My direction currently is taken from what Joe Scarborough wrote the day after the November 8, 2017 elections in Virginia, in a Washington Post op-ed piece entitled Tuesday’s election proves it: American politics are a disaster.
In the piece, Scarborough discusses how "Democrats and Republicans have held a duopoly over Washington since Franklin Pierce got elected president in 1852" and how "political alignments that once endured decades of change have begun collapsing in two-year intervals."
Scarborough's diagnosis is "It seems the long-term political turbulence shaking the United States’ two-party system to its knees comes from the inability of either party to explain why working-class jobs keep leaving the country and why most Americans’ wages have stagnated for decades."
Scarborough concludes, "Even if Tuesday’s election begins the long process of removing the president from office, Americans will be left with the same corrosive system that led voters to take a chance on Trump. The only way to escape that cycle is to break apart the hyperpartisan two-party duopoly that has kept Washington too divided, too dysfunctional and too directionless for too long."
It is fair speculation that Scarborough is laying the groundwork to try to make a run for President in 2020, as an Independent.
I am supportive with Scarborough "to break apart the hyperpartisan two-party duopoly that has kept Washington too divided, too dysfunctional and too directionless for too long."
Whether anything close to that will happen in 2020 seems entirely speculative for now. Whether the 2018 elections will exhibit anything that will bolster the chances of something like that happening in 2020 is uncertain.
I have started a survey of Congressional candidates running as independents in 2018 and have not found much yet.
Until it comes to look like an exercise of complete futility, I will see what interest in independent Congressional candidates can be stimulated.
Update 12/13/17
Democrat Doug Jones won in Alabama last night. Full attention can now be turned to the 2018 mid-term elections. Everyone will have what they think and do about next year's elections. That includes me and this blog.
I am supportive with Scarborough "to break apart the hyperpartisan two-party duopoly that has kept Washington too divided, too dysfunctional and too directionless for too long."
Whether anything close to that will happen in 2020 seems entirely speculative for now. Whether the 2018 elections will exhibit anything that will bolster the chances of something like that happening in 2020 is uncertain.
I have started a survey of Congressional candidates running as independents in 2018 and have not found much yet.
Until it comes to look like an exercise of complete futility, I will see what interest in independent Congressional candidates can be stimulated.
Update 12/13/17
Democrat Doug Jones won in Alabama last night. Full attention can now be turned to the 2018 mid-term elections. Everyone will have what they think and do about next year's elections. That includes me and this blog.
I agree with Joe Scarborough's assessment that American politics are in a disastrous condition. See Disastrous American politics.
I think Trump is central to what will happen in 2018, I will go with what I said at Repubs all in with Trump, to wit:
Update 5/13/17
I have turned completely against Donald Trump. The reasons for this are detailed in numerous entries in my blogs. For accessing these: in this blog, start at Can Trump be President and read going forward; in my Trump Censure blog, start at the entry Trump Censure and read going forward; and in my Alabama focused blog, start at the entry Ivanka and Nordstrom and read going forward. I consider at this time Donald Trump being President as a frontline obstacle to achieving the goals of this blog, and I am currently dedicating my efforts to advocating for getting Donald Trump out of office, either by his voluntary resignation or by his impeachment.
Update 12/10/16: With Election Day 2016 having come and gone, and with Donald Trump having been elected as President, the efforts in this blog have shifted as set out at The 2018 citizens' unity Congress.
#DeclareForDemocracy is a citizen effort to get candidates who are running for Congress in 2016 to make the public declaration set forth below. The object of the declaration is to force Congress, before November 8, 2016, to confront whether or not Congress is badly corrupt* and pass reform for the American people to consider in casting their votes next November. (The rationale for this "Declaration" idea is set out at Rationale.)
A simple way for a candidate to make the declaration is to post the declaration on the candidate's website.
This effort needs citizens around the country to contact Congressional candidates, ask them to make the declaration, and stimulate constituent pressures on candidates to make the declaration.
Information about the effort will be reported in this blog. Tactics for the effort are set out at Tactics. A list of Congressional districts and states where there has been citizen activity is at Districts with activity. Early steps in the effort are reported at Progress. A google group has been created for exchanging information: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/2016congressionalcandidatesdeclarations. The archive menu at the right is cluttered and cumbersome. The Entry index is a chronological listing of blog entries that eliminates clutter and allows better accessing of this blog.
This blog is an offshoot of The Campaign Finance Reformers Blog.
I, _________, a candidate for the United States [House of Representatives in the __ Congressional district of __________] [Senate for the State of ______________] publicly declare that I believe the American people should use the 2016 elections to force Congress to confront whether or not Congress is badly corrupt* and to pass reform for the voters to consider in casting their votes in the 2016 elections. The voters in every Congressional district and State should say to their incumbent Representatives and Senators, "You need to tell us whether you think Congress is badly corrupt* or not, and, if you think it is, you need to press your colleagues in Congress to address the matter before November 8, 2016, and enact a reform for the American people to consider in casting their votes in the 2016 elections. If you do not do this, or if Congress passes reform that your constituents deem inadequate, you are at risk that your constituents will vote you out of office on November 8, 2016." I, ________, will communicate this declaration to my national, state and local [Democratic] [Republican] parties and to [Democratic] [Republican] incumbents and candidates for Congress throughout the country.
_____________
*Some readers have said that the wording of the declaration is poor, what the declaration is trying to get at is unclear, and "badly corrupt" is too vague and no candidate would be willing to make the declaration.
"Badly corrupt" is intended to get at: "Is something wrong with Congress that needs 'fixing', what is it, how bad is it, and how urgent is it?" There are numerous specific things that some people think are "wrong". These include, but are not limited to, the Citizens United case, the lack of term limits, and gerrymandering.
Further, the declaration contemplates that each candidate makes their own determination. That determination may be that nothing is badly wrong and nothing has great urgency for the country to "fix." Or, the candidate's determination may be that "such and such is badly wrong and the country should give priority attention to fixing it."
The object of the declaration is not to allow candidates to be silent and is to force them to speak, one way or the other.
I think Trump is central to what will happen in 2018, I will go with what I said at Repubs all in with Trump, to wit:
It is a messed up national situation with Donald Trump as President.As indicated below, a year ago I said I shifted my efforts to The 2018 citizens' unity Congress. I will proceed to pick that up.
Donald Trump may not care about anything but himself.
There is disarray, if not crisis, for the Republican and Democratic parties, which are divided within themselves and struggling to define who and what they represent.
The Republicans' situation is particularly complicated by Donald Trump's true beliefs and motivations being unknown and by his unpredictability.
In winning the 2016 election, Trump saw and appealed to deep seated disaffection of a significant segment of the population.
It is unclear, however, the extent to which Trump cynically exploited that disaffection in making a run for the Presidency, and whether he made promises he did not believe in and only craved the ultimate prize of the Presidency for his self-glorification and narcissism without ultimately caring about what happened to those who elected him.
In his ten months as President, Trump has done and said a lot of things that have proven to many people that Trump cares only about himself.
Trump continues with a strong base of support that seems unwavering in its belief in Trump and unfazed by anything Trump does or says. That base of support seems nowhere near concluding that Trump conned them. Time will tell on that.
In the meantime, Republicans in Congress are fearful for their future and subservient to Trump. They should have doubts about Trump but they dare not speak any doubt or concern about Trump, out of fear of Trump and of consequences for the Republican party if there are breaks in the ranks about Trump.
No one knows how the story of Trump will play out. It could be Trump will succeed in the course he is on, no matter how damaging to the well being of the country that some are seeing. Alternatively, it may end very badly someway, somehow, for Trump, there may be great damage to the country that becomes clear and that will take years to repair, and the Republicans may pay a big price for silence and complicity in not standing up against Trump.
Regardless, there is no getting out of the Republicans putting their bets on the table, and the Republicans right now are all in with Trump.
Update 5/13/17
I have turned completely against Donald Trump. The reasons for this are detailed in numerous entries in my blogs. For accessing these: in this blog, start at Can Trump be President and read going forward; in my Trump Censure blog, start at the entry Trump Censure and read going forward; and in my Alabama focused blog, start at the entry Ivanka and Nordstrom and read going forward. I consider at this time Donald Trump being President as a frontline obstacle to achieving the goals of this blog, and I am currently dedicating my efforts to advocating for getting Donald Trump out of office, either by his voluntary resignation or by his impeachment.
Update 12/10/16: With Election Day 2016 having come and gone, and with Donald Trump having been elected as President, the efforts in this blog have shifted as set out at The 2018 citizens' unity Congress.
#DeclareForDemocracy is a citizen effort to get candidates who are running for Congress in 2016 to make the public declaration set forth below. The object of the declaration is to force Congress, before November 8, 2016, to confront whether or not Congress is badly corrupt* and pass reform for the American people to consider in casting their votes next November. (The rationale for this "Declaration" idea is set out at Rationale.)
A simple way for a candidate to make the declaration is to post the declaration on the candidate's website.
This effort needs citizens around the country to contact Congressional candidates, ask them to make the declaration, and stimulate constituent pressures on candidates to make the declaration.
Information about the effort will be reported in this blog. Tactics for the effort are set out at Tactics. A list of Congressional districts and states where there has been citizen activity is at Districts with activity. Early steps in the effort are reported at Progress. A google group has been created for exchanging information: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/2016congressionalcandidatesdeclarations. The archive menu at the right is cluttered and cumbersome. The Entry index is a chronological listing of blog entries that eliminates clutter and allows better accessing of this blog.
This blog is an offshoot of The Campaign Finance Reformers Blog.
Declaration* for 2016 Congressional candidates to make
I, _________, a candidate for the United States [House of Representatives in the __ Congressional district of __________] [Senate for the State of ______________] publicly declare that I believe the American people should use the 2016 elections to force Congress to confront whether or not Congress is badly corrupt* and to pass reform for the voters to consider in casting their votes in the 2016 elections. The voters in every Congressional district and State should say to their incumbent Representatives and Senators, "You need to tell us whether you think Congress is badly corrupt* or not, and, if you think it is, you need to press your colleagues in Congress to address the matter before November 8, 2016, and enact a reform for the American people to consider in casting their votes in the 2016 elections. If you do not do this, or if Congress passes reform that your constituents deem inadequate, you are at risk that your constituents will vote you out of office on November 8, 2016." I, ________, will communicate this declaration to my national, state and local [Democratic] [Republican] parties and to [Democratic] [Republican] incumbents and candidates for Congress throughout the country.
_____________
*Some readers have said that the wording of the declaration is poor, what the declaration is trying to get at is unclear, and "badly corrupt" is too vague and no candidate would be willing to make the declaration.
"Badly corrupt" is intended to get at: "Is something wrong with Congress that needs 'fixing', what is it, how bad is it, and how urgent is it?" There are numerous specific things that some people think are "wrong". These include, but are not limited to, the Citizens United case, the lack of term limits, and gerrymandering.
Further, the declaration contemplates that each candidate makes their own determination. That determination may be that nothing is badly wrong and nothing has great urgency for the country to "fix." Or, the candidate's determination may be that "such and such is badly wrong and the country should give priority attention to fixing it."
The object of the declaration is not to allow candidates to be silent and is to force them to speak, one way or the other.
Let's get every candidate in every election, local, state and national, to 'see' the political importance of signing this declaration to Declare: I speak for the People, for all Citizens of this Great Country! Thank you to any candidate who declares he's 'for' campaign finance reform (and a 'representative' Democracy).
ReplyDeleteThe wording [and concept] is so confused and convoluted I am afraid, laudable as the bare idea may be, it will fail of its own clumsiness.
ReplyDeleteThanks James. Write it up in an alternative way, and let me consider what you propose.
DeleteI want to see them sign something legally enforcable so that we can charge them with treason for failing to fulfill their agreement in good faith with the people of their districts, and that such treason conviction makes them ineligible for federal office or licensing as any sort of consultant.
ReplyDeleteI also advocate for firm policy positions including but not limited to such as;
Campaign finance restriction, one source, public only, proportional to individual citizens signing petitions. Politicians can't be otherwise compensated, nor any money given to their campaigns or political action committees, or speaking fees while in office, or benefits of any value beyond median for the market provided.
There is far too much bullshit going on. It is the explicit and stated responsibility of representatives to advocate for policy in line with the objectively best good not only of their own constituents, but of the country at large. Failure to act rationally in good faith for the american people is grounds for treason of mental-medical suspension from office.
In correlation, lobbying is prohibited. It is the responsibility of the congressional staff to collect the best available information from our knowledgable society, and to reject the direct presentation of questionable information from sources affiliated with particular interests.
Campaigning restrictions: no sooner than 6 months before the election, with a 30 day quiet period before the election during which campaigning is not permitted.
Vote suppression removal: Any denial of somebody who is legally capable of voting from casting their vote is a civil rights violation charge against the poll workers who denied them their right to vote. Voting windows in federal elections will be at LEAST a week long, with long hours to enable all citizens to vote.
Party exceptionalism removal: There will be no privileged position on any ballot or in any public polling location or operation privileging any incumbent parties over any other parties.
Gerrymandering: Consistent rules will be formed to fairly and canonically draw up, with public review, the districts for all federal elections.
Proportional representation: Whereas the current simple system of single-member districts is inadequate to reflect the diverse population of this united states, amend the law (as in 5 stat 491) to require proportional representation systems as are found in best practice in the world today within all federally elected positions.
Federal direct voter participation by intention not policy: the amendment of the constitution to create a petitioning process whereby the american people can vote on a new kind of amendement which is a sort of mission statement for the result of policy. Congress will be mandated to create the law, the president to execute the law, and the judiciary to continually review and indicate failures to meet the mission forcing congress to further evolve the law-policy to allow the fulfillment of the mission.
That is a very tall order. Congress or convention of states is needed for such big changes, and getting either process to happen will be an uphill battle. Further, the outcomes of those processes would be unpredictable. The country can only try to forge ahead and take chances about what will happen. #DeclareForDemocracy is as good an approach as there is. All efforts need a massive amount of citizen mobilization.
Deletethe outcome of policy declarations is unpredictable, period, end of story. The statement of this fact implies a conservative standpoint, that somehow *not* changing is better than changing inherently. Any assumption that it will be predictable is unfortunate as the matter is destined to end up suboptimal at best and more bad than no policy change at all at worst.
DeleteYour declaration as suggested has no real consequences, neither stick nor carrot. What makes it in the best interest of the politician and the voters to sign onto this pledge on either side?
The declaration I want signed says "I promise I am not a Globalist. If I ever violate the Constitution or act to benefit global government in any way, you can strip me naked and abandon me in the middle of any ISIS headquarters located in Iran or Iraq."
ReplyDelete