Let the Unity 08 ticket know what you want from them. Not where they stand on issues but other aspects; behavior, attitude (just a few examples).
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Let the Unity 08 ticket know what you want from them. Not where they stand on issues but other aspects; behavior, attitude (just a few examples).
I would like to see our Politian’s make real reform a priority. Examples: 1. Term Limits- Lets do away with the term “Career Politician” and get some fresh water in this stagnant pool. 2. Re-Districting Reform- Lets do away with “Gerry Mandering” the Supreme Court just dropped the ball on this one. 3. Campaign Finance Reform- There is just too much money being offered to these people from large special interest groups & Corporations and sooner than later they will ask a favor in return for their support. 4. Line Item Veto- Give the President the power to erase questionable added lines from a bill. 5. Bill Procedural Reform- Let’s make the initiator of a “Bill” the shepherd, if a “Bill” changes so much that the sponsor would not be willing to sign their name to it, and vote yes to it, then the bill should die in committee. Maybe this would reduce some of the “Ear Marking “abuse that goes on in Washington DC. Politicians are not willing to relinquish power, talk about sensitive issues aloud, or try to change a system that has been elevated to such a prestigious level in society. I know, I’m a dreamer but who knows maybe there really is a Politician who has the courage to debate and push for real reform.
I AM SICK OF LIARS! I HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY SINCE 1948 AND I MUST SAY I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A NEST OF LIARS AND SELF-SERVERS. IF WE CAN'T BEAT THAT I DON'T WANT ANY PART OF Unity08 OR ANY OTHER POLITICAL PARTY. I WILL JUST STOP BOTHERING TO VOTE! THE ONLY REASON PEOPLE ENTER POLITICS NOW IS FOR THE $, AND AN EXCUSE TO TRAVEL AND HAVE EXTRA-MARITAL AFFAIRS! THEY DO NOT NEED $2500 SUITS AND $2 MILLION DOLLAR HOMES IN SEVERAL PLACES. I WORKED IN DC FOR 4 YEARS AND IT LEFT ME SICK TO MY STOMACH AT THE LACK OF MORALITY. EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO WORK UP THERE 2 YEARS AND THE ENTIRE SYSTEM WOULD CHANGE. THE CIVIL SERVICE SHOULD BE DISBANDED FIRST OF ALL. WHAT A BUNCH OF LOAFING, STUPID DO-NOTHING IGNORANT PEOPLE.
You couldn't have said it any better. I also see what you see and it sickens me. But I think the people who are leading us and governing us are only mirroring what they see as our own images. Too many of us are behaving like there are no consequences to our actions, like we have no responsibilities for what we do. We are not traveling down the moral, ethical, and thoughtful path ourselves so why should they? We have to look at ourselves and ask "Are we getting what we deserve"? This movement has to take the high ground and show us what we can be, not necessarily what we are. Lets encourage a leader who does not have all the dirty, grubby, coniving, power and wealth hungry horrors we may each harbor in our own psyches to come forward and show us who we can be as a nation. This person should not be afraid to tell us the truth about ourselves, for it will be this truth that will set us free and lead us to the promised land. I, for one, am ready to listen.
Harrumph!
Ethicial integrity and a desire to serve the best interest of the country as a whole. Statesmanship that does not anchor itself in bluster or machoism. Someone who is smarter than the terrorist organizations and understands that in the end the tide will turn by out thinking them and not only by out gunning them. Someone who understands that it is in the country's best interest to encourage an educated electorate that is healthy. Someone who understands a civil society must respects all of its citizens. Someone who understands that as long as we encourage a disparity in economic terms there will always be opportunities for new terrorist threats, here and abroad. And finally, someone who views this job as a stewardship postion.
I'm either a Liberal Republican or a Conservative Democrat. I have a friend that says that the older someone gets, the more conservative they become, because of all the "stuff" they aquire throughout the years. That is certainly true in my case. However, the republican party and I have some huge differences. for instance, I'd like to see stem cell research go forward, I'm pro-choice when it comes to abortion, (both typically a democrat view), however, if someone came into my house to harm me or my loved one, I will use the gun that I'm licensed for. And if the monster succeded in harming someone, I would absolutely want to pull the switch in the death chamber. (both typically republican views). I guess what I want from a leader, is LOGIC.
We do not seek a person or a dream but a common direction forward not backward, one with short term goals that can be met. Not the destruction of a political system but an enhancement with technology. The leader will define such issues as the battle between the free market system and modern slavery. Will define true economic progress rather sell out economics. This new Independent leadership will win support of the people by providing policy to fix the political campaign finance, educational system and the institutional bureaucracy with the application of streaming video and conferencing systems. Destroying legislative gridlock by defining legislation in congress until their is no debate. Leading the American people down to the post office to change their political affiliation to Independent and destroying the monopoly the two party system has on our nation! Futurist are here! http://www.appyp.com/fix_main.html
It is critical that we have a realist. A problem solver, someone who moves us forward and quickly. For we are at war with communist china, a economic war where we must move quickly to compete with them by advancing or see The American Dream become the Chinese Dream as our nation sells out to foreign interests. This is not a fight about abortion rights or gay marriage my friends... this is a fight for our country against people who are making lots of money selling it out. It will take much more than your normal leader to fight the two party system. It will take us all - it will take Unity in 2024!
Un questionable Integrity {morale & ethical} not far right or left. Intellegent with wisdom. No other duties than public office { positions on boards of business etc.} That maintains a virtual wall between themselves {and staff} and lobbyist. Contributions for campaign are limited to private individuals. Utillizes more one on one than mass media. Seeks a consensus from their district on issues that are not clear as to the district wishes.
They debated about Social Security but it became a debate about whether it was a crisis or a problem. They seemed to decide it was a serious problem and moved on to the next topic without doing more to help the program.
Meanwhile illegal immigrants and others use your Social Security Number to gain employment and you are not assisted to correct any errors that result. In fact they won't even tell you when your number has been misused. The Senate does want to make sure illegal immigrants don't lose out on anything though. Donde esta el bano?
Every candidate should be asked the following, which I call the Three-Prong Test:
1. What programs or policies do you propose?
2. Why are these programs or policies important, and who will benefit from them?
3. How much will these programs or policies cost, and how will they be paid for?
I suggest we adopt this Test and support and vote for only those candidates who take the test.
Paul R. Davis: Those grading the test should have enough insight and time to challenge the double talk. And also know what the RIGHT ANSWERS ARE. We have a challenge before us. What are the RIGHT ANSWERS? REference to June 26, 2024 post.
Dear Mr. Davis:
I would love every candidate to pass your three prong test with one slight change. Candidates should only be asked about those issues defined by Unity08 as crucial or important. Keep it both simple and easily comaparible, and make sure each candidate answers each and every question asked.
Given latitude, most candidates will tap dance and side step around any issue they think might show them in a negative light with whatever audience they are addressing.
It would be highly informative to find out which candidates think "important" trumps "crucial."
I want a Leader with a proven record of at least trying to introduce legislation that helps the majority of Americans. A real reformer! One that puts Americans first over there party politics.
Some one with courage to address the issues of Middle America
Shortly we will be asking our Founding Delegates to weigh in the issues you all believe are most crucial to the future of our country. Then, we will together form and pose smart questions for all candidates to answer candidly and completely. It's time for our leaders to make progress on these issues as opposed to wedge issues that divide us.
they count on wedge issues to keep us from getting to the point. The schools are a mess along with the court systems, prisons, legalization, lobbyists, oil. None of them in the last debates actually said anything. If you take the money out of the middle east they will destroy themselves.We keep them going, the prison system is full of pot smokers while child molestars and rapists go free. THe children are bored to death in school and all they see from the president to the C.E.O.s are criminal acts. Energy needs to be diversified get rid of special intrest groups and lobbyists.
And another thing religion is a fairy tale that needs to be left in the book it was found in. The majority of the people claiming to be religious are at the very root of the problem.
I hope this movement is not going to become another "blame throwing, finger pointing" party. We have had enough of that. Unity means unity of all, including "religious" people, many of whom are caring and progressive people.
I'm new to this media and format. I certainly understand and support the goals. I'm disappointed with the emotionalism in many of the comments I just read. I hope that as we mature in our use of the media and in our 'conversations' with each other we can be rational and respectful. Emotion needs to be expressed less emotionally and more precisely. Points of view need to be shared but they should be supported with reason, facts, and acknowledged assumptions.
Since this is my first post I will share this basic observation: we are much smarter but no wiser than we were 3000 years ago. I am looking for wisdom in our leaders, or at least evidence of an effort to be wise.
Wisdom, our contributors are still going through a learning phase, as long as there are those of us wise enough and caring enough to teach amd those of us wise enough and caring enough to want to learn, we will prevail ..
Again, welcome ..
Pete Evans (popo)
Thank you for your welcome. I am concerned that so many people from the average 'joe' to the media pundits think that 'politics' is dirty word and that the political process itself is the problem. To me politics is the art of compromise and it is absolutely essential to the process of finding common ground for moving forward in trying to find a series of small solutions for the very complex issues we face. Ideology is a foundation for starting discussions not ending them. The wonderful strength of our democracy is that competing interests engage in the political process and excess is, in time, brought back to the middle. I joined Unity08 in order to support the political process of bringing excess back to the middle.
1. Do you recognize the Peoples Legal Right and Responsibility to Control Your Conduct In Office ?!
2. Are you prepared now to commit in writing that If Elected : you will abide by a People's Legally Constituted Mandate For Political Reform Promptly and without reservation ?!
These two questions address THE DISEASE AFFLICTING OUR GOVERNING BODY .. treating the symptoms and failing to address the disease IS AN EXERCISE IN FUTILITY !!
My Opinion ..
Pete Evans (popo)
Actually the greatest violence if you want actualy what's happening is Muslim on Muslim violence and that is what this country misses in all the post-9/11 emotion. Despite all the talk of "Clash Of Civilizations" the big clash and violence is "Within" civilzations. Containing the excesses of this Sunni-Shiite violence will be the big Strategic challenge the U.S. will face. Any Policy dealing with the MidEast, Iran, Israel, Afgan must be developed and implemented in that Strategic Context. It's a lot more complicated than the "Your Either For Us or Agin Us" as we did in the Cold War.
Just as we realized the great importance of the Sino-Soviet dispute 20 years too latein the 1970's and just saw the "Communist Monolith", we may be missing in a similar way (with all the 9/11 rhetoric and emotions extant now in the West) the key Sunni-Shiite divide within their civilization that will dictate their sources of conduct. Valli Nasr's book, "The Shiia Revival", is informative to that end.
I love the Three-prong test. I really just want someone who can just answer a question. How many of us are sick and tired of hearing a politician drone on for 5 minutes without answering the question posed to him or her?
A better way of defining political persuasion is to devise a test or tests wherein the belief system is measured against the Constitution since that should be the only deciding factor. Here are 6 tests demonstrating at least 15 common political beliefs, that quickly come to my mind and I am certain there are others.
Test 1. The pursuit of Happiness. A Conservative, a Liberal and a Constitutionalist are walking down the street and they come across a person passed out in the gutter with a needle in one arm and a wine bottle in the other hand. The Conservative immediately grabs his cell phone to dial 911 while saying "God commands that these drunken drug addicts be punished for sinning." The Liberal calls his elected official demanding that some taxpayer funded housing program be started because the "poor drunken drug addict is drinking and drugging because they are homeless". Mean while,, the Constitutionalist is dragging the bum out of the gutter so he won't be run over by the paddy wagon and thinking, "What a waste of human potential. He is homeless because he is drinking and drugging but he has the Constitutional right to do that if he wants and when he stops drinking and drugging the Constitution will give him the freedom to get a job to pay for a place to live."
Test 2. Conservatives Religious Freedom VS Liberals "general welfare". The Conservatives are demanding to use the sword of government to force liberal women to die of pregnancy because abortion ( and for some like the Pope any birth control that is solely controlled by the women) offends the Conservatives religious beliefs. The Liberals want to use the sword of government to force Conservatives to pay higher taxes and/or health insurance premiums so that liberal women can get "free" (read this TAXPAYER FUNDED OR SUBSIDIZED) abortion and birth control on demand. The Constitutionalist is adamantly opposed to both because freedom of and from religion as envisioned by the Framers of the Constitution in the 1st 16 words of the 1st Amendment clearly prohibits government from enforcing any religious belief or forcing someone to violate (by paying for abortion or maybe even birth control) their religious beliefs.. The Congress shall make no law respecting --- Def. giving special privilege or consideration to -- an establishment -- Def. a belief or practice -- of religion (ANY RELIGION), or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; This position will protect the Conservatives right not to support abortion and/or woman controlled birth controll and allow the Liberal to voluntarily pay for any abortion or birth control they want.
Test 3. Religious Freedom again. The Conservatives want to use the sword of government to force other people's children to pray (to God usually in Jesus name) as a part of state mandated, taxpayer funded educational instruction. The Liberal is constantly trying to figure out how to prevent little Isaac from praying over his lunch like he has been taught by his father. The Constitutionalist is adamantly opposed to both because freedom of and from religion as envisioned by the Framers of the Constitution in the 1st 16 words of the 1st Amendment clearly prohibit government from enforcing any religious belief or forcing someone to violate (by being prohibited from praying over their meal) their religious beliefs. This exact same argument can be applied to the words "under God" in the Pledge because belief that people or governments are subservient to a diety of any kind is "an establishment, "a belief", and the requirement to say it is a "practice" of religion".
Test 4. Freedom of Speech but also Religion and the Prusuit of Happiness. The Conservatives are constantly trying to limit the ability of people to say, view, read, or write anything "sexually explicit and sometimes "unpatriotic". The Liberals want to force the Conservatives to pay higher taxes to fund things like the Mapplethorpe Pictures, the Urine Christ, the Feces Madonna, and the Floor Mat Flag. The Constitutionalist looks at both positions and says that all of the things and listed and many more not listed are perfectly Constitutional as long as Tax money isn't used to pay for them. Reasonable age restrictions may be acceptable as long as they don't cause undue restriction on those who are deemed old enough.
Test 5. Freedom of Speech again. The Conservatives believe they can call a homosexual a sodomite and the Liberal believes they can call the word "sodomite" hate speech and lock the Conservative up. The Constitutionalist believes the Conservative and the Liberal can call each other any names they want to and the Government has no business refereeing the verbal war.
Test 6. Freedom of Association. The Conservatives believe that Scouting (a private organization that receives much tax payer funded support through "free or way below market price" use of government -- def. taxpayer owned -- property) is within it's rights to prevent gay, lesbian, transgendered, and non-christians, etc from membership. The Liberals believe that all tax payer funded or supported organizations, especially colleges, must limit membership and/or access to government services based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, economic status, sometimes even religious belief (no Christians on the Supreme Court), and physical ability. They call it "affirmative action". The Constitutionalist are clear about it that any tax payer funded organization MUST guarantee all people "equal treatment." NO EXCEPTIONS!! At the same time all private organizations have absolute freedom to establish whatever membership requirements those associating agree upon but absolutely no right to receive tax money or government subsidies. Publicly owned businesses ie. those that have sold public stock to anyone that wants to buy it, can establish reasonable restrictions on use of their facilities or services (generally limited to health and safety concerns) but cannot be given protected status by the Government to discriminate against anyone eligible to own the stock.
I want the candidate that supports the Constitution..
=========================
The most heinous of tyrants is the will of the majority.
Any law that causes an injustice to just one person is an unjust law.
Democracy will fail when the masses learn they can vote themselves largess from the public purse.
Author(s) Unknown but written at the dawn of democracy.
These unknown authors had already seen the flaws in "true democracy" and the founders of the U.S.A. wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights in an attempt to prevent these misuses of democracy. Unfortunately the US education system has failed miserably in the task of teaching about the reasons our founders specifically wanted to avoid a "true democracy" and guarantee absolute freedom of and from religion.
http://www.blankballot.us/
Frank from Maine on June 14, 2024 - 5:16pm
I want a Leader with a proven record of at least trying to introduce legislation that helps the majority of Americans. A real reformer! One that puts Americans first over there party politics.
Some one with courage to address the issues of Middle America.
Frank, Certainly you don't find this leadership in your own Maine representives. Does not susan collins look awesomely cute and cocky parading around in her canary yellow outfit accented with her red power scarf. Unfortunatly, she is brain dead.
We believe that most people are interested in the best for our country. That is, when they run for office. When they get in and see what the others are doing it only takes them one term to learn how to bait their rat trap. By then many have their pensions well on the way, so, they stay forever. Once they get their roots down it is very hard to dislodge them. You do not have to look very far to see people in Washington that have been there forever.
Let us give them no more than two terms, period. Then when we get a bad one it will give us a chance to replace him with another. That way once in a while we will get one who is not self serving.
We have hundreds who should go home. Let us make this for ALL politians local and national.
I want politicians who'll put the best interest of the United States American People above the best interests of the corporations!
End Corporate Personhood!
http://endcorporatepersonhood.tribe.net/tribe/servlet/?tribeId=938d2bb0-7b91-4922-b687-083cf860825f&
1. To treat the American citizen with having an intelligent and active brain.
2. To sign a promisory note that the govt. will pay the Social Security fund back all the money they have taken from it. Therefore no more SS problems. *S*
3. They will work for the American people and put politics aside. There is a time for work and a time for politics. The time for politics is when they are campaigning for reelection. Period!
4. Sign a promisory note they will end lobbyers (sp?) from paying them, the Senate and Congress. Surely they don't pay the Supreme Court.
5. Sign a promisory note they will end special interest groups from paying all of the above.
6. Come down hard on large corporations.
7. Demand the media to be held accountable for what they report and report without bias.
8. End the corruption of Wash. Dc.
9. (I know this is a stretch) For goodness sake apologize to the Native Americans and African Americans for what the rich white men have done to them all these years.
10. Last but not least. Repeal EVERYTHING George Bush has done while he stole the White House!!! Put us back into the 21st Centry!!!
I see the true idealology comes out Shae.
I want all elected officials to put the United States first, Local and State matters second, and political party last. Term limits would stop most of the campaigning from election day to the next election day. Unfortunately most of our citizens cannot be bothered to know the current issues so they do not vote. Most of those who do vote are one issue voters (abortion, gay rights, gun control, environment, etc.) The 2 parties cater to the partially informed with illogical solutions to complex problems and get away with it.
Chicago Al is correct on that but term limits is the "catering" he bemoans. The problem is also with more than "2 parties."
Rule number 1: Learn to spell, people! No one takes a message seriously if you write 'there'going instead of 'they're'going or can't spell words like promissory.
Makes one have doubts about the theory that Americans are being treated as if they were stupid. Too many are.
Each sentence requires a subject. One should not say, "Makes one have doubts about the theory..." Instead, one should say, "It makes one have doubts about the theory..."
Now does anyone know what Rule number 3 is?
I want the personality of a Bill Clinton, the character of a Jimmy Carter, and the experience of a G. Bush the 41st. You may have to draft this ticket to get someone without a warehouse full of IOU's
In the future leaders will be defined by specific and clear policy and there is no way for them to hide from it ... the communications between candidates and the people will change politics as we knew it yesterday ... Each candidate will be responsible for responding specifically to each new question that is asked, questions from anyone or anybody regarding anything. As those answers stack up the candidates political personality will reveal itself. It seems easy and obvious enough to me? www.appyp.com/fix_main.html
A successful candidate needs to be correct 100 times but to lose he only needs to disagree with us once.
Personally I like it when a candidate is knowledgeable about both sides of an issue. I like it better when they finish something like doing something about Social Security besides debating and getting their conference committee in gear and voting on an illegal immigration/border security bill.
The character of Jimmy Carter? Whoa now.what character. He let the country fall into malaise(his words) ..led interests rates to 24% .. let the islamic radicals take over Iran (now we're paying for it) .. allow an oil crisis to erupt,
For heavens sake and for those that were not around then.. his poll ratings were below 25% (lower than bush) He killed all hope of nuclear power as an energy alternative (he consulted with his daughter amy who was 12 at the time).. he gave away the panama canal .. and flub his shot at a isreal/palestinian solution. And that was just a few while he was president. The aftermath of this freak we are still trying to deal with.. like him cutting a deal with north korea by giving them nuclear technology if they promised to use it for peaceful purposes. And his actions for Hati.. no we discuss that.. its too ugly to think about.
Jimmy Carter .. no thanks .. i've had quite enough of that useful idiot.
Actually OPEC finally practiced what we taught them and went for profits. Meanwhile American loved fuel inefficient cars and a second car went from being a luxury to being a necessity. We couldn't take responsibility for being arrogant and wasteful so we blamed Jimmy.
When was the last time Egypt and Israel went to war. Thank You Jimmy.
He use of "malaise" was not wise but it was honest.
Would we be better off if he was credited with "Mission Accomplished" and "Bring them on?"
Shae on June 17,2006 has a great list...further: we need sn inside-outsider to bring change to the DC protocol while understanding the best interests of the set guidelines of positions within a democracy...a leader familiar with Global cultures and economic repercussions...strong and informative without a hate debate adgena but holding the attribute of adament authority as the message is telegraphed to the powers at be...stron on immigration
charging fees after thorough background checks for those here now and those applying to enter our Great Country...no free lunch...as the situation stands they are eating us up alive
We need leaders in the White House who will tell the American people the truth, about the sacrifices Americans will have to make to fix our nation. Fixing Social Security, the energy crisis, health care and fighting terrorism; there are no easy, free solutions. They all will require sacrifice and patience. So how can we afford these huge tax cuts and still solve these problems? We can't. How can we fight terrorism and finish this mess in Iraq if most of America's families (especially the well-off) won't let their children join the miliary, and there's no draft? We can't. But we're the greatest country in the history of the world, and if we want to win and succeed, we can, but only if we're willing to sacrifice like the generations before us have. Can we find some leaders willing to speak the truth?
The first three problems on your list can't be solved by government. They require each individual providing for himself.
Social security can't be fixed. Its a ponzi scheme that went bad. Citizens must provide for their own retirement and that should be the governments response.
The free market will fix energy costs. New technology and value driven behaviors. Again, individual choices.
Health care the same. Each of us needs to live a healthly life style and provide for our own insurance.
Thanks for pointing me back to her list.
I really like:
"3. They will work for the American people and put politics aside. There is a time for work and a time for politics. The time for politics is when they are campaigning for reelection. Period!"
{But does campaigning ever end longer than it takes for the oath of office?}
I am not so sure about:
"9. (I know this is a stretch) For goodness sake apologize to the Native Americans and African Americans for what the rich white men have done to them all these years."
I think an apology is warranted but it wasn't just the "rich" and it wasn't just "men."
Then too the pre-America people did not always treat each other fairly or equally. They killed, they took, and they enslaved. There were also Africans involved in the slave trade and we aren't just talking about Arabs (or whatever the PC term.)
Shae provides such a wonderful example of what Unity08 must avoid if we want to hold the center and unify the rational middle.
All large corporations are evil and must be be attacked!
The government should have the mission of deciding what media is biased.
Lets push ancestral guilt and the cultural of victomhood!
Total rejection and vilification of the current administration.. now that's non-partisan, concilitory and of great appeal to the rational middle.
Social Security can be fixed if they make the adjusments like raising the $90,000 cap. Individual retirement accounts were the Ponzi scheme.
No one should rely on Social Security alone.
I don't think energy is a free market but more of a speculator's free for all.
I don't smoke, don't drink or do drugs, ear a seatbelt but I can't afford individual health insurance.
Some will call this idea socialistic at best. We can use the Profits from the TV, Cable and Telephione to pay for S.S. I like the idea of oil paying for healthcare. This should all be set up as the Post Office on Local levels.
Give the Unions the power to setup the Worker Ownership of the Mondragon Cooperative of the Basque in Northern Spain.-The Workers really do own the Banks and it pays for education too. The Unions could make it work in a heartbeat by Union Ownership of the big companies and worker ownership of small ones, by pooling their healthcare and Pensions.-Invested localy.
I'm not for this idea. What if the Police and Fire Departments were out to make a profit? What would you call it?
Re: re: Speaking the Truth...
you're right...so true...its new
Shae's List --- Partisan Extremism
...attacking is lacking (although you did pick a strong target, not like in Iraq where the weaker one was chosen to be attacked)...bring about change through interacting...
now that's the key...get that outsider in...
Re: Shae on June 17,2006 has a
you're on the right track now get on the train...remember our lineage...we're all the same...
Speaking the Truth & re: Speaking the Truth...
truth is just a fleeting moment in time...rank and position always clocks the truth...you're right about strong leadership...we want to see it...visualize it...
we need a leader not a greeter
we don't want to be dumbed down
we are about to take action
not submit a retraction...
We've experimented with term limits in California and they don't work very well as the legislative institution tends to lose expertise and memory. The other big problem with term limits is that politicians are then permanently campaigning for their next elected office, the next step up the political ladder, rather than actually taking care of their duty to the people in their current position. There isn’t anything wrong with someone serving many consecutive terms as long as they are responsible to constituents rather than contributors.
Limiting money contributions to candidates by instituting mandatory public campaign funding for all candidates for federal office would solve the biggest problem - the hijacking of the political process by big business and union interests. The idea of an "anonymizer" for all contributions is a good one but big contributors would get around that fairly easily by showing their checkbooks or corporate books to candidates to prove they ponied up the cash to the candidate or their political action committee. The only way to get clean elections is to ban private sector contributions to political candidates.
Money does not equal speech, notwithstanding current Supreme Court jurisprudence. An across the board ban on monetary contributions to candidates for office is content-neutral with regard to politics. Content neutral regulations need only be substantially related to an important government interest. I can’t think of a more important interest than cleansing our democracy of tainted political contributions, corporate lobbyists, and other “special interests” on both sides of the aisle. Alternatively, the federal courts could view money contributions as conduct rather than speech ands exempt donations entirely from the First Amendment.
The incumbents mumble that contributions don't have any effect on their duties, that contributions only ensure "access." How they say that with a straight face though is beyond my comprehension. It is impossible for me to think that they aren't constantly worried about how their actions will affect their campaign war chests. Of course they are. Let's do something about that. Make your voice heard. But how? Incumbents tot up and throw away letters and emails from their constituents. They don’t care what we want, they only care what their monetary supporters want.
Finally, let's put together a comprehensive plan to solve America's ongoing crises. Health care, education, social security, immigration, the “Bush Doctrine of Preemptive War,” civil and religious freedoms, and every other woe that besets Americans. This nation was founded on a principle of equality (apart from that little problem of southern slavery). Shouldn’t we be able to both maximize personal freedom while eliminating inequity?
Isn’t it time to start? Let's work toward commonsense solutions to tough problems. Drug treatment rather than the drug war, access to preventive healthcare rather than overburdened emergency rooms, expanding federal student loans at low interest rates rather than slashing loans and raising rates. Why does our health care system spend the highest amount in the world per capita and yet millions rely on the emergency room as their primary care system? Why do we spend so much money on policing the drug trade yet there are never enough beds for addicts who want to get clean? Isn’t there a way to guarantee a first-rate college education to everyone who wants one? And in whatever area they want to study? And for those who want technical and job training, I’m sure that there is enough pork in the budget to fund that as well.
Let's re-expand the middle class by working towards eliminating both poverty and the wealthy plutocracy. Let's work on ensuring that all Americans can live the promise of the American dream: if they work hard, they can provide a decent middle-class living for their families. Let’s give families school choice through publicly funded charter schools that experiment with new educational theories and methods. We are the wealthiest country on earth and there is absolutely no reason that vast sectors of society are living on the edge of oblivion. No wonder voter participation is at an all time low – why vote when it is the “system” that wins? Let’s put people in office who will act in the best interests of America, not just the majority of Americans but also those minority Americans who rely on Constitutional protections against tyranny. Our nation once relied on assimilation of new immigrants rather than polarization. We should welcome newcomers and inculcate them with real American democratic values.
Wake up. Rise up. Make your voice heard in the streets, on the internet, and in the halls of government, whatever your political stripe. There is a more important goal than being sure that “your” party wins. That is the goal of good, responsible governance. That should be the goal of everyone sick of the current system of entrenched party politics and beltway insider fights.
What do I want from my politician?
- Straight talk. Not some long winded answer to a question. All that means is you're trying to accomodate everyone. Pick a side. We can take it. I may not agree but I at least know where you stand. You give me a long winded answer, won't get my vote.
- To look in the camera, at the American people, and tell everyone that America is all about opportunity, if you work hard and have self discipline. The government is not going to raise you up. With any luck, you'll barely tread water. So look us in the eye and tell everyone they need to work hard. If you're going to be self destructive or lazy, then you'll miss your opportunity. Got too many people thinking they deserve whatever it is they want. No you don't.
-And none of that political correctness crap.
take care of your loved ones as this is not a govermental behavior
take better care of yourself so you can take care of your loved ones...your health is your concern not that of the government
save your money to be able to take care of yourself and your loved ones as the government will not, can not...and most likely not care for them
more often than not the government is known for taking from you and your loved ones
it's not the gift that keeps on giving...the government is on the take...out to make a buck and pass the buck but not along to you
vote...yeah right...voting machines bought from foreign countries holding proprietary rights and secret formulas as to how the votes are tallied...the United States have no right to challenge the results as they did in previously...we no longer elect our own in '08...it's been outsourced...end of story