Government And Political Reform

Overview

Our political system needs reform, now. Campaigns have become so expensive that the average person cannot afford to run for office without selling out to the special interest groups. We also need to get rid of the soft money before the political parties and the candidates get too used to it, and completely dependent upon it. This is wrong.

Campaigns should be based on the issues of the day, not on who has the most money or greatest access to the special interest groups. I will not accept money from any PACs or special interest groups. My votes will belong to the people, not to whoever is paying me to vote for their preference. I believe in public funding of campaigns. That would encourage all qualified candidates to enter the field, not just those who are financially well off. Each major-party candidate after the primary elections should receive equal funding.

Taking special interest money or PAC money binds and indebts the receiver to the donor. By refusing special interest group and PAC donations, Jesse Ventura can be accountable to the people, not to the group paying him to vote for their interest.

The time for term limits is here. No one should serve their country for a term longer than that of the President of the United States. If someone wants to serve more than eight years, they should be forced to sit out for two years in between their races. This will require the individuals to get out of the system and back to the people so they will not be so disconnected from the voters.

Legislators' Pay

If we increase the pay of the legislators, they could afford to take the job and devote all of their working hours to the position. This would give the legislators greater incentive to address the legislative business and make them more available to their constituents. Eliminating legislators' pension pay would also reduce the cost of running government, remove the incentive to become a career politician and encourage those who run to do so because they truly want to provide a service to the public.

Initiative and Referendum

Initiative and Referendums give people the right to bring things before the general population that the legislature cannot or will not. Government is supposed to be for the people, by the people. The powers of initiative and referendum directly support that proposition. We must ensure, however, that these powers are not overly broad as they can lead to abuse and the destruction of minority or unpopular viewpoints. Initiative and Referendum must not be used to limit free speech.

Tort Reform

Tort reform can help our business community. One method of reform would be to put caps on medical malpractice cases so that the awards are truly proportional to the damages.

Unicameral Legislature

A unicameral legislature will cut government expense, increase the legislators' accountability to their constituents and improve efficiency. Nowhere other than in our government do we pay two groups to perform the identical job. If we eliminated one of the legislative bodies, we would also eliminate the conference committees. A unicameral legislature would limit the amount of vote trading and political protection that legislators currently practice. If we make each term four years in length, then the legislators can focus on their jobs, not on campaigning and fundraising for the next election, the day after they win the first election.

Year-Round Legislature

Having a year round legislature would prevent the need for costly special sessions. If one year of the two-year cycle were devoted to new legislation and the second year to reviewing and analyzing old legislation, the voters would know the laws on the books are current and applicable to the situation at hand. The legislators would truly be available to their constituents year round, in more than name only.

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