Do your civic duty GRM

Sine_Qua_Non wrote:

tuna55 wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote:

wbjones wrote: I just wish there were candidates worthy of my vote either party

Gah! No offense to you, but this attitude drives me nuts! In many cases there are Independent candidates, or Libertarian Party candidates, or whatever, even a write-in. If enough people vote for candidates outside the two-party charade, maybe we can initiate some much-needed change!

My third party guy is a convicted felon and reality tv star. He was in politics in this state before and left because if the whole "felon" thing.

That A hole shouldn't be allowed to run for anything.

Yeah dude. My favorite quote from him is "Turns out I wasn't addicted to cocaine, I just really liked the smell" or some such drivel. I have never seen a real political race where I couldn't pick one decent candidate.

I nominate Tuna for President in 2016. Every GRMer should vote for him. However, he must promise to only serve one term, and not seek re-election.

yamaha wrote: In reply to Flight Service: I prefer voting for the better person and who will do the best job. Party lines don't really matter as much as competence and willingness to actually do their damn job.

the problem with that (and I'd like it to be the way you say) is that the only link we have to them is their ads … most, if not all, are neg. bitching about their opponents … seldom do we get a true understanding of the persons actual character

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I nominate Tuna for President in 2016. Every GRMer should vote for him. However, he must promise to only serve one term, and not seek re-election.

The pay bump would allow me to finish the truck lickity split and then enter the Challenge finally.

I approve of this message.

racerdave600 wrote: The real answer to all of this is term limits. I personally think every political office should be limited to 8 years, no matter if it is federal, local or state. There should be zero career politicians, and no one should get benefits for life, except maybe the president. It will never happen, but if it did, you may see people more interested in the actual country than what they can line their pockets with, and those of their friends.

You really don't want that. It causes chaos in places where it's put in. Instead of people who have to compromise so that they can work and keep their seats- the result is far, far more battling- as limiters have nothing to lose.

We've had it here in Michigan for a little while and I hate it.

The only reason that people want it is so that the guy in some other district isn't voted back in. Or that they are in the minority in their district and want a better chance.

A more effective way of getting them to change is getting the voters more interested and engaged. That doesn't happen due to the horrible polarization of the voters. IMHO, that would be fixed better by having open primaries- where you have ALL candidates run during a primary, and then the top 2 have a run off at the end. That should attract more than the fringes during primaries AND the candidates would probably be more centerist.

I'm not sure why it's evil to be a career politician- I would not want to, and I doubt many others would, too. To have someone who actually studies public policy, and finds ways to compromise- and enjoys doing that for a living- that seems like a good thing.

I read a sci fi novel many years ago and kinda liked the premise.

With the level of technology we have today we could go to a system of direct Republic rather than representative Democracy. Each morning the first thing each citizen does with their computer/tablet/phone/etc is vote of the issues to be decided that day. No more electing some weasel who's stated views are the least objectionable to the lowest common denominator.

And for executive positions which require an actual person. A system closer to jury duty where qualified (reasonably inteligent law abiding) citizens are randomly chosen to lead for a term. Just imagine getting a summons to be vice president for the next 4 years and being annoyed because it gets in the way of your real life!

alfadriver wrote: I'm not sure why it's evil to be a career politician- I would not want to, and I doubt many others would, too. To have someone who actually studies public policy, and finds ways to compromise- and enjoys doing that for a living- that seems like a good thing.

Sounds great. Let us know when you can find enough of those to take a reasonable shot at running a government.

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I nominate Tuna for President in 2016. Every GRMer should vote for him. However, he must promise to only serve one term, and not seek re-election.

Whatever. I heard tunas breath smells like cat food. Mndsm 2016!

Elect me as Grand Merikan Leader and I'll revamp our campaign finance laws----

First thing I'll do is throw out the Citizens United Ruling

Second thing would be to institute publicly funded elections. Want to run for Senator? Fine--- collect (X) number of signatures to prove you have a following. The top 10 candidates will receive (X) amount of $$ for campaign purposes. Television debates would have to include all candidates.

If a candidate (or incumbent) is found to have received contributions from any outside source---- it's treason. After all what they are doing is threatening U.S. security by accepting $$ from illegal sources. The punishment would be death. Ok.....maybe a minimum 10 years in prison---with no chance of early parole.

Also--- no politician would be allowed to lobby after their term ended.

This should weed out the "career' politicians who are doing it for their own benefit---not the benefit of the country.

Now I just need a running mate.......

I swear, the first politician I find running for office that DOESN'T tell me anything about their opponent … doesn't tell me what a terrible person their opponent is … focuses TOTALLY on what they stand for, what they'll do if elected (even if I don't believe them) will get my vote .. regardless what party … regardless how diametrically opposite their politics are to mine ….

I WILL VOTE FOR THEM … odds are I'll never have to make good on this promise

Joe Gearin wrote: Elect me as Grand Merikan Leader and I'll revamp our campaign finance laws---- First thing I'll do is throw out the Citizens United Ruling Second thing would be to institute publicly funded elections. Want to run for Senator? Fine--- collect (X) number of signatures to prove you have a following. The top 10 candidates will receive (X) amount of $$ for campaign purposes. Television debates would have to include all candidates. If a candidate (or incumbent) is found to have received contributions from any outside source---- it's treason. After all what they are doing is threatening U.S. security by accepting $$ from illegal sources. The punishment would be death. Ok.....maybe a minimum 10 years in prison---with no chance of early parole. Also--- no politician would be allowed to lobby after their term ended. This should weed out the "career' politicians who are doing it for their own benefit---not the benefit of the country. Now I just need a running mate.......

treason would be hard. I think you mean sedition. And for the record I think you could make a good case for everyone of the lying asshats that shut down the government.

the lobbying thing is where you would get hemmed up. That is the only reason to be a politician.