The Question Is, Do You Want To Keep It?

In last week's column I highlighted comments made to the Financial Times of London by U.S.
Comptroller General David Walker in which he compared the current political, social, and economic
situation in the United States to that of the Roman Empire shortly before its collapse.

I heard from a number of readers in response to the column… Democrats, Republicans, and
Libertarians. While a couple of folks used the opportunity to plug a particular presidential candidate or
legislative issue, almost all were in agreement that things in our nation must change drastically and
quickly.

Despite a booming economy, low unemployment, and a stock market near record highs… most
people feel a sense of gloom and a greater disconnect from their government than I have ever
witnessed. This is verified in a recent Reuters/Zogby poll that shows President Bush's approval rating
falling to 24%. Think that's bad? Nancy Pelosi's Democrat congress has an approval rating of only
11%.

If you drill down deep into various polling data, you'll find that most Americans are furious with Bush
over his failure to deal with illegal immigration. Then you have liberals who want us out of Iraq and
conservatives who believe Bush didn't allow the military to hit hard enough in the first few months of the
war and now we have a quagmire. Then we have continued runaway federal spending by donkeys and
elephants.

In response Democrats gained control of both houses of Congress, only to have America say, "Hey we
let you in because we were mad at Bush and the GOP… not because we want socialism." Many
Americans feel as though they now have no voice remaining in national matters.

For the next few minutes let's lay aside political party, economic status, race, religion, and all the
other multitude of differences that politicians are all too adept at exploiting. Keep an open mind and
look at each issue from the standpoint of what is good for the long-term health of our nation even if it
negatively impacts you personally. Here are some changes that might help America reverse course.

Money In Politics: Only allow federal candidates to receive contributions from individuals, and that
would be capped at $2,000 per contributor per election cycle. No more political action committee
donations. No more money spent by political parties or third parties on behalf of candidates… and
wealthy candidates could only spend one dollar of their own money for every ten they raise from
others.

Term Limits: I've never been sold on the idea, but obviously Congress would not pass restrictions on
campaign contributions like those above, so I guess our next step is to force them out after a few
years.

Abolish The 17th Amendment: Under the U.S. Constitution as adopted the people elected U.S.
House members to represent their interests. However the public did not vote for their U.S. Senators.
The senators were appointed by their respective state legislatures to represent and protect the
interests of the various state governments. This was designed to keep the federal government from
overreaching with unfunded mandates that would unduly burden the states, etc. However, in 1913 the
17th Amendment was passed that allowed public election of the Senate and it has been all downhill
from there.

Change the Presidency: It's ridiculous for the next presidential campaign to start the day after a
president is sworn in for his term of office. Let's elect our Presidents to a single six-year term, and
prevent potential candidates from raising money or forming exploratory committees until twelve months
before the next general election.

Additionally there is no Constitutional right to vote in a presidential primary, though most states hold
them. Let's abolish primaries and let each political party hold conventions at the state level to select
delegates. Then the national party conventions would once again become the place where nominees
are chosen instead of being the obscene beauty contests we have today. Hold the national
conventions in July and the presidential nominees would then have at least three months to
campaign… no more of these four-year long debacles.

Re-Constitutionalize The Federal Government: I'm not sure if re-constitutionlize is even a word,
but I'll take credit for it. Somebody drop a line to Webster's for me. Our founders envisioned each state
as an incubator for new ideas with the Constitution guaranteeing free trade between the states.

Current federal programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, SCHIP and other entitlements… or even
federal funding of education or transportation should have never have been allowed constitutionally. As
envisioned by our founders, states would compete against each other on tax rates, social programs,
etc. If New York wants to provide healthcare for all of its residents, and Virginia doesn't want to cover
any of its citizens… then that's fine. Let the free market decide which state will be most successful.

It would have been easy for me to harp on specific legislative solutions to some of our problems, but
the truth is… until we correct the flaws in our system of electing Congress and the President… and
also guide our nation back to adherence of the Constitution as our founders intended, we'll never have
the national will to do anything more than put bandages on the problems facing us.

Upon adjournment of the Constitutional Convention, when a citizen asked Benjamin Franklin what type
of government the founders had given us… Franklin said, "A republic, if you can keep it." Today the
question should be, "Do we want to keep it?" If the answer is yes, are you willing to work to make the
necessary changes?

October 21, 2007