1.) Pass the "National Popular Vote" in NY, CA, TX, OR, GA, CT, RI, LA, AL, MN, IA, & MO.
2.) Vote for President & Vice President of the United States of America.
3.) Sit back and relax knowing that your vote has a weight equal to any other voter. At the same time feel less disenfranchised by the process. If you live anywhere other than a "swing" state, you can take comfort in knowing that your vote was neither taken for granted nor worthless.
4.) Call a Constitutional Convention or initiate the Amendment Process in Congress.
5.) Repeal the 17th Amendment - return the election of Senators to the State Governments they represent, thus partially weakening the stranglehold party leadership has over Senate votes making them instead accountable to the State legislatures/Governors who are dealing with the practical realities of governance and balanced budgets (also strengthening the relationship between State Legislators and their constituents). While we are at it make it explicitly clear that the fillibuster be expunged. To quote Jefferson: "The first principle of republicanism is that the lex majoris partis is the fundamental law of every society of individuals of equal rights; to consider the will of the society enounced by the majority of a single vote as sacred as if unanimous is the first of all lessons in importance, yet the last which is thoroughly learnt. This law once disregarded, no other remains but that of force, which ends necessarily in military despotism."
6.) Amend The Constitution to nationally elect Representatives by party. Let's face it, political parties exist. Instead of a long, sordid, and frustrating series of Scozzafavas, let voters choose instead of the lesser of three evils, but the best of many options. Here's how it works: We establish a system of recognizing national political parties. Maybe they look like this: The Democratic-Farmer-Laborers, The Tea Party, The Christian Coalition, The Green Party, The Blue Dog Democrats, The Progressive Caucus, The Fiscal Conservatives, The American Socialists, The Grand Ol' Party. Perhaps to be recognized as a party you need to collect signatures from 1/2 of 1/435th of nationally registered voters. Then each party submits an ordered list of 435 Candidates and campaigns for votes nationwide. Each voter chooses one party and seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned to the parties in proportion with their national vote share. For example, if a party receives 11% of the vote share, the top 48 names from that party's list will become Representatives. Every two years this process is revisited and voters won't need to hold their nose so much to re-elect someone who didn't represent them but instead could support a different party which they find more appealing (again feeling less disenfranchised by the process). It is a terrible mistake to let the redundancy of geographic districting be the defining characteristic which allies voters together. This might have made sense in 1776 when as a practical matter geographical relationships dominated; such is no longer the case. We should keep geographical relationships relevant for the election of our State Legislatures, but remove these illogical and often gerrymandered anachronisms.
7.) While we are amending the Constitution, lets make clear how we feel about corporations and personhood. Money in politics should only come from citizens choosing to invest in political advocacy. Publicly traded corporations have no business making political contributions, campaigning for issues, or lobbying at all for that matter. Businesses are perfectly suited to adapt to changing political conditions. Similarly, employee unions may have a responsibility to advocate for their members, but probably shouldn't be in the business of making political contributions with mandatory dues. They can reasonably solicit voluntary political contributions and channel those funds to political actions. The same can probably be said for religious institutions, non-profits, co-ops, etc.
2.) Vote for President & Vice President of the United States of America.
3.) Sit back and relax knowing that your vote has a weight equal to any other voter. At the same time feel less disenfranchised by the process. If you live anywhere other than a "swing" state, you can take comfort in knowing that your vote was neither taken for granted nor worthless.
4.) Call a Constitutional Convention or initiate the Amendment Process in Congress.
5.) Repeal the 17th Amendment - return the election of Senators to the State Governments they represent, thus partially weakening the stranglehold party leadership has over Senate votes making them instead accountable to the State legislatures/Governors who are dealing with the practical realities of governance and balanced budgets (also strengthening the relationship between State Legislators and their constituents). While we are at it make it explicitly clear that the fillibuster be expunged. To quote Jefferson: "The first principle of republicanism is that the lex majoris partis is the fundamental law of every society of individuals of equal rights; to consider the will of the society enounced by the majority of a single vote as sacred as if unanimous is the first of all lessons in importance, yet the last which is thoroughly learnt. This law once disregarded, no other remains but that of force, which ends necessarily in military despotism."
6.) Amend The Constitution to nationally elect Representatives by party. Let's face it, political parties exist. Instead of a long, sordid, and frustrating series of Scozzafavas, let voters choose instead of the lesser of three evils, but the best of many options. Here's how it works: We establish a system of recognizing national political parties. Maybe they look like this: The Democratic-Farmer-Laborers, The Tea Party, The Christian Coalition, The Green Party, The Blue Dog Democrats, The Progressive Caucus, The Fiscal Conservatives, The American Socialists, The Grand Ol' Party. Perhaps to be recognized as a party you need to collect signatures from 1/2 of 1/435th of nationally registered voters. Then each party submits an ordered list of 435 Candidates and campaigns for votes nationwide. Each voter chooses one party and seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned to the parties in proportion with their national vote share. For example, if a party receives 11% of the vote share, the top 48 names from that party's list will become Representatives. Every two years this process is revisited and voters won't need to hold their nose so much to re-elect someone who didn't represent them but instead could support a different party which they find more appealing (again feeling less disenfranchised by the process). It is a terrible mistake to let the redundancy of geographic districting be the defining characteristic which allies voters together. This might have made sense in 1776 when as a practical matter geographical relationships dominated; such is no longer the case. We should keep geographical relationships relevant for the election of our State Legislatures, but remove these illogical and often gerrymandered anachronisms.
7.) While we are amending the Constitution, lets make clear how we feel about corporations and personhood. Money in politics should only come from citizens choosing to invest in political advocacy. Publicly traded corporations have no business making political contributions, campaigning for issues, or lobbying at all for that matter. Businesses are perfectly suited to adapt to changing political conditions. Similarly, employee unions may have a responsibility to advocate for their members, but probably shouldn't be in the business of making political contributions with mandatory dues. They can reasonably solicit voluntary political contributions and channel those funds to political actions. The same can probably be said for religious institutions, non-profits, co-ops, etc.
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