J_White
05-31-2012, 02:16 AM
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/30/opinion/beale-elections/index.html
I most of all like the third one.
1. Make the presidency a six-year, one-term-only gig. That gives anyone elected to the job plenty of time to actually accomplish something, while also guaranteeing that the second half of his or her term won't be spent running for re-election. What a concept.
2. Start the campaign season after Labor Day. Most industrialized countries run political campaigns that are three months in length or less. Do they know something we don't? Or should I say, have you ever heard the term "voter exhaustion?"
3. Publicly finance the election. Citizens United, up there with Plessy v. Ferguson (separate but equal) as one of the worst decisions in Supreme Court history, only made a bad system even worse, allowing more millions to pour into an already corrupt process. So give each contender a fixed amount of money, and tell them they can spent it any way they want, but that's all they'll have -- no private, corporate or PAC contributions at all. Let 'em whine. Who cares?
4. Ban negative ads. Believe it or not, Mexico does this. They have an independent commission deciding when a political ad goes over the line into negativity and falsehood. If they can do it South of the Border, why can't we?
5. Limit polling. It seems there's a new poll every microsecond. What do they really tell us? That people's minds keep changing? Stop the presses on that one! Pass a law saying every news organization and polling organization can only do their thing, say, once a month. Eliminate the clutter.
I most of all like the third one.
1. Make the presidency a six-year, one-term-only gig. That gives anyone elected to the job plenty of time to actually accomplish something, while also guaranteeing that the second half of his or her term won't be spent running for re-election. What a concept.
2. Start the campaign season after Labor Day. Most industrialized countries run political campaigns that are three months in length or less. Do they know something we don't? Or should I say, have you ever heard the term "voter exhaustion?"
3. Publicly finance the election. Citizens United, up there with Plessy v. Ferguson (separate but equal) as one of the worst decisions in Supreme Court history, only made a bad system even worse, allowing more millions to pour into an already corrupt process. So give each contender a fixed amount of money, and tell them they can spent it any way they want, but that's all they'll have -- no private, corporate or PAC contributions at all. Let 'em whine. Who cares?
4. Ban negative ads. Believe it or not, Mexico does this. They have an independent commission deciding when a political ad goes over the line into negativity and falsehood. If they can do it South of the Border, why can't we?
5. Limit polling. It seems there's a new poll every microsecond. What do they really tell us? That people's minds keep changing? Stop the presses on that one! Pass a law saying every news organization and polling organization can only do their thing, say, once a month. Eliminate the clutter.