Civility

The political process is terribly broken. Decades of two party polarization has led to a level of incivility not seen here in my lifetime. Republican and Democrat politicians and their families are harassed in public. A Republican congressman has been physically assaulted in his own yard. Another, and those with him, were shot at a softball game. Toxic chemicals have been mailed to politicians on both sides of the aisle. Now pipe bombs have been mailed to multiple prominent Democrats. Agitators from both sides going all the way to President and presidential candidates have advocated aggression be used against those that don't agree with them. Each side blaming the other. Reasonable discourse seems completely unattainable. Our chickens have come home to roost.

Election cycle after election cycle (and there's no longer a break at all between them) politicians from both sides have gone from slinging mud to preaching outright hatred and fear. It energizes the bases, and it builds every year. Both the "left" and the "right" are hell bent on ensuring that their party is the one that wields power and control over us. It is a winner take all high stakes game that tolerates no dissent and silences any voice of reason. And we are all the poorer for it.

It was never supposed to be this way. Our republic was established with Constitutional limitations that were designed to prevent our government from ever gaining this much power, much less adding more to it. The people are supposed to rule. Political parties are not in the Constitution. George Washington warned of he dangers they would pose. We should have heeded the warning. We might have avoided the Civil War and found peaceful solutions to the problems that needed to be solved. We might not be where we are today.

We need to start doing something differently. We need to start voting differently. Half of all registered voters have become so fed up with the process they don't even vote. Just as many don't even register. We can change the process. We can fix this. Start voting for who a candidate is, instead of voting against an opponent. Stop judging folks by a party label that may or may not reflect a candidates beliefs. Pay attention to what candidates do instead of what they say. It will take some effort on your part, but worth the effort. Stop voting out of fear, and vote instead out of pride. If your chosen team or party doesn't field a candidate you can be proud of on their own merits, vote for another candidate. Find another party. The more parties the better. Multiple candidates from multiple parties mean it is much harder for any one party to gain the power and control that corrupts them. Multiple candidates from multiple parties means you can't have the polarization 2 sides bring. Three or more sides prevent polarization. Three or more sides takes power away from the parties and gives it back to the people, where it belongs. In short order, all parties would be forced to change. Forced to start nominating candidates people would be willing vote for instead of against. Forced to stop preaching fear and hate. Forced to be civil and reasonable so we can have good government, and peaceful elections. Give peace a chance here. Vote for real change in November.

Term Limits

Term limits shouldn't be necessary. We have regular elections where we can impose term limits on any elected officials at the ballot box. Unfortunately, we as voters haven't been doing a very good job of this. Elected officials, especially in Congress, have made lifelong careers of their positions. This was never the intent. It leads to excessive power, and abuse of it. We as voters can't take all the blame. Democrats and Republicans have done all they can to protect their power. Voting districts are gerrymandered to favor one party or the other. Ballot access laws make it difficult for independents or third parties to get a seat at the table and offer real choices to the electorate. Primaries are designed to provide taxpayer funding for the two major parties. Debates and even the media tend to leave out or completely ignore anyone not a member of one of the two ruling parties. The end result is election after election where voters are forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. No surprise most voters are so disgusted they stay home. All too often it appears there is no one worth voting for, as both major parties are equally corrupt.  This is why Congress has an approval rating that perpetually hovers around a pitiful 10%.
Term limits shouldn't be necessary, but they are popular. They will remain popular as long as the system is corrupt, because at this point it is the only limit on power the people have over their government. The vote has lost this power as two parties have taken away the choice of who to vote for. Until we break the grip of corruption and power the Republican and Democrat parties exercise over our elections, I will support term limits. It will not be an easy struggle. The two parties will not willingly accept such limits to their power, and will work quite hard to defeat any measure we attempt to impose on them. If elected to office, I will self-impose a two term limit on myself for any public office, and push for legislation or an amendment to make term limits law. In the meantime, we need to do everything to keep the pressure on. Pursue ballot initiatives to impose term limits until they are successful. Or even better, run and vote for independent and 3rd party candidates to break the parties' grip on power and make term limits unnecessary.