01/04/2008

So recently, there has been a trend to earlier and earlier campaigning; the often termed "perpetual" campaign. Indeed, even in orientation sessions in the House of Represeantitives, the statement is made that "if you haven't already started fund raising for your re-election, you're behind." With this sort of attitude, when do they actually get work done? The last several terms of congress have been among the least productive in history. Why? Well, partly because our congressmen don't actually spend that much time doing their jobs anymore. They're too busy fund raising and campaigning. The "professional politician" has got to go.

The current Presidential campaign began formally LITTERALLY the day after the last general election and has been going on for over a year. It is now January, a full 11 months from the general election and we're already having Presidential primary elections with states wanting to move them further and further ahead. Well, I have news for all of you in Iowa and New Hampshire and all the other Eastern states: YOU DON'T SPEAK FOR ME!

I want to put an end to this insanity by proposing the following legislation:

Primary elections for congressional and presidential candidacies shall be held by all states and territories on the first Tuesday in August. This primary election shall be conducted solely by secret ballot with the outcome determined purely by popular vote. The normal rules that otherwise govern the conduct of general elections shall apply to the primary elections.

It shall be prohibited for a candidate to formally declare intent, raise funds, campaign, advertise their compaign by signage, print or broadcast media, or any other form prior to March 15th of that election year. These restrictions shall also apply to all individuals and organizations seeking to promote a candidate or act on their behalf. To do so will subject that individual or individuals to potential fines, restrictions on where and how they may conduct their campaign, and at the suffrance of their party leadership even result in them forfeiting their eligibility to be considered as a candidate for that party.

The idea behind this is to force the politicians to forget about campaigning and fund raising until an appropriate time and do something novel: sit in their chairs and do the jobs we as tax payers are paying them to do with the secondary objective of getting them to shut up and leave us alone for a while.

The stated time frame still allows a 5 month buildup to the primary election. Since campaigns can and do take a while to get off the ground, this allows plenty of time for the candidates to establish an even playing field. Why 5 months? Well, if a candidate spends 1 day in each of the 50 states, thats nearly two full months without even a day off. Add a month for getting things up to speed and that leaves 2 months for fund raising activities and the like. There has to be SOME time to get things done but I will say that I'm not certain that it's still too long. Certainly, this is the longest time that I would want to see. For those who survive the primary election, this allows a further 3 months for a total of nearly 8 full months of compainging before the general election. This is plenty of time to get their message across.

The American people are actually tired of listening to political adds, debates, interviews, and speeches. I know many people who refused to even pay attention during 2007 because it was just TOO MUCH. It's time for this insanity to end. If this is a proposal that you agree with, forward it on to your congressman. Require change, DEMAND it.

During the last presidential election year, I did not even particupate in my state's primary election because by that time, there was no point. Anyone who even attempted to oppose President Bush had dropped out by the time it came around and there simply wasn't anyone left to vote for, despite the fact that I wanted someone -- ANYONE-- to run against him and was most certainly not alone in that sentiment. Such was also the case during the previous election. By the time it got around to my state, the decision had basically already been made and my voice was not heard. THIS IS NOT FAIR! It says that the oppinions of the people in my state in determining who is eligible to run for the highest office in the land DO NOT MATTER! Well, here's something you who support the current policies might want to consider... How can a candidate claim to be represantative of the people when a large part of the people don't get to say "yay" or "nay" to their candidacy in the first place? You may find that those who live in a given state know far more about what their state needs and who can best provide that than those who live elsewhere. The people in my state have different views on many topics than the people in your state. Your candidate may not be suitable to be my candidate but right now, many states are not allowed to voice their oppinions propperly. Immagine what would happen if they were actually allowed to have their say. The candidates would be forced to consider these additional points of view and would be forced to stand before these people and justify their run for office. Think of it... we just might actually have a president who we can support for a change instead of one who is generally considered to be worth less than their weight in manuer! (And yes, I'm a registered republican and still feel that way about the current President.)

Lets finaly put an end to the madness.