SYNERGY-NET on
RE:
The Candidate:
We all know the "system" doesn't work. Politics gets more and more unreal. We need a constitutional convention called by the states.
The reforms would be to design a more parliamentary form of government with responsible political parties, some form of proportional representation. We helped write a excellent constitution for the German Federal Republic, under General Clay's position during the occupation ( 1946 - 7 ) and we have the talent to reform ourselves. We can't expect the system in Washington to reform itself. We have to understand how the system really works and what it will take to change it.
We all have different talents. In public affairs there are those that are smart as legislators, with the complex skills of deal making, as managers, good at promoting their ideas, fixers and wheeler dealers, and some at being great candidates. Only Franklin Roosevelt was good at it all.
Bob Dole has to be one of the worse candidates in years. He has many other talents but running for office, in a media context, is not one of them. Bill Clinton is a great Candidate and has some talents in other areas.
The result is the quality of choice is very limited, almost meaningless, so people are turned off. Most other countries have stable political parties with internal discipline.
Their leaders are tested in important talents besides being a candidate. Most of the other industrial states have more reasonable governments. This gives them an advantage in bi-lateral negations, in industrial policy, in education and infrastructure, and makes others more competitive in the world economy than we are.
Money and politics:
The goal of political reform should be to take away the profit motive in our election process.
The attempts to control money by regulation is hopeless because if individuals have personal power, the market will find a way around any rules. If we had disciplined national parties, individual candidates and office holders would not have the power to shake down organizations for money.
There is synergy between money and politics, and we end up with the best government money can buy.
The issue is NOT only that greedy special interests bribe hungry politicians, but there is a shake down - or protection racket going on. When you need money as a candidate, you suggest some awful piece of tax policy, regulation, that would cost an industry a lot of money.
Then they pay up. In local politics the example is how sheriffs and boot leggers work together to spread the money around. Using high sounding rhetoric there are extensive rules controlling taxes, booze, drugs, land use, big budgets, contracts, grants, etc. all which give the power to benefit, or threaten and get paid off.
Individual members of parliament do not have the power to threaten or benefit contributors. But the current system can not reform itself ?
The idea is to have disciplined parties that actually preform on their campaign platform.
The candidates for a real party can's just do what ever they want once elected.
The majority of people want less government, want to take power away from Washington, want to reduce regulation, etc. but have not been ready to face this central issue, a systems problem, the way system works makes the achievement of their desires impossible. Republican committee chairmen are the same as their Democratic colleagues.
They need the power, to hurt or help, to raise the money to stay in office.
What is needed is a constitutional convention called by the states.
The reform would be more parliamentary and include some from of proportional representation as New Zealand as done. We helped write an excellent constitution for the German Federal Republic, under General Clay's position during the occupation
( 1946 - 7 ) and we have the talent to do it for ourselves.
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Peter E. Pflaum Ph.D. , Headmaster GLOBAL_VILLAGE_SCHOOLHOUSE
225 Robinson Road, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169-2176 (904) 428-9609