02.28.08
Posted in National, Politics, States Rights at 6:34 am by RedFlameOut
This is part 2 of my proposal for changes in the USA government. Based on my previous post, we would have a new election system. Congress would be aligned along two lines - states’ rights and public representation. Congress would also be more diverse.
The presidency would be elected more along the lines the people’s wishes without removing the electoral college — which has functions even in today’s world.
Let’s talk about internal congressional procedures and how one item, bill riders, has skewed our governmental system of checks and balances.
One of the major issues with congress is the rider system. It needs to be outlawed or the president needs a form of line item veto to kill the riders. I favor both methods.
First, congress should not be allowed to add riders that do not directly relate to the pending legislation within the bill. This would kill the “pork” that congress likes to add to bills so that the president won’t veto due to the importance or political environment of the proposed law. Riders should still be allowed however they would need to relate to the bill. For example, a bill dealing with specific types of taxes would only have tax riders of the same type of taxes. A bill dealing with child welfare could only have riders dealing directly with child welfare.
Second, if the president can veto the bill or the riders or a combination, then this gives the power originally given to the presidency by the constitution back to the president. Riders are an effective way for congress to ram rod through items by attaching them to bills the president can’t or won’t veto. It would not be right for the president to veto parts of a bill. With this proposal, the president would only be able to veto the riders or the bill itself. And if the bill is vetoed, then the riders would be vetoed automatically as well. But if the president vetoes a rider and signs the bill, the bill becomes law without the rider.
Congress would still be allowed to override a veto on a rider or bill in the same manner currently used. Namely, a two thirds vote in congress to override the veto.
By restricting riders and allowing the president limited veto rights on those riders, the intent of the constitution is reinstated. Right now, presidential power is partially usurped by congress with the current rider system.
My next post on this subject will deal with war and war powers. Stay tuned…
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02.27.08
Posted in National, Politics, States Rights at 7:07 am by RedFlameOut
Revolution is a big word. It’s scary and denotes fearful change for many.In realizing this, and being a libertarian, I began thinking of ways in which a quiet, friendly revolution could occur without all the apocalyptic upheaval people would fear. I also am concerned with what the government would end up being if a major revolution occurred in the United States of America. So here goes — my thoughts on change.
First, we need to get the power back into the hands of the people away from corporations and special interest groups. To do this we can create new methods that fit within our current framework that would push the power down to the proper levels.To do this, both the Senate and the House of Representatives would have to change. I will speak in a later post on the changes inside congress. For now, I want to discuss who, what, and where the Senators and Representatives are elected.
With the need to balance states rights with the rights of individuals, two houses were created in congress. Unfortunately, both have lost their way.
My first proposal is to remove elections for Senators. They should be assigned by the state legislatures with the number determined by the current system. The Senate’s job would be to balance the states’ rights with individuals and against the House of Representatives.
The second proposal is to remove elections for Representatives. Replace the election system with a lottery of citizens. Pull names out of a hat! Pay would be provided at going rates with travel to Washington DC provided per diem. They would gather information via town hall type meetings for their district and then travel to Washington DC to perform their duties. Indoctrination would take several weeks before congress convenes. The house of Representatives would meet twice a year for 3 months at a time. Once you serve, you get a reprieve of being in the lottery for two terms. No politicking allowed to get “elected”. By selecting the House of Representatives by lottery, the House would be far more diverse in general.
The House and Senate would juxtapose between states and people rights, having to work out compromises on bills that both can agree on before the bill goes to the president for signature or veto.
To better serve the people, the presidential election would still retain the electoral college (it does have its proper use). But, the delegates would be selected based on percentage of win by party. For example, if the Democrats have 50% of the vote, the Republicans 45%, and 5% goes to a third party, then the electoral votes would be split along those lines. So, if the state has 50 electoral votes, 25 would go to the Democrats, 22 would go to the Republicans, and 3 going to the other party. Fractions would be rounded up for the minority parties. If there was no clear winner, then a coalition would have to be put together so that the electoral votes would add up to the majority needed to get a person elected.
I would hope this would slowly change the balance so that other parties have a chance at the national level.
Well, that is it. My first entry in a proposal for changes we should make to our government.
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02.21.08
Posted in Personal, blog at 6:52 am by RedFlameOut
Well, my last post was on my birthday — November 20, 2007. I have been ill off and on since then and on a huge project at work that was taking up so much of my time.
My employer has graciously reduced my workload due to my illness.
For anyone reading, regular posts have started. I hope to log at least once every other day.
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