By Chris Ekstrom, Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, District 13

I applaud our Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz for his bold proposal for a lifetime lobbying ban on elected officials. This gets to the heart of a question the media constantly asks, but never answers: Why do citizens get cynical about politics?

Of the billions of people ever to walk the earth, we Americans are among the tiny, blessed few ever permitted to pick our leaders. And if they neglect or betray us, throw them out. Yet we often forget this blessing, or wave it off. Tens of millions of Americans don’t even bother to vote. What is it that leads them to shrug at such a rare historical privilege?

The critical factor in voter cynicism may be legislative corruption. Cronyism and back-scratching, by politicians who neglect the interests of the many, widely dispersed, for the payoffs and favors offered by the self-interested few. Congressmen squabble among themselves to serve on committees that make decisions that impact lucrative industries. Sure, some of them just want to make a difference on something important. Maybe starting off, most of them do.

The permanent class of influence-peddlers in Washington soon gets hold of them. Lobbyists take them to lunch at five-star restaurants, arrange for them “fact-finding” junkets that just happen to take place on the golf course in St. Andrew’s, Scotland. They drop hints just subtle enough not to be illegal that the “leaders” in one industry, or of some labor union, have very strong ideas about upcoming legislation. Ideas that can translate into campaign contributions, either for them or for their opponents.

What’s worse is when such lobbyists themselves once served in government. Imagine a member of Congress, who must fight every two years for his job, looking at some ex-congressman, now lobbyist, across the table from him who earns five times as much? Does the thought arise, as he’s flying cross-country back to his district all through the year, that he too might rather live in D.C. full-time, with a cushy job such as a lobbyist? Does that make him start changing his votes, for fear of alienating the very industry leaders he hopes will someday hire him?

The question answers in the sheer number of ex-congressmen who end up as lobbyists, directly serving the industries they once cultivated in Congress.

This lifecycle of congressman-to-lobbyist directly corrupts our lawmaking. It explains how we get massive boondoggles that cost the taxpayer millions, but benefit only the few—who are already swimming in cash. How many sports stadiums, highways, or costly entitlement programs got funded this way? There’s no way to do the math, but ordinary voters have a general sense that the “system is rigged.” So they give up voting or caring. That’s wrong, and they should always vote. But we can’t allow this system to continue.

We need to fix it. Urgently. That’s why I support a six-year ban on lobbying for former representatives or senators or employees of federal regulatory agencies. (That’s practically a lifetime in today’s politics.) My proposal is a modest one, and that’s why I believe its obvious reasonableness and fairness can’t be denied. Politicians that oppose it had better explain their reasons.

My plan doesn’t cut people off for life, which might not be fair. But it does create a decent interval between their power to spend your money and mine, and their resumes flying out to industries and unions. It’s the least we can do to restore faith in the Republic our Founders and ancestors fought and died for.