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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

We The People Need Change!


Campaign & Election Process Reform,

It's actually easy to reform not only campaign finance, but the entire election process as well.  But, this is only true so long as we keep the politicians out of the process!

          When we talk of reforming the area of Campaign Finance, it’s an operation of logic to understand that unless the entire Election Process, beginning with the money and ending with an elected candidate taking office, is reformed, then nothing has been accomplished.  As a former residential contractor, many is the time that I would have to give a homeowner the unwanted news that some particular part of their home couldn’t be repaired, that the damage or wear had produced a situation in which the only logical remedy would be to start fresh.  This is where the United States Government is at with many of its agencies and programs.  There are many areas in our countries governance that needs not only an overhaul, but a completely new mindset along with a whole new ‘playbook’, so to speak.  With all of this in mind, our purpose here at this point in time is to address the faultiness of the Election Process of the United States of America.  I feel that this is the proper place to start restoring our country to its rightful place as a leader among leaders, in that we need any entirely new set of procedures in order to put in place any entirely new mindset amongst our elected political leaders.  This, the Election Process, is where true and meaningful change has to start if the obviously needed change is to have any relevant purpose and longevity.  We, the American people, already realize what so many of our system-weary political leaders are spending vast amounts of their time and insanely large amounts of our money trying to avoid first acknowledging, and then acting on.  What is demanded by the state of our government and by that our country?  Change, with all caps. 

ü Change, (with all caps), that really means something. 

ü Change, (with all caps), that isn’t built around how much someone can profit, monetarily or politically, from. 

ü Change, (with all caps), that reflects the will of the American people, not the bottom line promoted in countless boardrooms. 

ü And the Election Process is where this Change, (with all caps), has to start.

          So, where do we start this Change, (with all caps)?  I’m not talking about which program or Agency, I’m talking about where in the Election Process do we start.  How about we start with what most things in this busted-up world we live in revolves around?  Let’s start with the money.

1) Get rid of the entire mindset of donating money to your favorite candidate. Each candidate will be allowed the exact same amount of time on TV and Radio Ads, as well as the same amount of exposure in the printed media outlets.

2) If someone wants to make donations to the Election Process, which by the very nature of its purpose has to be recognized as Non-Partisan, then that money is used to pay for the advertising for all of the candidates. 

3) Public media, irregardless of the genre, is not required to promote any candidate through advertising. But should a News Channel or Newspaper decide to carry advertising for a certain candidate, then they also have to carry the exact same amount of space or time for every candidate, with the content being approved by the candidate.

4) Each candidate will be provided with the exact same amount of discretionary funds for the operational costs incurred by their campaign.  An equal number of overseers will be selected from each party, by the opposing party, to maintain the integrity of the accounting process.

5) Campaigning will start ninety days before National Elections, sixty days before State Elections, and thirty days before County and City Elections, period.  Any candidate identified as has done anything to promote his/her-self in an upcoming campaign will lose eligibility for that election along with a 5-year ban on holding any political office.  Any other person found to have been promoting any person for any particular office prior to the Authorized Campaigning Periods will, in addition to receiving five years (flat-time) in Federal Prison, be banned from any Elected or Appointed position in any level politics for life.


Excerpt #2:

          What I’ve already outlined in Excerpt #1 is what I think of as the ‘bare-bones’ guidelines of the very beginning of Campaign Finance Reform.  Remember that these are my own ideas.  Some may question what gives me the right to declare that everything to do with the Election Process of the United States of America needs not an overhaul, but completely scrapped and a new Election Process developed.  I’ll tell everyone how I have the right, but note that it isn’t only a right I have as an American citizen.  The fact is that every American citizen has this same right, and equally important, every American citizen has the responsibility to address not only the defunct Election Process, but everything that is wrong with any part of every level of government.  As I stated in the very beginning of this piece, the only way to change anything and insure that we’re not setting ourselves up for [more] failure is to keep the politicians out of the process of change.  Right about now I’m sure that if anybody at all is reading this work, especially if any politicians are reading this, that there’s bound to be some head shaking and grumbling.  Maybe more than just a few curse words are being thrown in for good measure.  The thing is that politicians have to object to anything taking place that doesn’t involve them.  Most politicians are probably afraid that if the American people, as a whole and individually, realize that we have both the power and the responsibility to demand changes, to and oversee the demanded changes, that they would be facing a very harsh reality.  Only the few who legislate from positions of sincerity and genuine love of country will support, without qualm or hesitation, the changes being demanded by the people who deserve a whole lot better than we’ve been getting. 

          Okay then, some may be asking, how do we go about bringing positive changes without the politicians being involved?  It’s really not that hard.  Just think about it for a minute, and consider what would happen if certain things in the life of a politician took on new form and meaning.  Here is a short list of the things I’m thinking about:

Ø All legislative bills would present ‘single item’ or ‘standalone’ issues.  If a bill is drafted and presented addressing Immigration Reform, that’s the only issue talked about or referred to.  No ‘pork’ or special considerations to anybody or any business or political entity. 

Ø No bill would be presented that contained more than forty-nine pages of legislative language.  I’m not the only one who feels that anything worth saying can be said in less than fifty pages of single-spaced typing.  “Hey Pelosi, no more voting something in just to find out what’s in it.”  Talk about pure stupidity!

Ø Every bill presented would have to be sponsored by three members of each party, no more and no less. 

Ø Anytime an Administration fails to present a balanced budget to the Senate & Congress, then that Administration is not eligible for re-election.  If an incumbent President and Vice-President are seeking re-election, then by the sixth quarter prior to the Presidential election, a balanced budget must be presented and passed, or guess what?  You’ve got it!  The sitting President and Vice-President are neither eligible for re-election, to any Federal position.

Ø Senators and Congressmen are only eligible for re-election after their third term if the country has been in a positive growth position for a majority of the years that the Senator or Congressman has already served in the Senate or Congress.  This will do a lot to get rid of corruption and personal agendas, and yes, some of this comes straight from the proposed 28th Amendment.

That’s if for now folks, my brain is tired.  I’ll be back in a day or so with a few more ideas.

Be Blessed,

Terry