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Spreading good ideas with someone you know is one of the simplest things we can do to improve the conversation.

  • Jamie Tyroler
    Jamie Tyroler replied on 08:54 PM on July 23, 2008
    I do feel that the US political system is fatally flawed - I don't think we need to scrap it and try something else - it can be saved, but only if enough people try to correct the flaws. We have, as an example, the same number of US Representatives that we had when the population was 1/2 of the current level. Some politicians do try to make the effort in being "responsive" to their constituents' needs, but, let's be realistic, a corporation in my congressional district is going to have more sway with my elected officials on all levels than I could possibly have. I think we need a system that encourages more people to be involved - not just those who have the finances and connections to wage a campaign every 2, 4, or 6 years. I think something along the lines of precinct level bodies that are held accountable by people living in the precinct. I also think that we need to have the ability to recall elected officials if they do not serve the needs of the people who have elected them. For example, I think many members of the Bush Administration should have been impeached, but there are members of Congress who refuse to consider those charges. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the Speaker of the House, has stated that impeachment is "off the table". Rep. Pelosi is not my elected official, but because of her leadership position, she is preventing one of the methods of government accountability. The people living in her Congressional district should have the ability to hold a recall election. Although she might not be recalled, she might reconsider her position. In our current system, she (and almost every elected official) are not held accountable for their actions. The government of the United States serves the citizens, not the other way around, but with a 90-something percent retention rate, our elected officials basically serve the people who help them raise the millions of dollars to run their next campaign.
  • Jamie Tyroler
    Jamie Tyroler replied on 12:54 AM on July 24, 2008
    I do feel that the US political system is fatally flawed - I don't think we need to scrap it and try something else - it can be saved, but only if enough people try to correct the flaws. We have, as an example, the same number of US Representatives that we had when the population was 1/2 of the current level.

    Some politicians do try to make the effort in being "responsive" to their constituents' needs, but, let's be realistic, a corporation in my congressional district is going to have more sway with my elected officials on all levels than I could possibly have.

    I think we need a system that encourages more people to be involved - not just those who have the finances and connections to wage a campaign every 2, 4, or 6 years. I think something along the lines of precinct level bodies that are held accountable by people living in the precinct.

    I also think that we need to have the ability to recall elected officials if they do not serve the needs of the people who have elected them. For example, I think many members of the Bush Administration should have been impeached, but there are members of Congress who refuse to consider those charges. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the Speaker of the House, has stated that impeachment is "off the table". Rep. Pelosi is not my elected official, but because of her leadership position, she is preventing one of the methods of government accountability. The people living in her Congressional district should have the ability to hold a recall election. Although she might not be recalled, she might reconsider her position. In our current system, she (and almost every elected official) are not held accountable for their actions.

    The government of the United States serves the citizens, not the other way around, but with a 90-something percent retention rate, our elected officials basically serve the people who help them raise the millions of dollars to run their next campaign.

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