Some Suggestions to Fix US Government

People who think their government is perfect will never decide there is a need to fix it. If people think the Constitution is a sacred document, that makes it resistant to change. The truth is there is a lot to fix, and the people who block change are a danger to everything we care about.

People are responsible for their government, and should be able to change it when necessary. US government is very hard to change favoring unpopular, minority rule.

The Constitution begins “We the people”. To make the dream come true a simple majority of the national popular vote should elect the President, over ride undemocratic Supreme Court [SCOTUS] decisions, and amend the Constitution.

The guiding principle of the Constitution should be one man/ one vote.

But the Constitution originally was a compromise favoring States Rights, not the voters, gave lightly populated, rural States heavy voting weight, a flaw which has been gamed to favor an unpopular minority may prove to be fatal for the republic. States vote for President, not voters. The National Popular Vote movement could eliminate the Electoral College, a vitally important change.

We need national standards for elections to make it easier to vote, eliminate gerrymandering, voter suppression, other methods of rigging elections, and criminalize intimidation of election officials. Until we have mandated Ranked Choice Voting to break the 2 party monopoly, additional parties are likely spoilers that swing elections to the minority candidate.

The 2 Party System was not part of the Constitution. What one party accomplishes, the other dismantles, so that the US can not be relied on to honor its agreements, the cycles of regulation and deregulation lead to the boom and bust cycles of the economy, alliances regress from democracies to authoritarians.

Money driven parties often don't act in the national interest or the people’s interest, don’t vet or pick the best possible candidates, polarize and wage culture war by tribal identity: race, religion, gender, class. The minority favors inexperienced loyalists, celebrities, sports figures, charismatic media figures, often poor choices who govern badly. Felons are not allowed to vote, but can be President. Tighten eligibility requirements for high office to include appropriate background checks. Compare qualifications for the US Presidency to those of Singapore.

People’s beliefs are largely made from the media they choose to consume. Media, shapes culture and beliefs, often it gaslights, broadcasts distraction, trivia, big lies, and may no longer be able to support democracy.

Well funded public media not so dependent on advertising is also corruptible by big donors. Like most industries, media has concentrated, so to be an informed consumer it is important to know the ownership. Choose carefully.

The best indicator that someone is a Republican is regular church attendance.

.”..as the incomes of middle- and working-class people flatlined, Republicans pooh-poohed rising economic inequality and insecurity, economic insecurity does correlate with greater religiosity, and for white Americans, greater religiosity does correlate with voting Republican. For Republican politicians and their rich-getting-richer donors, that’s a virtuous circle, not a vicious one.”
Fantasyland, How America Went Haywire, Kurt Anderson.

Religion is media and has become the dark heart of the Republican Party: indoctrinating, censoring, anti-science, anti-education, anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Vax, and pro-Trump (even though as a condition of tax free must be non-political.) Powerful, wealthy interests including the largest media owners, and evangelicals, back the GOP. Right wing media, like Fox News, lies a lot, plays doctored media.

The GOP are cult-like followers of a demagogue, a habitual liar, a felon, who aspires to be a dictator, an existential threat to the republic.

The GOP has always been a host to fascists, white supremacists, and other sociopaths, but now they are the mainstream of the party. Project 2025 is their plan. If they regain power will bring dystopia. By replacing Civil Service with loyalists. They will deliver an incompetent, criminal,fascist dictatorship that will be hard to remove.

Republicans threaten violence on judges, election workers, witnesses, dissenting politicians. They plan to dismantle the administrative state, refuse to accept an election that they lose, attack media, reject the rule of law, trash the Constitution. They are armed and prepared to violently resist a lost election or leaving office. If they regain power, the next election could be our last one. The US has as eerie resemblance to the 1933 German Wiemar republic just before it collapsed. MAGA is another of their many lies.

Each major decision since Bush appointed John Roberts to the Supreme Court weakened democracy more.

The Constitution is hard to change, but the Supreme Court shapes it any way it sees fit. Republicans, powered by big money, captured the Supreme Court that allowed gerrymandering resulting in one-party unrepresentative States, repealed the Voting Rights Act restoring voter suppression especially in the South, blocked campaign finance law, expanded corporate rights,suppressed unions, and empowered an imperial Presidency. Citizens United allowed big dark money to corrupt elections, politics and the Court itself. The decision on guns created a public health hazard and brought violence into the political process.

Overturning Roe showed that SCOTUS 'justices' lied in confirmation, favor religion, especially the Catholic Church not science, and are not experts in many domains. Every medical society opposed their decision. They have made damaging, partisan, undemocratic decisions and should be limited. Slow walking decisions about Trump’s immunity posed an existential risk to the republic. Giving him immunity from criminality nullifies the Constitution allowing it to become a fascist dictatorship. Although the Constitution didn’t say so, SCOTUS decided that it has the last word. SCOTUS should be fixed, their decisions over ridden by the simple majority of the national popular vote. States are demonstrating that by restoring Roe using ballot initiatives, a process vigorously opposed by the GOP.

Surprised that corrupt SCOTUS justices were all appointed by Republican Presidents elected without the popular vote ? That the former President is a felon many times over ? That many of his former officials have lost their reputations, law licenses ? That the Republican insurrectionists that made the House dysfunctional only want revenge ? #ETTD, Everything Trump Touches Dies.

The law failed to hold accountable a Presidential candidate, criminal who attempted a coup which continues, would shred the Constitution, aspires to be a fascist dictator. SCOTUS slow walked a decision that no one is above the law, then decided that the President is immune from the law while in office.

If SCOTUS decisions were undemocratic so far, another Trump term in office could make them far worse. SCOTUS is on the ballot.

Trump looks and acts like a mob boss. When his lawyer, Michael Cohen, decided to tell all, Trump called him a rat. Opponents including poll workers, judges, witnesses in his many trials face threats of violence. He admires authoritarians like Putin, Orban, and loves Kim, supports them, would emulate their governments, He would surrender democratic government of Ukraine. He regards NATO as a protection racket, not a mutual defense treaty, so should he be reelected the US cannot be counted on for any prior commitments. He refused to acknowledge election results in an attempt to remain in office. There has been talk of repealing the 22nd Amendment, which limits the President to 2 terms.

For the mob boss, it’s good to be the President. You can’t be prosecuted, you can pardon your partners in crime.

President is much more powerful than the king we overthrew. Those elected without a popular majority, have been disastrous. People should elect, not States. The President should be elected by the simple majority of the National Popular Vote, not the Electoral College. He should be able to go to war on his own only if there is a direct attack on the US, not just a terrorist incident.

The Russian backed, criminal Presidential candidate who attempted a coup which continues, would shred the Constitution, aspires to be a fascist dictator. 12 jurors in NY unanimously agreed he is guilty of 34 felonies. Federal law, under political pressure, failed to hold him accountable. Insulate the law against political pressure. SCOTUS loyalists decided that he is above the law carrying out official duties. Nixon would have been pleased.

There are few qualifications for high office. The current GOP presidential candidate is a felon, adjudicated rapist, national embarrassment, who most likely could not pass a background check, is now immune from criminal conduct while in office, cannot honestly take the oath of office, plans to dismantle the republic and become a dictator. The Presidency should be made dictator proof.

The 147 Congressional election deniers who participated in the coup have not been held to account, and have rendered Congress dysfunctional. Like Trump, if the GOP doesn't win the next election Congressional insurrectionists could be prosecuted. If they defect from the GOP, their lives and their families could be at risk. That could be why they are participants in a cult/crime family. J.D.Vance will do what Pence would not. He is Putin's favorite because he would change sides in Ukraine.

There is a slippery slope to the political right. Unconstrained capitalism concentrates wealth, tax cuts shift the burden to people, union busting defeats workplace democracy, captured agencies do not regulate, industry concentrates and so does wealth, making the US an oligarchy that richly fund the GOP and opposition to democracy.

The economy should work for people, instead, because of policy choice, it has extracted wealth bringing on oligopoly, and obscene wealth inequality. Private equity devours enterprises and leaves them for dead. Conservatives fund and defend the interests of the very wealthy, politically powerful including theocrats.

Government needs to regulate the economy, root out corruption, ensure product safety and value, see that the market doesn't overpower democracy, damp down wealth inequaliy with progressive taxes.

After WWII the highest marginal tax rate was over 90%, the middle class could do well on one income, college was affordable, wealth inequality was not so extreme. Restore highly graduated taxes to damp down wealth disparities and pay for decent social programs.

Republicans never like the New Deal and have a long history of attempting to privatize or otherwise downsize Social Security, healthcare, or any other public programs. Public housing was built for low income people, but fell into disrepair for lack of maintenance, and finally ripped down. In that way it was privatized.

US has poor social programs, the world’s most expensive health care that doesn’t cover everyone, unaffordable child care, elder care and unforgiving poverty programs that leave many homeless living on the streets. Guns are everywhere, and mass shootings frequent (thank SCOTUS). Deaths of despair rising (Angus and Deaton).

Republicans plan tax cuts for the wealthy paid for by cuts to the vulnerable, Social Security, Medicare and others. Although Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, his close advisors drafted it and probably reflects his agenda. Republicans are sociopaths.

Republicans want to take power by force once and for all. If they should regain power, expect a dictatorship like Putin’s or Orban’s. Project 2025 is a plan that threatens everyone. They intend their government will be permanent, like Putin’s almost impossible to remove.

So here we are with the world’s largest military, a nuclear arsenal that could destroy the planet many times over, and the possibility that a right wing dictator, immune from the law, who thinks Hannible Lechter is a great guy will be making unchecked, vital decisions. What could go wrong ?

The Constitution already says there are two ways that the president becomes commander in chief. One, when the country is attacked, in which case he can begin to make arrangements to defend us. The other is if there’s a congressional declaration of war. This distinction is also incredibly clear in Scandinavian constitutions, which say that the executive can act to defend the country up to the border but not one step beyond without the authorization of the legislature." Elaine Scarry

Republicans do not think long term, ignore science, incite culture war, withdraw from vital international agreements dealing with climate remediation, nuclear proliferation, pandemics, resource use, ...

The most important challenges are transnational. What we do today has an impact on future generations.

So who would benefit if Republicans win ?

What to expect if Trump wins the 2024 election.

Bibliography

See books about Republicans

books about fascism.

books about Trump.

books about Russia

books about religion