Back to Basics...

 

    Too often we are caught trying to reinvent the wheel instead of making improvements to the systems and devices that we already have. Many things that we have incorporated into our day-to-day life to simplify things, have in fact complicated it in many ways. The cell phone is a great example. Have you ever left your phone in your car or at home? It feels like you left an appendage behind but why do we feel that way? It has simplified our lives in such a way that we become anxious if it is out of our immediate possession. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a lengthy diatribe on the cell phone but instead a moment to pose a couple of suggestions to election reform.

    Our elections have become a three-ring circus without a ring master. I dread the beginning of the year because this is when the political ads really ramp up. I hate political ads so much that I stop watching television and catch up on some light reading by cracking open one of the stacks of books currently littering my desk. Political ads on tv should come with a post-disclaimer like the pharmaceutical companies post, “Watching this ad may cause discomfort, headaches, IBS, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, explosive diarrhea, confusion. Dementia is not contagious. If symptoms persist get a frontal lobotomy and vote for a local democrat.” I’m not picking on democrats completely, there are some republicans that can trigger a gag reflex with a political ad just as easily as a democrat can. I’m not going to continue going down this rabbit hole, but you understand what I’m talking about.

    The point that I’d like the American people to consider is election reform. Many people have been clamoring for election reform over the years but there is an opportunity in the future to eliminate some reckless spending by our government officials and by those who aspire to do the same. I know what you’re thinking, “Aaron, this is a complicated system, it’s impossible to tackle election reform.” No, not impossible, and it needs to be done. First, the obvious thing to tackle is the television ads. No more. Campaign contributions and funding by the parties directly relate to television time in the district that is at risk. It’s crazy to think about the homeless in major cities when political parties dump millions of dollars on air in the hope of getting elected. Millions of dollars. It’s not to serve the people, for the majority of politicians it’s to get rich. When I heard Mike Johnson was living paycheck to paycheck, I couldn’t believe that there were honest politicians left out there. Without spending money on television ads that can be misleading, campaign funds can be reallocated to issues that need to be addressed; roads, parks, gun safety, mental health, poverty, homelessness, drug addiction, and the list goes on. But how are voters to know what that candidate stands for without tv ads? Did we ever get to see what they stood for, or did we see “how the other candidate is worse than me.”

    I can see a simple way around this. Each candidate running is allowed a website that looks exactly like their opponents. This website is going to contain a list of issues ranging from abortion to voter ID and show where each candidate stands on those issues as well as their opponent. This website stays up until the completion of the campaign. The websites are going to be boring but have information pertinent for the voters. I know what you’re thinking, “How am I going to get to really know the candidates?” One word, DEBATE. There will be a series of debates for the American people to see, that will showcase the candidates at their best or their worst. Debate is an opportunity to see the candidates under pressure and thinking on their feet. Yes, some unscrupulous moderators can leak the questions to the candidates ahead of time, like Donna Brazile did for Hillary Clinton, but with different venues and moderators the voters can see if things are not on a level playing field. Which will reflect poorly on the moderator more than the candidates. No candidate should be excluded from debate because this would have shown how President Biden can think on his feet (with the aid of a teleprompter).

    Lastly, I believe that the debate is an opportunity for the candidates to show whether they can work well with others. A question for a moderator to consider for one of the candidates would be, “what is a current issue that you feel like you can rally your party to you to collectively solve for the American people?” This gets candidates away from what “I’m” going to do to what “we’re” going to do. Elections have grown into this monster that is so big that we don’t trust them, or the candidates that represent us. The result is that we have candidates that are so out of touch with the American people, and they are supposed to represent us, and we resent them. The only way to fortify the constitutional republic that our forefathers built is to begin with a solitary brick and get back to basics.

Stay informed my Friends.

Aaron from GA