dayman Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 (edited) Everyone hates Washington. And we go in year after year demanding "leadership" and voting for "something new" or "someone experienced" etc...it NEVER happens no matter who goes in b/c the system is broken. Say what you want..but it's true and IMO that's what Obama meant when he said "you can't change Washington from the inside"...in other words you can't fix the partisan problem from the middle of the partisan battle. So bellow is a quick summary of some stuff in Mickey Edwards new book "The parties v. the people: How to turn Republicans and Democrats into Americans." What does PPP think about it? ----------------------------------- Premise: We have ceded our representative democracy to satisfy the power lust of 2 private clubs and in doing so superimposed a European style parliamentary system atop the great framework that we so proudly call American. -------------------- Political scientists tell us that, at present, 40 to 45 percent of Americans are more or less moderate in their views, a percentage that has been fairly standard for much of American history. http://www.amacad.or...12/winter12.pdf "In 1970, 47 percent of the members of the U.S. Senate were regarded as moderate. Today, that figure is 5 percent, and it is even lower in the House of Representatives. The decline of moderate views in Congress suggests a kind of dysfunction: a dramatic gap between the views and attitudes of the American people and the commonalities and differences that exist among our citizens, on the one hand, and what we wind up with in our elected representatives, on the other. Something is going wrong in our politics. [not sure on the methodology used to state this...Stone (same guy in above link claims this] The problem isn’t that we are so ideologically polarized, but that we are overly partisan. It’s the different partisan affiliations that control debate in Washington, not their commonalities or the interests of their constituents. To the extent we may seem more polarized ..perhaps partisan brainwashing and idiot media has something to do with that. ------------------------------------------------- Florida Voter Registration as of: 10/2/2012 Republican: 4,202,863 Democrat: 4,684,152 Other: 2,829,900 Total: 11,716,915 1 in 4 in my state are not affiliated http://registration....heckVoterStatus Between 1987 and 2004 independent voters in Florida have quadrupled (whatever number they used probably not the same as I looked up above b/c it's changing and mine is more recent...but the point stands...."no party" is the fastest growing party) November 2006 Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows 4 in 10 nationally are not affiliated with either party... In other words...1 in 4 CAN'T even participate in closed primaries in my home state....even if they wanted to do so. Additionally, primary participation is much lower than it was 50 or even 30ish years ago. ---------------------------------------------------- Thus...you have increasingly polarized candidates coming out of stupid primaries after appeasing their "base" (read: retarded radicals) and then whichever idiot wins a the general goes to Washington. Hence, the system rewards those walk the party line without thought or attention to their local constituency. Is your representative representing you or the Republican/Democratic party? Well....they live in safe districts (on both sides) constructed by state legislatures who are subservient to the beast and craft districts that reward partisan intransigence and punish independent representation with a challenger “further from the right/left.” A shocking number of Representatives and Senators vote with their party 90% of the time or more. Surely you would expect them to vote more often in line with their party, but a diverse group of people from diverse locations serving wholly different constituencies aught to deviate more than that. -------------------------------------------------------- THe 2 parties keep candidates off the ballot through sore loser laws.. Not just 3rd parties, but moderate candidates from their own parties who loss hypercharge partisan primaries (with historically decreasing participation) yet may easily command the majority of the general vote. Strange Gerrymandered districts produce pols who are unrepresentative of localities, non-competitive races, and make for an uncompromising and ideologically rigid blocks in Washington. No wonder we shake our heads year after year as Congress approval rating plummets...perhaps voters should choose their representatives...and not the other way around? ------------------------------------------------------- Suggested solutions: Elections- Candidates should take donations from within their constituency. Radio and tv should allow free advertising for legit candidates. Some free postage for challengers (as incumbents get). Make the money less necessary…. Nonpartisan redistricting committee on state level (not partisan state legislature doing it)... produce districts on the state level that actually represent communities, don't rig to make elections anti competitive (competition is good...more moderates positions who appeal to both sides and will work together in washington) No sore loser laws...open up the ballot for losers of primaries (if they wish) and 3rd parties Congress – Speaker reform…60% approval so it's more bipartisan/more moderate in appointing committee heads and rules committee and deciding about what bills will come to the floor…minority party has more of a voice so there isn't AS MUCH cutthroat need to amass a majority at all costs. Reform internal congress rules (can be done at the start of any session)..problem spots: Blocking rules (from coming to votes), closed rules (no amendments allowed...speaker reform can help this), filibusters (should have to stand up and physically do it, should have cosponsors to filibuster, should talk only about the issue of why you are blocking it so the media/people can hear...and over time the number of votes to end it should drop, and holds (also reform this arbitrary "hold" process in senate) Rearrange the furniture - literally change up the seating...they are our congresscritters...they don't need to physically sit across the isle they should just sit according to seniority and all address the floor from one podium in the center (not two...one at center right and the other center left) Congressional independence from the presidency…you don’t serve him/her...there's an actual separation of powers at work here... No more pledges...you owe 1 pledge to the people...if your voters want you to sign a pledge then they don't trust you and shouldn't vote for you anyway...you need to be able to have an open mind and creative approach despite having principles you ran on Edited October 10, 2012 by TheNewBills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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