Experience doing what?

One of the issues that's been brought up in my campaign more than once is my level experience. The same question comes up with almost any independent candidate. People ask, "How can someone with practically no governing experience possibly do as good a job as someone with more experience?"

I respond by asking: why do you assume experience to be a necessary thing, or even a good thing? Look at Congress's approval ratings. It is unquestionable that most of the American people, including myself, think Congress is doing a horrible job.

Do you realize how much experience this terrible, ineffective Congress has? The 435 voting Representatives and 100 Senators presently in office have served for over six THOUSAND man-years. That's an average of twelve years each in the US Congress, to say nothing about what each person was doing before that!

Yes, other candidates have more experience than I do. It would be hard for them not to. But look at the level of service we get out of our present, very experienced Congress. Does that experience really make them do a better job? Or does the fact that they have spent so much time in DC prevent them from doing their real job of representing the people who elected them?

A candidate who lacks experience but can learn quickly is infinitely preferable to a candidate who has a great deal of experience doing a bad job.