Your ideas......campaign reform

[Bill McElroy]

OKAY,.....we all agree that politics and especially campaigning in America SUCKS!! Let's come up with idea's on how YOU would fix it. Here are a few of mine...some borrowed from other countries!!



1. Limit campaining to 30 days (4 weeks) BEFORE the election. No exceptions.

2. Limit total amount of spending to four MEEEEELion dollars!!(One million per week!) No exceptions,.Receipts req'd!! Anything left over is returned to the Gov't.

3. No private contributions allowed....only issued gov't funds can be used. (see # 2.)

4. Any private citizens who want to make a contribution to your campaign can make that donation payable to a CHARITY of the Candidates choice.....use that money to do something that will actually HELP people immediately...schools, hospitals, redcross, etc. Each candidate can list those donators and their donation amount on their website. (Donations to these charities will be allowed year round....no limits there.

5. Absolutely NO negative ads allowed.....tell us what you will do for US and HOW you will get it done...we want DETAILS,...no smoke and mirrors and diatribes on what the other person did or did not do. We don't care about that,....this is about what YOU will do for US.

6. Eliminate the electoral college,...he/she who gets the most popular votes WINS.

7. You MUST BE A LEGAL US Citizen to vote...proof required!!





anxious to hear your thoughts!

 

[Bill McElroy]

2 hours later and not a single reply??...I guess ya'll ARE sick of it!!..LOL!!

 

[KEVIN WERHAN]

ADDITION TO NO 5.: If you are caught in a lie, that you or your campaign headquarters started, you are immediately disqualified from running and are banned from running ever again!

 

[Mike Zechman]

thats a great idea KW, only you have to give a few mulligans, cuz nobody would be runnin

 

[KEVIN WERHAN]

So, Mike, you are saying it is better to confuse everyone, win an election because most people are too lazy to find the facts for themselves, and allow the dirty handed politician to go forward with their career of lies? Rather than weed them out right away? Oh, wait, what was I thinking. Were talking about politics, where the name of the game is to lie, cheat, steal, or whatever it takes to get what you want........I think I remember hearing something when I was in kindergarten about not to lie, steal, cheat, blah, blah, blah. I guess we have a lot of children politics.

 

[Texas Transplant]

Well, since this is a hypothetical situation, and we are not going to get choosy about laws and such, here goes:



1) One primary day for everyone. It's April 15th. Vote for the candidate of your choice, no party affiliation. Top two get nominated. Popular vote is the only thing that counts.



2) They have debates as follows (one for each subject - 2 hours long - real people asking the questions):



a) Economy

b) Foreign Policy

c) National Defense

d) Constituational Rights

e) What the 'role' of the Goverment should be



3) They cannot advertise on print media, radio, or television.



4) They cannot say anything about their opponent. I only want to hear what 'they' are going to do and why. Anyone using the word 'Change' get's executed. Immediately.



5) They get from Labor Day till Election day to Campaign. Everyone donates $1. They each get half and that's all they can spend. Period. Nothing more.



6) Winner is decided by popular vote. Whoever get's the most is President, the other one get's the Vice-President slot (kinda like tying two cat's together by their tails and throwing them over clothes line - figure it out or fight to the death).



7) No one is allowed to do 'polling'. I don't want a bunch of do nothings, telling me what they think is going to happen. Just let it happen.



Tex

 

[Jim C]

I'm with your plan Mac!!!!

 

[Randy Walls]

I like all of them.





Randy!

 

[Mark Hofman]

PISTOLS AT THIRTY PACES!!!!!! :lol:

 

[Dale Hicks]

A complete resume from each candidate. Any misleading or false information, that candidate is OUT!

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Agree...let em' know any lying will NOT be tolerated:angry:

 

[Mike Zechman]

KW, no I'm not sayin it ok, you said that, I was sayin you can't drop all the ones that lie, cuz they ALL do, both parties, we'd have nobody as president

 

[JR F]

Not much In the way of choices In my mind...I like your Ideas Mac..only I think It should only be one day of campaigning.Less time to come up with all the BS..I think the last 4 years have been the worse In our country's history,No matter who started It has only gotten worse....

JR

 

[gerald budurka]

definitely all primarys on same day as general election. just imagine the money saved on all that travel? also if members of congress choose to campaign for themselves or for another, they forfeit there pay for not being in congress doing there job.

 

[Bill McElroy]

Excellent idea Jerry!! no work = no pay!

 

[Greg Meyer]

I hope those that read this will do so carefully, and then digest and reflect...



First, the easy answer... "A step in the right direction"... Elect 1/2 of the House of Representatives every four years. That will reduce the "always running for re-election"... a circumstance of the election of the whole House every two years. Next, repeal the McCain-Feingold campaign contribution limits to the candidates. All it has done is given greater power to the incumbents (They even refer to it in jest as the Full Employment for incumbents Act, if you want a long discussion of the why I'd be happy to refer you to some material) Finally, spend a boatload of money on a High School based voter education/civics couse in citizenship. An overwhelming majority (something like 70%) of our fellow citizens do not have even a basic understanding of how government works. Most can't tell you what "Speaker of the House" means or identify the Vice-President. An educated and informed electorate is the best defense against BS campaigning, media slant, and other excesses.



Now, for the punch line... Read the First Amendment... That reference to "Freedom of Speech" most definitely protects "political speech". And, my choice to hand a "fistfull of dollars" to my favorite candidate to do with as he pleases ought to be my unfettered exercise of that freedom of political speech. And, if some guy wants to start campaigning for the Presidency in 2008 for 2012 that ought to be his rightful exercise of his "freedom of speech". It may be obnoxious to use... But so was an American Nazi Party rally in Skokie, Illinois, an overwhelming Jewish community. And that rally was ruled to be a protected form of freedom of speech.



Limits on "campaings" that sound nice today can be the harbinger of "control" of that freedom of political speech. If we Americans can't hear or see candidates, how do we choose? If candidates can't "send out their message" (whatever that message may be) how do we choose? If I can't "support" my candidates or other forms of political speech, how do we educate the public? What if the "Government" could regulate "political speech"... Would Martin Luther King ever gotten his "I have a dream" message out..maybe, maybe not?



Folks, remember... when somebody shows up and says; "I'm here to help you, I'm from the government...."... run and be afraid, very afraid.



You don't want to hear the BS till a few days before election... change the channel. If you think way too much money is spent on campaigns... don't donate.



Finally, I love the idea of term limits... It amazes me that we don't recognize that we have them... It's called an election. Be careful what you askj for, you might get it. I certainly do not want my right to free unregulated poolitical speech to be regulated by the very government that might, just might, abridge that right if it is not jealously protected.

 

[Dale Hicks]

Something else to think about....(after using some of the above ideas) when the 2 candidates are decided and the election is held, most votes is Pres. the other is V. Pres.

 

[Greg Meyer]

DH,



That was in fact the original "scheme' which has been amended out of the Constitution. Can you imagine in today's partisan charged environment, having a President from one party and a Vice-President from another. There would be one of two results... 1) The VP would through his "inside information" do everything in his power to undermine the President so that in the next election "his (or her) party" would come to power...; or 2) The VP would be totally shut out of the information loop, so much so that if anything did happen he would be clueless upon assuming office. No, continuity and stability are better served by the current structure.

 

[Dan J.]

Four words:



Steel Cage Death Match



To the victor the spoils! :lol::lol::lol:

 

[David Munaretto]

Better yet - 5 fish, most weight two day tournament format with an observer in the boat...



Why is it that President's focus on "the issues", but CEO's create a vision, then set objectives, and strategy to achieve the vision? How about a President who can do that for a change?