Our first solutions-oriented show last night focused on political reform. What do we need to do to get real change in the country? We focused on ideas, not bashing. We need a populist party, maybe several of them. To be successful and gain real power, they need a definable agenda.
Campaign finance reform is a must, as is lowering the bar for entry. Steve Hynd explained how in Britain that anyone can run for Parliament simply by putting up a few hundred pounds. No complicated signature gathering (which can cost serious money) is required. There are no serious regulatory hurdles and by law, all parties get equal representation on the BBC. This is hugely important as it gives access to all by the Monster Raving Loony Party as well as the others. (Frankly, I think we need far more politicians who are honest about being raving loonies.) So, access to running for office and access to mass media for all parties and candidates is crucial.
More members in the House. Maybe double or triple the size. This can be done without a constitutional amendment and would make the representatives more accountable. Perhaps the whole concept should be changed to being a delegate not a representative. Delegates vote based on what their electorate tells them. They can be recalled easily. Some unions already do this. Our House of Representatives should too.
No more cult of personality! Political campaigns need to be focused on issues not personalities or the mechanics of the election.
Class. We need to discuss it. We have self-perpetuating political families and almost all members of Congress are millionaires, often many times over. They will vote for their class. The US pretends class doesn’t exist. But it does.
Future shows will continue our discussions on political reform, as well as domestic and foreign policy reform.
Lots more too!
With Steve Hynd , Keith Boyea, and myself. Listen to the show on BlogTalkRadio or on iTunes.
I’d add that we should have much shorter campaign season. A month perhaps but no more.
And we should have complete public financing where media organizations are required, by law, to give each candidate X amount of air time or ad size to say exactly what they want. Money should be removed from the process completely except as this should be fully taxpayer funded, completely undercutting the rich elitists way of controlling government elections.
I’m not so sure about not requiring enough signatures to allow someone on a ballot. It does show willingness to do some real work for the position but it also opens up the possibility for threatening a campaign’s workers. So, I don’t know. All such work is frequently volunteer anyway so I don’t buy the argument that it’s expensive except from that worker’s time.
All good ideas. FYI: In California, signatures gatherers are often paid and may have no interest in the campaign itself.