When the government was formed the idea was to elect some one to vote as your proxy. This was required due to the distances and problems of every citizen traveling to polling places, some times hundreds of miles from home. What America needs is more input from the people and fewer decisions left to the politicians.
1) My suggestion is to outlaw earmarks and amendments to legislation, if it is a good project it should be voted as a single item, force politicians to put their names on the bill.
2) Every registered voter gets a pin number or an internet password, to a government site, directly to your senators and congressman. All important bills should have a non-binding straw vote to obtain an opinion of the people. It would maintain the “One person one vote” idea and would eliminate a letter or e-mail campaign to skew the vote. It would also show if special interests or lobbyists are in the mix. If you don't bother to cast your opinion you have no right to complain.
4) Any politician convicted of using his office for personal gain be stripped of his title and every bank account, houses, cars, any and all other investments confiscated. He should be left with zero assets.
The last item sounds extreme however politicians are employees of the people and are voted into a position of trust. Governments rule at the whim of the people and should be held accountable.
Should this be a position adopted by Unity08?
There are some technical issues to be worked out, but as a general concept, and assuming you are not proposing the abolishment of our representative democracy, I say...Right on, and I have given it five stars.
Eli's Coming.
ex animo
davidfarrar
Davidfarrar. We are closer than you think on a lot of issues. Overall the representative form is good. Our elected officials may be privy to info we on the street are not. That is why I think it should be a non-binding straw vote. If there is a good reason not to vote with the people, our officials should explain it. This may go a long way to eliminate partisan politics and party line voting. Power to the people.
Democracy is only as good as the information it receives. If we had an effective Internet 3rd party, virtually all information used to base a legislative vote upon, may be instantly available to millions of party members, nationwide, instantly, and virtually free. Even cyber debates could be formed to help our representives make the correct decisions. For once the term "participatory democracy" would take on a whole different meaning.
Eli's coming, bro.
ex animo
davidfarrar
The part, No. 1. outlaw earmarks and amendments to legislation is what I want.
Myself and friends and family of myself and friends, have wondered how they slip that by us, openly and brazenly now. Does anybody ever follow the dollar that is "earmarked" and check on what our hard-earned money is paying for?
Yeah, I know. The Watchdog Group. Ha Ha. The last time I got an email or a newspaper report from the Watchdog Group (or whatever its name is) is like, NEVER.
However, I do know where the money is going. It's going to pals, in-laws, buddies, somebody that is owed for a favor, and that is even in the case of an actual bridge or study of a rain forest, being done.