I've been thinking about this for a while now and this forum seems like the perfect place to get feedback on some of these ideas, and hear any new ones anyone cares to present. Please keep in mind that I'm not trying to start a debate or flame war, and I hope that the community can respect that intent and keep discussions and disagreements (as I'm sure there will be a few) as civil, courteous, and respectful as possible. This is my first post on these boards so I'd rather hate to state out with a bad note. --- 1) Holding a political office should be a privilege - not a career. The position should be paid enough to help support the individual and their family, but the individual should remain as a working, contributing member of society where all possible so as not to lose touch with the needs of the common American citizen. 2) All political positions should have term restrictions. Up to two four year terms as president, four two year terms as a Senator/Congressman, etc -- and only so long as the favor of the people remains with you. 3) All political offices should be supplied with Fact Checkers, who through independent research and investigation explore and verify information presented to them (such as unemployment rates, the impact an industry has on local, state, and national levels, etc, etc) who will serve in a duel-purpose Quality Assurance and Advisory position. 4) Delegates should be done away with. The American people should be entrusted to make their own decisions, and the overall percentage of voters across the nation be taken into account more than the number of states an election candidate can win. I understand fully that the "system of points" was put in place to keep politicians from catering to the needs of the populace states while ignoring the least populated ones - but I believe at this point that the delegate system is flawed and in several cases the delegate's votes do not represent the will of the people. 5) No person affiliated with any governing office should be lobbied to, solicited to, solicited by, contracted with, supported by, sponsored by, or affiliated with any organization to which that individual has belonged to for less than 5 years preceding their entrance into office. (I've no qualm against a businessman running for office - what I don't want is someone who wins an office being influenced by someone who DIDN'T win that office, and has no right to it). 6) Money will always equal power for those willing to abuse it - but every perceivable measure to maintain the integrity of government should be taken. The concept of a percentage based flat tax across all income brackets are only ever fought by the upper 2% of the population who pay virtually nothing in taxes because they have such an influencing hand in government they (and proceeding generations) have allowed for a system of loopholes and tax-cuts for the wealthiest of Americans to exist. The will of the top few percent should not override that of the vast majority of Americans. Yes, they may more money - but they should not have enough political influence to simply ignore 98% of their countrymen. 7) No propaganda-based media should be allowed to circulate in support of, or aggression towards, any political party, candidate, or office. It is not my goal to limit freedom of speech, but I believe fully that campaigns should be run honestly and that the American populace has the right to accurate unbiased information. A concerned citizen should not have to dig through mounds of uncredited hearsay and extremist opinion before finding a verifiable fact about a person they're considering entrusting political office to. Biased media makes it far to easy for candidates to manipulate Americans who are unable to, unsure how, or unaware aware that they need, to research the candidates for themselves and make informed decisions based upon proven history and track records. It is an insult to our entire country that a completely unfounded scare campaign in the hands of the right demographic can shape the next few years of the country. The notion of "separation of church and state" has been faulted for many years. To various degrees, we are unable to completely separate on the grounds that many of our legal principals are based around religious tenants (such as my county forbidding the sell of alcohol on Sundays, or virtually any political rally opening up on a prayer). Over the past few decades these religious ties have become clumsily non-denominational in their disclaimer, but still clearly Christian in their procedure. I support the full separation of Church and State as I believe it is the only way that every American Citizen will be treated fairly. I reach this opinion largely because in a time of extreme economic crisis, war, a non-competitive national education system, and an increasingly large separation from traditional patriotism -- we have more important issues on the table than gay marriage. The road separating church and state is very much a one way road, as most anyone affiliated with the church will be quick to admit, and even defend. Regardless of how unfair it is the atheist, the Jew, the Muslim, or anyone else who happens to live in the country of religious freedom - government is very heavily influenced by the church, especially at the street level where the churches can spread any level of propaganda they want without ever being required to present facts in defense of their position. You usually see these messages postered all over town in the form of "Vote NO on #7!" and "Vote YES on Amendment 15!" without ever telling you what it is they're wanting you to vote for. I support many ideals and notions from a variety of religions and belief systems - but I still would not want any single one to influence government without regulation. I also believe that any entity which refuses to be held accountable by government standard should not be allowed to influence government standard. If you refuse to pay taxes, you refuse the services those taxes provide. I'm not suggesting that we cut off your government funded emergency services (although I do find it particularly odd that in many cities, when a "Mega Church" gets out, it's attendees often get priority over all the cars that are already on the road thanks to a Tax-Paid Police Officer directing traffic) - but I do believe we should not allow religions to influence their followers politically as it undermines the follower's RIGHT and DUTY to make an informed decision at the polls. 9) Every political office should answer to the people. If a politician introduces a bill, for example, that the American people are considerably against (such as SOPA), the politician should be required, upon request, to present his or her reasoning behind it, along with any references and sources cited. I say this because a politician who is using incorrect information or malicious outside influence in his or her decision making process has either failed to understand and utilizes the resources and Fact Checkers available to them, or that they have KNOWINGLY supported a bill that the vast majority of Americans are against, knowing it's fully implications and various economic/regional/social/foreign/etc impacts any such act or bill may have. After all - it is the DUTY of every political office to reflect the will of the majority: those found to be unwilling or unable to do so, should not be in office.
