What should legislators do to stop another "GW Bush" from ever happening again?

[Jon Miller]

it's not the place of legislators, it is the place of voters, who are sadly not invovled enough

Jon Miller

[Imran Siddiqui]

Actually, there a lot of working varieties of democracies out there and many of them have superior and more equitable election system.

Even if there was Proportional Representation (which I don't consider 'superior' at all ), the left would still whine... seeing as the boom of the '90s would have been presided over by a Prime Minister Gingrich, who might still be in power today .

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by St Leo
This is the point someone mentions that GW Bush wasn't elected.:P

It's not so much that he didn't win the election as that they used fraud to win the election for him. Technically he won. His supporters just broke the law to do it.

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We need public financing of elections, preportional representation in the lower house, and instant run-offs for senators and executives. Judges should have a mandatory retirmement age.

As part of the right to use the public's airwaves, political parties should be provided with free air time (and not just at four in the AM).

The Electoral College should be abolished, but that won't happen without a Constitutional Convention, so the delagates should be apportioned proportionally, rather than winner-takes-all. This would make it much less likely that Florida will chose a minority President for a 3rd time (Hayes and Bush were both chose by Florida).

There should be very severe penalties for vote tampering, fraud, etc. People who engage in such activity should be permanently banned from political activity and office and should not be able to receive any government contracts or jobs. Perhaps they should have all of their property confiscated, be stripped of their citizenship, and be thrown out of the country as well.

Beneficiaries of vote fraud should also be penalized. Not only should all the fraudulent votes be taken away, but they should be penalized an equal amount. If it is determined after the winner has taken office that he or she obtained that office through vote fraud, they should immediately be removed and the true winner should succeed.

[Spiffor]

To answer the question:

Your laws have everything needed to avoid a religious zealot to wield too much power. You have plenty of checks and balances in your constitution...

What you need is an opposition party with balls. A party that makes the already present system work. The disgrace that is the current American policy is the disgrace of the whole American political class, NOT only Bush or the Republicans.

[St Leo]

Perhaps they should have all of their property confiscated, be stripped of their citizenship, and be thrown out of the country as well.

To where, Che? That's not much better than a death penalty.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by St Leo
Perhaps they should have all of their property confiscated, be stripped of their citizenship, and be thrown out of the country as well.

To where, Che? That's not much better than a death penalty.

Anywhere that will take them. I'm sure some banana republic has a use for corrupt politicians.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
it's not the place of legislators, it is the place of voters, who are sadly not invovled enough

Jon Miller

It is not the usual thread where you say the wisest words of all. It must be the air we are shipping you.

Oh, monkspider, you really are heading for the way of the good little revolutionary. Any who disagree with you should be blocked from access to power. Next you will advocate firing squads. For shame.

[chequita guevara]

Ahhhh, firing squads.

[St Leo]

Guns aren't cool, kids.

[notyoueither]

From you I am not surprised. I am alarmed at young spider's desent into Maoism/Stalinism though.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by notyoueither
From you I am not surprised. I am alarmed at young spider's desent into Maoism/Stalinism though.

Oh don't be silly. The Death Penalty is barbaric.

[notyoueither]

Yeah right, so is fixing political contests. What is this thread about?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Judges should have a mandatory retirmement age.

And can you tell me how this wouldn't violate the ADEA or other federal Age Discrimination Laws?

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
And can you tell me how this wouldn't violate the ADEA or other federal Age Discrimination Laws?

Wasn't it FDR who put an age limitation to SCOTUS' judges ?

[Imran Siddiqui]

No, he wanted to put a pseudo-age limit. Basically appoint a new judge for everyone that was over 70 at the time.

Federal judges in the US serve for life (to prevent politics from having TOO much influence in the courtroom... look at the states with elected judges, like Alabama, and you'll see what I mean).