*sigh*
So this is just a quick run-down of a dozen laws Congress needs to pass so that we 1) fix broken institutions and 2) never end up with another Trump. Clearly we can't be trusted with norms, so here are actual laws to replace them. Some of these I've mentioned in the past, but here goes:
1. Presidential candidates must disclose their health and tax records. Your privacy goes out the window on this one.
2. Failure to adhere to the emoluments clause or disclose financial ties becomes grounds for impeachment.
3. No more appointing family members to government positions. I like Bobby Kennedy as much as the next person, but we need, at the very least, a Congressional waiver that attests to their qualifications for the position they hold. Also anyone unable to get a security clearance after a background check is not allowed access to the building, after a six month grace period during which no red flags can show up in their record. White House entrance logs need to be public, too.
4. No more partisan gerrymandering. Hopefully the Supreme Court will do right by this this upcoming summer. If not Congress needs to get in there and fix it.
5. Get rid of barriers to voting - remove ID laws which disproportionately keep the poor and POC from voting, add same-day registration, make the day a paid holiday and insist employers give shift workers time off to vote, etc. On a related note: you can't have the Census ask about citizenship. (And you need to, you know, fund it properly.)
6. Insist that the one hour of requisite nightly news is free of advertisements. And, while we're talking FCC, ensure the internet is protected under the terms of net neutrality.
7. Amend the Constitution to specify that freedom of speech does not include corporations, nor the spending of money on elections. Get rid of PACs and overturn the ghastly Buckley, Citizens United, and McCutcheon decisions of the past twenty years. While we're at it let's get rid of lobbying, or make it so very transparent as to be off-putting.
8. On that note, replace PACs with publicly funded elections, which would be cheaper, more transparent, and less indebted to corporations and special interests. Over a certain threshold of support all candidates would get equal funds - this also applies to the airwaves, television spots, debates, and official internet presence.
9. Make D.C. and Puerto Rico (combined with the USVI) states. There are more Puerto Rican Americans than in 21 other states. This is bullshit. There are more Americans living in Puerto Rico and the USVI than Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, and both Dakotas combined. Even D.C., on the smallish side, is bigger than our two smallest states. Full and equal representation.
10. Make the Legislative body proportional again. The random cap at 435 is dumb. Instead we should make the proportion one Representative for every 500,000 people. Wyoming and Vermont are still safe, and California will actually be represented fairly. It would add about a hundred members (including Puerto Rico and D.C.'s now voting members).
11. Dereliction of duty. If the Legislative branch does not follow the guidelines of being a check to Executive power there needs to be a repercussion beyond 'censure' and such 18th-century niceties (which are rarely invoked anyway). In other words, if a Congress or members of Congress, fails to do their job, the next Congress can come in and whup their sorry butts. Barring members from holding office, prison time, fines - whatever. There needs to be an incentive to do their jobs. They can't ignore laws, and not impose clear constitutional and legal redress to Executive overreach.
12. A Constitutional amendment to get rid of the Electoral College. This keeps fucking us. Time to get rid of it. The popular vote should have the say-so in the 21st century. At the very, very least they need to insist on the Nebraska and Maine system being adopted nationwide, where a state's electoral votes can be split among parties, so it's not winner take all. But really, we should just can it.
These twelve laws, including two constitutional amendments (freedom of speech and the electoral college), would actually fix the system. We would see government start humming again, and *gasp horror* getting things done on major issues like, say, gun control. Global warming. Education reform. The minimum wage. Immigration.
You know, little things.
So this is just a quick run-down of a dozen laws Congress needs to pass so that we 1) fix broken institutions and 2) never end up with another Trump. Clearly we can't be trusted with norms, so here are actual laws to replace them. Some of these I've mentioned in the past, but here goes:
1. Presidential candidates must disclose their health and tax records. Your privacy goes out the window on this one.
2. Failure to adhere to the emoluments clause or disclose financial ties becomes grounds for impeachment.
3. No more appointing family members to government positions. I like Bobby Kennedy as much as the next person, but we need, at the very least, a Congressional waiver that attests to their qualifications for the position they hold. Also anyone unable to get a security clearance after a background check is not allowed access to the building, after a six month grace period during which no red flags can show up in their record. White House entrance logs need to be public, too.
4. No more partisan gerrymandering. Hopefully the Supreme Court will do right by this this upcoming summer. If not Congress needs to get in there and fix it.
5. Get rid of barriers to voting - remove ID laws which disproportionately keep the poor and POC from voting, add same-day registration, make the day a paid holiday and insist employers give shift workers time off to vote, etc. On a related note: you can't have the Census ask about citizenship. (And you need to, you know, fund it properly.)
6. Insist that the one hour of requisite nightly news is free of advertisements. And, while we're talking FCC, ensure the internet is protected under the terms of net neutrality.
7. Amend the Constitution to specify that freedom of speech does not include corporations, nor the spending of money on elections. Get rid of PACs and overturn the ghastly Buckley, Citizens United, and McCutcheon decisions of the past twenty years. While we're at it let's get rid of lobbying, or make it so very transparent as to be off-putting.
8. On that note, replace PACs with publicly funded elections, which would be cheaper, more transparent, and less indebted to corporations and special interests. Over a certain threshold of support all candidates would get equal funds - this also applies to the airwaves, television spots, debates, and official internet presence.
9. Make D.C. and Puerto Rico (combined with the USVI) states. There are more Puerto Rican Americans than in 21 other states. This is bullshit. There are more Americans living in Puerto Rico and the USVI than Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, and both Dakotas combined. Even D.C., on the smallish side, is bigger than our two smallest states. Full and equal representation.
10. Make the Legislative body proportional again. The random cap at 435 is dumb. Instead we should make the proportion one Representative for every 500,000 people. Wyoming and Vermont are still safe, and California will actually be represented fairly. It would add about a hundred members (including Puerto Rico and D.C.'s now voting members).
11. Dereliction of duty. If the Legislative branch does not follow the guidelines of being a check to Executive power there needs to be a repercussion beyond 'censure' and such 18th-century niceties (which are rarely invoked anyway). In other words, if a Congress or members of Congress, fails to do their job, the next Congress can come in and whup their sorry butts. Barring members from holding office, prison time, fines - whatever. There needs to be an incentive to do their jobs. They can't ignore laws, and not impose clear constitutional and legal redress to Executive overreach.
12. A Constitutional amendment to get rid of the Electoral College. This keeps fucking us. Time to get rid of it. The popular vote should have the say-so in the 21st century. At the very, very least they need to insist on the Nebraska and Maine system being adopted nationwide, where a state's electoral votes can be split among parties, so it's not winner take all. But really, we should just can it.
These twelve laws, including two constitutional amendments (freedom of speech and the electoral college), would actually fix the system. We would see government start humming again, and *gasp horror* getting things done on major issues like, say, gun control. Global warming. Education reform. The minimum wage. Immigration.
You know, little things.
