Reforming the Government(s)

Introduction

It should be clear to everyone living in America that our governments – from local special districts to city, county, state and especially the federal government are all out of control and way outside the bounds of government limited to a few, defined, legitimate functions.

Thanks to the “progressive” concept that our governments are better run by trained bureaucrats than elected officials, and their view that government should be the solution for any and all of life’s challenges, things are bad and getting worse every day…or every legislative session.

Legislators all over America swear oaths of office that include a requirement to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States as well as their state constitution. Well, most of them are oath breakers, and I’m certain very few elected officials have actually READ the constitution.

As author Mark Levin has said, we are “living in a post-constitutional soft tyranny”. If we are ever to reclaim the benefits of limited government, several reforms are necessary. I don’t know how this would be accomplished, but these are the things I’d like to see happen.

Parties and Candidates

Somehow, and the founding fathers did not envision this, we have developed a two-party system in America. Yes, I know there are other parties – Libertarian, Green, Democratic Socialist, American Constitution, and the like. But in the real world, only the Democrat and Republican parties count when it comes to elections.

A political party should exist to help candidates that hew to their beliefs and platforms get elected. A party should support candidates who are competing against candidates of the other party, and remain agnostic as to primary candidates within their own party.

Local party groups should be instrumental in recruiting, training, vetting and helping good candidates run for office. Candidates should be of good character, not have any felony or serious misdemeanor convictions, and no skeletons in the closet.

It’s difficult to find people like this because many good, qualified people don’t want to run for office because politics is so, well, icky. Overcoming that problem will require time, effort, and good will.

A state party has no business supporting any candidate until that candidate is the party’s standard-bearer against the other side. Then, they should receive full support from the party, associated interest groups, activists…and voters.

Elections and Voting

Theoretically, in America we are governed by the “consent of the governed”. That consent is granted via the election process, and this is why it is vital that elections be free, fair, impartial, and limited to ONLY those citizens qualified to vote, who can PROVE their citizenship.

Proof of citizenship must be limited to state government-issued identification cards that include a picture of the voter. A U.S. passport should be disqualified. Why? Because a valid passport doesn’t necessarily have to have a person’s current address.

A prerequisite to being an informed citizen also involves being a responsible adult. This means registering (or making sure you are registered) to vote before the election is 30 days away. When it is less than 30 days away, you are no longer eligible to vote if you are not registered.

Voter rolls should be purged periodically and audited every four years.

Elections should be administered by bipartisan teams of election workers and judges, with media oversight and regular audits after the fact.

Mail in and early voting should be curtailed, and mail in voting must involve the presentation of a photo ID at some point in the process. For example, in Oklahoma I can  (and have) request a mail-in ballot, but before it can be returned and counted, I have to go to a notary public, sign the ballot in their presence, present a photo ID, have it notarized and then return it.

Legislature Reforms:

There are so many reforms that are desperately needed to get our governments back under control and strip them of the many extralegal and unconstitutional functions, programs and spending that they have built up over time.

The following laundry list is just the beginning.

Federal:

• Congress is only in session for six months of the year – there is no need for Congress to be engaged in full-time legislation. Bills that don’t pass during the session die.
• Term limits on representatives and senators both in years and number or terms served. Maybe 5 terms in House and 2 in the Senate, no more than 16 years altogether.
• Limit on number of bills each Member can introduce in any one session.
• All bills must have a single topic – no “omnibus” bills or “riders”.
• Bills have to be introduced at least 2 weeks before first action to allow legislators and the public to read and evaluate them.
• Every proposed bill that involves spending must define a revenue source and carry a mandatory 6-year re-authorization.
• Balanced budget constitutional amendment.
• Mandatory retirement at 70 years of age.
• Retirement plans to be no more lavish than similar plans in the private sector for non-executive employees.
• Super-majority vote in both houses to raise or impose new taxes. Simple majorities can cut taxes, however.
• Just as most large corporations have a zero-tolerance policy for employees showing up to work drunk or impaired, alcohol and controlled substances are not allowed on legislative premises and their use is not allowed during legislative hours.
• Anybody convicted of a serious crime is not eligible to serve. For this purpose, any offense other than minor traffic offenses that carries any term in supervised release, jail or prison is considered a serious crime.

States:

• One session every other year not to exceed 120 consecutive calendar days or an annual session not to exceed 60 consecutive calendar days.
• No working between noon on Saturday and 7 am Monday. No working on federal holidays.
• Business can only be conducted between 7 am and 7 pm. No “all-nighters”. Sleep science has proven that sleep-deprived individuals are cognitively impaired. We don’t want such people making laws that are enforced by government force.
• Committee hearings must start by 10:00 am to allow for maximum citizen involvement.
• Replace vacancy committees with special elections for vacant legislative seats. Special elections must be held within one month of vacancy.
• No introduction of new bills in the last two weeks of session.
• Limit legislators to 3 bills each – NO EXCEPTIONS.
• A bill cannot be heard in committee or otherwise acted upon within 5 full business days of introduction to allow legislators and citizens time to read and evaluate it.
• Hearings for bills likely to be controversial must start by 9:00 am and a bill cannot advance out of committee if there are citizens in opposition who have signed up to testify and have not been granted that right. Hearings must continue over a period of days until all citizens who want to can testify.
• Change the power dynamic: the legislators sit at a level lower than the citizens. They work for us, not the other way around. Anybody who wants to can eat or drink while hearings are going on – not just legislators.
• In Colorado: no forced takings allowed without a vote under TABOR: no new “fees”, “premiums”, “taxes” or anything else. No “enterprise” or any other exceptions. Any money taken from a citizen without their consent is considered a tax and must be approved by the voters.
• In any other state: Any money taken from a citizen without their consent is considered a tax and must be approved by supermajority votes in both chambers of the legislature. No “enterprise” or any other exceptions.
• Legislators who show disrespect to citizens testifying before committees will be censured. Repeat offenders will be removed from committees.
• No partisan clothing, slogans, signs, flags or any other items of a political or policy-advocacy type allowed in hearing rooms.
• Again, as most large corporations have a zero-tolerance policy for employees showing up to work drunk or impaired, alcohol and controlled substances are not allowed on legislative premises and their use is not allowed during legislative hours.
• Legislators who show up to work on official government business drunk or otherwise impaired will be stripped of committee positions and subject to mandatory 3-day suspension to get help.
• Anybody convicted of a serious crime is not eligible to serve. For this purpose, any offense other than minor traffic offenses that carries any term in jail or prison is considered a serious crime.
• If not already in place, term limits. More than 12 years of service (combined between chambers) is not allowed.

Bureaucracy Reform:

• All executive-level employees subject to periodic employment reviews.
• Retirement plans are not to be any more favorable than those of private businesses.
• Ban public sector unions.
• At-will employment. Any public sector employee can quit or be fired at any time for any reason, with or without notice.
• Any new bureaucracy must be approved by a supermajority in both legislative chambers and subject to state or federal supreme court review for constitutionality.
• At the federal level: every executive branch agency will be subject to a one-time review of constitutionality, effectiveness, necessity. Unneeded, duplicative, unconstitutional, unnecessary agencies will be dissolved immediately. Any proposed new agencies subject to supermajority approval and supreme court review.

Other Reforms:

Immoral, racist practices such as awarding government contracts on anything except merit and cost shall be discontinued. Tuition for non-private institutions of higher learning shall not be loaned or granted to anyone by the federal government.

Immediate reforms of the Justice Department, the FBI and the IRS are desperately needed. I’m not sure how we would go about preventing future presidents from weaponizing these agencies against their political opponents, but these agencies have lost the trust of the people and must be brought to heel.

Other government agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission which have far exceeded the boundaries of what they were created to do must be reformed and brought under control. The SEC, for example, is more interested in pushing the leftist climate agenda and other “progressive” ideas than enforcing the securities laws.

Conclusion

While it’s clear that governments are in need of serious reform, the path to accomplishing this is not as clear. A Convention of States may accomplish some of this via constitutional amendments at the federal level. At the state level, it will take years of dedicated limited government proponents being elected and staying focused on reforming the government, not re-making it in their image to achieve their social goals. It’s going to be difficult.

But one step at a time. First, we must arrest the decline and fall of our country under the disastrous Biden (D) administration and “progressive” tyranny. We have an opportunity to do that this coming November. Let’s not let it go to waste.