people who

came to cpac were young people, a lot of college people. and you would think that the leadership would say, well, what is it that attracts the young people to what you're saying? you know, i've never had anybody in the republican party ask me anything like that. they don't seem to be interested. they want me to just disappear. yet -- >> i bet they do. >> i think i tapped in to something. at least there's a lot of people responding, but i have no political clout here in washington. i don't have any power. >> i don't understand that either. i can remember during the primaries, i mean, i used to get e-mail from your supporters by the bushel basketful every day. it was astonishing to me. the organization and depth of the support you had. why doesn't your message resonate with the establishment in washington? >> well, it challenges the status quo. it challenges what they've been saying for so many years. i don't think they want to say, oh, we made a mistake, we were at fault, yes we should have been more cautious about what we do overseas.

they do not want me to have anything to say about foreign policy. and i take an older republican position on this. the old right position and the constitutional position. i think we should be cutting back. i don't think we should be spending a trillion a year on militarism around the world. the democrats want to do it, too. >> you said there's a bankruptcy in our future. the expectation it will be $19 trillion at the end of the president's first term, three years a little less from now. we have probably $35 trillion to $50 trillion in unfunded liabilities from medicare and social security. how long before this country goes belly up? what form will it take, do you think, when we roll over? >> that's the big question. if we don't clean up our act, very dangerous and political chaos could ensue. the fact that they don't do anything is the annoying part. i just think that, you know,

within two or three years, the country is technically bankrupt. if you and i were in business like this, we would have to declare bankruptcy. governments print money so they can get away with it. we are insolvent. the debt will never be paid for. you can't pay for this debt. the debt will be liquidated. the market always liquidated debt and governments liquidate debt by destroying the currency. they pay off their debt with bad money. that's what we're in the process of doing. we took the bad debt of the banks and dumped it on taxpayers. >> ultimately it destroys everybody's savings, asset the, worth of homes, businesses, et cetera. congressman paul, thanks for that uplifting discussion. it's great to have you on t program. i wish you'd run again and the american people would start listening to you. wishes are wishes. thanks for sharing your thoughts with us today. >> in spite of it, i'm an

optimist because the young people are listening. >> thanks very much, congressman ron paul from texas. still ahead, one of the most potent american forces. why are independents having a hard time voicing opinions and having it listened to? the missed warning signs of the toyota mess.

welcome back to our look at our nation's broken government. washington's inability to get anything done is firing up an increasingly powerful group of voters, independents. in many states independents are essentially locked out of the political process. casey wian reports about the battle to give independents the right to vote when it matters. >> reporter: this mother and son rarely see eye to eye politically. he's an unabashed liberal. she's more conservative. now jacob car and nancy coridini could find themselves in the same boat as registers independents which could rob them of the right to vote in some very important elections. >> i was one of the people who

voted for rafflph nader. >> reporter: jason registered as a democrat to vote for barack obama. today he's disillusioned and disappointed. >> throughout the year my hope flame has been dwindling and dimming. >> reporter: would you consider becoming an independent? >> yeah. you know, i'm definitely considering that or even maybe registering as, like, a third party. >> reporter: nancy beat her son to the punch. she became an independent two years ago after determining her party just didn't speak for her anymore. >> sometimes that's difficult to be a moderate republican within the republican party. they call you republican in name only. >> reporter: rino? >> yes, i heard that buzz word the other night. i thought it was so insulting. i emotionally became detached from the republican party. >> reporter: nancy never considered going independent would actually take away her right to vote in some key elections. primaries. here in california political

parties get to decide before each and every election whether to allow independents to vote. joseph holland is the elections registrar for santa barbara county. >> elections are not simple. every election is different. believe it or not they do change from election to election. >> reporter: that can leave independents like nancy pretty confused. on a local level or congressional races primaries are often where the key political decisions are made. say you're an independent living in a heavily democratic district. if you can't vote in the democratic primary you're not going to have much influence over who wins the general election. it's probably going to be a democratic candidate you had no role in choosing. in the 2008 presidential primaries independents in 17 states and the district of columbia were shut out of crucial primaries. those voters had no say at all in determining the major party candidates. >> we are second-class citizens when it comes to political

representation and participation. >> reporter: jason olden is an independent voter activist pushing to change the law in california. this june there's a proposition on the state's primary ballot to eliminate party primaries entirely. >> all the candidates were on the same ballot, all the voters regardless of party vote for the best candidate and the top two vote getters go on to a run-off-style election. there would be no more segregating voters by political party. >> reporter: that's how it's done in washington state and louisiana. in other states party officials are trying to move things in ar republican party is try to close its primary so only registered republicans can vote. olson sees momentum move in his direction. >> we have a shot to have independents crack open the doors and start forcing some real change. >> reporter: newly independent nancy coridini agrees. >> i think it's going go to snowball. it's not going to stop. >> reporter: casey wian, cnn, santa barbara, california.

one final note. in 2008 independents were not allowed to vote in 18 presidential primaries. that is flat-out wrong. their tax money was plenty good enough to help pay for elections. this is called taxation without representation. a few years back you may recall in boston the colonists expressed their disapproval. one thing i do in the situation room on cnn is read e-mails from viewers. angela writes, what's happened to our country? where lies and cover-ups seem the norm. whatever happen to honesty, good morals, respectability and good values? why did putting yourself first to make a big profit at the benefit of cheating others become the norm? the system's not broken but the people running it are. we need to limit how long politicians serve. nathan, what truly seems broken beyond repair is common sense within our american society. we want no deficit spending.

how dare the government cut social security or medicare. we want no new taxes but complain when cops are laid off. we say kick out the incumbents but routinely give our local congressmen high marks. we each think we're okay but our neighbors are sucking the country dry. what appears to be fundamentally broken is collective logic. don't worry, jack, we'll fix the government in november and incumbents i recommend you beat the rush and buy airfare while its cheap. s. in tennessee, the government is a train wreck and should be treated as such. clear the debris, salvage what you can and lay new transparent rail. these e-mails are a regular part of the situation room every afternoon, early evening on cnn. give us your thoughts by weighing into the cafferty file at cnn.com. our broken government's role in the toyota fiasco. can they ever get along? my next guest explains why bipartisanship doesn't have to be dead in washington, but it is. if you have overactive bladder

and you worry your pipes might leak (pipe doctor) ask your doctor about treating with vesicare. (pipe woman) then you could treat yourself to a night out with fewer urges or a day with fewer leaks or a trip with fewer overactive bladder problems. (pipe doctor) once daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to reduce frequent, sudden urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder, do not take vesicare. tell your doctor right away if you have a serious allergic reaction, severe abdominal pain, or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. (pipe woman) so, you could treat yourself to more time with friends and family

or more of whatever you like to do with fewer urges and leaks. ask your doctor today about taking care with vesicare. time for a tune-up? come to meineke now for maintenance tune-ups... starting at $39.95. at meineke, you're always the driver.

one thing our government is supposed to do is keep us safe. countless government agencies full of countless bureaucrats busy enforcing countless rules, countless regulation while spending countless billions of dollars. how did the geniuses at the national highway traffic safety administration, that would be nhtsa for short, not notice that toyota was making cars with accelerators that race wildly out of control? joe johns reports. >> reporter: toyota is on the hot seat this week in washington, but it's nhtsa, the national highway traffic safety administration, the feds who were supposed to be looking out for motorists taking a real beating here. accused of missing multiple warning signs and getting caught completely by surprise when the story blew up in their faces last year. john clay brook used to run nhtsa during the carter

administration, now a consumer advocate. >> i think they lack leadership. this agency is a cop. a police man. it should act like a cop. >> reporter: how asleep at the switch was nhtsa? since the year 2000 nhtsa has received 2,600 complaintssudden, unintended acceleration in toyota cars along with six petitions requesting investigation. state farm insurance companies now confirming that at first alerted the agency to problem was toyota cars in 2004. that very same year, 2004, the committee says that nhtsa did its only study of electronic throttle control systems in toyota cars. a so-called preliminary evaluation. then shut the evaluation down announcing that a defect trend in the cars has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. auto safety expert they conducted the test in 2007 and

determined floor mats were causing the sudden acceleration problem. in a freedom of information act request they got few answers. >> nhtsa responded by saying they don't know how they did the rest. they don't know what they measured and have no test data. in other words, they had nothing other than a conclusion. >> reporter: the next question is why. claybrook says nhtsa has been considered understaffed and underfunded and the house committee reports says they appear underqualified to investigate safety on cars that had electronics rivaling the cockpit of the fighter jet. but the agency and toyota have also been attacked for being too cozy with each other. for example, two toyota officials who handled safety issues involving nhtsa used to work for them. the company has been defending them. what haven't they done is within the very good ethical sort of

code. >> reporter: transportation secretary ray lahood strongly denies that nhtsa has been taking it easy toyota or any other auto company that's supposed to be regulate. >> we have been a lap dog for nobody. we have been a lap dog for the people who drive cars and want to do them safely. >> reporter: lahood says the agency is adding 60 people into the next budget. but the watchdogs want to know whether the new staff will be working on enforcing public safety issues or overseeing grants to the states. which is where most of the money is going right now. joe johns, cnn, washington. >> cnn is partnering with "time" magazine on our broken government series. "time's" current edition is titled why washington is frozen. they say frozen, we say broken. joining me now is the white house correspondent for "time" and a regular contribute yr to "time's" swamp land blog. >> thanks for having me. >> we have a story this week.

290 pieces of legislation that have gone through the house of representatives that are sitting collecting dust in the senate. they are doing nothing with any of this. has it always been this bad? what the hell is going on here? >> the founding fathers did not design an efficient system but hasn't always been this bad. you had, you know, over the last 10, 20 years a steady drift towards the part russian is anship and few factors at play. no longer have geographical diversity. lot of southern democrats that voted like republicans in northeastern republicans that voted like democrats. that's gone. the parties are more polarized now and you have a media culture that rewards partisanship by going after through -- going after people who work on compromise and on top of that, you have an increased pressure on fund-raising which also rewards spaces. it is a lot easier to fundraise on an issue that has not been resolved and go to the drug companies to ask for money. if you solve the issues. >> all of that being said do you

get a sense that any of these clowns understand how thoroughly fed up we are all getting with this dog and pony show they are doing? >> why. they do. the irony we are in sort of a like a cynical spiral here. they are scared of the voter because they know the voters are upset and they respond by acting in more cynical ways. they posture trying to get to, you know, more bipartisanship and they end up just deepen this. you had this -- this, you know, daylong summit the president held to find bipartisan compromise on health care reform. what that was about was getting fire under the bellies of democrats so they can push forward a bipartisan bill. so, you know, the fear actually makes members of congress less willing to compromise and less willing to work across the aisle. they definitely know it is happening and definitely are responding to it. >> now, the way to make them realize their fear is, in fact, founded on something is to vote them out.

maybe. maybe the voters will finally stop saying well, my congressman is great guy because, quite frankly, most of them aren't. >> you know, one thing the place there is -- ability of congress over the last decade to get bipartisan compromise is the perks reward your home district, so that -- republicans and democrats are fine with rewarding their often voters. that's why you have that split in the polls. people hate congress, don't mind their congressmen. that's because their congressman is bringing home the bacon. >> what about this tea party movement? it is -- a visible sign of some sort of discontent out there. do they matter? that going anywhere? how will it affect the status quo, if at all? >> it is definitely a big factor going into the mid-term elections. you know, right now, two-thirds of the american people don't really have a real good idea what this tea party thing is all about. you still have one-third who were either identifying with this outrage or actually being a part of this outrage. and right now, still a very unformed movement and not

affiliated for any party, not clear how long it will stick around. >> in the meantime it gives guys like you and i things to do. mike, thanks very much. good to have you with us. >> thanks for having me. >> coming up next, closing thoughts on all of this. we will be right back. woman down from nasal allergy attack. but we've got the ammunition she needs: omnaris. (troops) omnaris! to the nose. (general) omnaris works differently than many other allergy medications. omnaris fights nasal allergy symptoms that occur from allergic inflammation... relieve those symptoms with omnaris. side effects may include headache, nosebleed and sore throat. her nose is at ease. we have lift off. (general) remember omnaris! ask your doctor. in the battle against nasal allergy symptoms, omnaris combats the cause. well, the tiguan's great. mm. and the routan has everything we're looking for. plus, every volkswagen includes no-charge, scheduled, care-free maintenance. so, what's this punchdub days about?

you know, where you punch someone in the arm every time you see a volkswagen. red one! [ baby crying ] test drive? [ male announcer ] with great deals on all 13 models, it's a whole new volkswagen. and a whole new game. ♪

final thought. the beginning of the program we told you that nearly nine out of ten americans say the government is broken. there is a glimmer of hope. 81% of you also believe that government that's supposed to be of, by and for the people can be