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Can We Harness Lightning and Transform the Political Landscapee [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-09-24
Can We Harness Lightning and Transform the Political Landscape?
The Great American Democracy Experiment survived the 2020 Election, but barely. A few less votes in Georgia; a few less principled Republican state election officials, and it might have ended. Who would have thought that possible? But even if you think the Democrats will win the 2024 Election, there is no reason to think it will be decisive or transformational, and something as simple as a third party candidate or a Biden health event could jeopardize even a close win. We need something transformational.
Republicans promise specific actions if elected, and it works!
In 1994, Newt Gingrich’s Contract With America gave the Republicans their first majority in the House of Representatives in 40 years. In 2009, the carefully and deceptively created Tea Party was far more effective than the number of its supporters. In 2016 and 2020 Trump promised to appoint specific far Right Judges, and did. And now the MAGA cult, unfazed by sedition and 91 felony indictments, has created Project 2025, a detailed and harrowing plan to dismantle our Democratic Government..
Meanwhile Democrats keep doing the same old, same old, unwilling to change, making only the vaguest of promises, and unable to connect with many of the voters who would most benefit from their policies.
Could it finally be time for People Fed Up With Both Parties and Democrats to try something new? Something that improves on what the Republicans have done so repeatedly and successfully?
Harness Lighting: Imagine if we could create the viral energy and enthusiasm of an Occupy Wall Street, Taylor Swift Concert Tour, or “Rich Men North of Richmond” but harness it to power a clear and focused plan to transform the political landscape , finally improve a host of problems, and benefit a huge majority of Americans. Here is how:
How a Contract For Americans (or a better name) could work
1. Create a website which explains the Contract, what is promised, and allows anyone running for any elected office to pledge to do everything in their power to achieve the goals of the Contract if elected.
2. The website would also allow voters to see the issues, and pledge to vote for all candidates in their voting districts who pledge to try to achieve the goals of the Contract.
3. All Candidates pledging support of the Contract would be displayed on the Contract’s website, and voters could enter their zip code to see all of the pledged candidates in their local, state, and national voting districts.
4. Only the zip code of pledged voters would be shared with anyone, but Candidates would know how many voters from each zip code in their district supported the Contract.
Advantages:
1. Many important issues have broad, significant majority, even bipartisan, support, but are never addressed by either party in power. The Contract could address and improve those issues.
2. Many voters, especially young and minority, feel there is no reason for them to vote The Contract gives them extremely clear, important to their lives, reasons both to vote and to encourage their peers to vote.
3. In addition to a central website, Social Media and the internet make it easy and affordable to present and explain the Contract’s promises to the appropriate voter Demographics.
4. Even though many voters might be interested in only one or a few of the Contract issues, most of the other issues are unlikely to be so offensive to those voters that they opt out. (Issue choice and presentation should be careful to minimize that choice). Celebrity and Influencer endorsements could minimize concerns about the wide variety of actions. And the more topics included, the more demographics of voters are incentivized, and the wider swath of problems finally promised solutions.
5. Politicians often need to spend an inordinate amount of time fundraising, which distracts from real problem solving, makes candidates dependent on the donors, and gives the appearance of corruption. Candidates with sufficient Contract voter support, would have less need for fundraising. This should encourage more and better Candidates motivated to improve our governance, but dissuaded by our current corruption, rancor, ineffectiveness, and endless fundraising
6. Candidates from any party would be welcome to endorse the Contract. This less partisan approach would appeal particularly to younger voters, and those troubled by our recent hyper-partisan system
7. The Contract could be endorsed by Candidates for all offices, from the President of the United States, to School Board or town council. Progressives have often allowed ultraconservatives to dominate local and state governments, to the detriment of the public. It could help voters know which down-ballot candidates support the things they want, and perhaps lessen book-banning, Gerrymandering, and other bad state and local behavior.
8. The Contract could be transformational. Huge demographics of voters–women, minorities, students, renters, home-buyers, LGBTQ, environmentalists, underpaid workers, etc– motivated by hope, and strong but reasonable self interest, could deliver decisive wins across the country and up and down the ballot.. It would clearly not be a “stolen election”. It could restore judicial balance and ethics, separation of church and state, bolster our defenses against tyranny, fascism, and global climate change, and make the lives and futures of millions of Americans much better. It could help reestablish Science, Truth, and Tolerance, as fundamental to our governance.
Some Issues which might be included:
(Final included issues and specifics TBD)
Voter Rights and Functioning, Ethical, Governance
Protection of election workers; Ban all voter discouraging actions; Encourage easy voting; ; Mail in ballots; Election day holiday? Longer voting hours; Paper trail for all voting;
Eliminate Gerrymandering
Work to Get States Totaling at Least Another 65 Electoral Votes to Join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would obligate states to cast their electoral votes for the national popular vote winner if the total number of electoral votes of the agreeing states is more than 270. States representing 205 electoral votes have already signed on. If states totaling just 65 votes join them, the plan would go into effect and the Electoral College would lose its power without a Constitutional amendment.
The bill has already passed at least one chamber in 8 additional states with 78 more electoral votes
Encourage Moderate Candidates, and Functioning, Non-Gridlocked Government
Final-Five Voting, which consists of two parts — open, single-ballot, nonpartisan primaries, in which the top-five candidates qualify for the general elections. . .and ranked-choice voting in general elections.
https://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2021/Klingduopoly.html
Supreme Court
Ethics!!!!! (Specifics TBD) Term limits; Number; Depoliticization?
Ethical Rules for Congress
There was a time not too long ago when paying lawmakers to get laws you wanted was called “corruption”. Now it is called “business as usual”. Some changes, like banning individual stock ownership, better discouraging insider trading, stopping the “revolving door” between legislators and lobbyists, etc., seem relatively easy but are not happening now. More powerful rules, like forced recusal from votes benefitting your donors above a certain amount are trickier, but worth considering. But now, lobbying is immensely cost effective, is generally favorable to some group at the expense of the general public, and hugely undermines citizens’ faith in government. And there are legal ways we could lessen its effectiveness.
Reproductive Rights
Make Abortion unnecessary and obsolete, not illegal; Make Contraception, Plan B, condoms, etc., so encouraged, available, and affordable that the vast majority of women choose whether to have a child BEFORE they get pregnant.
Some Abortions would still be necessary : rape, incest, contraception failure, health of baby or mother, etc. But have as a goal an 80–90% reduction in Therapeutic Abortions. (abortion rates now are about 50–70% of their peak)
We can be Pro-Choice to an unprecedented degree, while decreasing Abortions more effectively than the forced-birthers, without coercion, shame, cruelty, undue cost, risk, or inconvenience to Women.
Encouraging universal family planning, would also provide better primary care to many underserved women and families, should decrease our shameful black maternal mortality rates, and more than pay for itself in decreased future costs.
Nationwide abortion rules?
Ban lawmakers from limiting Doctors’ Standard of Care actions and overriding FDA decisions?
Student Loan Relief and Debt Avoidance:
While education is considered essential to a competitive workforce, education is far less affordable and cost effective now than many other times and places. Generous loans lured many students into debts they must repay for decades–some even from Social Security checks. Lobbyist influenced banking rules made student loans more difficult to wipe out by bankruptc than other debts, and resulted in a huge windfall for banks, at the cost of wealth accumulation for student borrowers.
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/busting-myths-about-bankruptcy-and-private-student-loans/
The specifics of Student loan relief, changes in rules going forward, and how best to educate our citizens cost-effectively are TBD But clearly, financing education could be much better an fairer than now, and, once we choose and promise even an interim plan, profoundly attractive to current, former, and future student voters.
A Free or Very Low Cost International Online University
One obvious solution to future student debt is a government(s) subsidized, non-profit run, free or extremely inexpensive international online University, both for traditional degrees and technical training. For-Profit Universities, Khan Academy, even YouTube have shown the concept can work. This could be an IOU which gives an excellent education without a lot of debt It could not only provide a very affordable option for motivated students; its competition could perhaps lessen the skyrocketing costs of existing Universities.
Measures to Protect Renters, First Time Homebuyers, and Workers, Lessen Wealth Disparity, and Preserve the Middle Class
Other Issues?
Statehood for Washington DC and Puerto Rico?
Better Protections for Targeted Minorities?
Thank you for carefully considering this proposal.
If not this, what? If not now, when?
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