the principles our party must embrace in order to retake power...

[burr]

1) A constitutional amendment to establish a California-like Presidential recall with just a minimum amount of signatures from all 50 states.
2) A similar amendment to have recalls at any time for all members of the House and Senate.
3) A constitutional amendment requiring all Presidential elections and recalls to be determined by popular vote, and which would require IRV and proportional representation in Congressional elections.
4) A constitutional amendment requiring all states to include provisions for recall elections for all state and local officials in their state constitutions.
5) Push for the adoption of these amendments in a constitutional convention held by the people and led by the Democrats and other third parties.

[Pez]

1. and i propose...

...an amendment to make everyone who can VOTE. then we wouldn't be stuck with these fools in the first place.

[burr]

2. yes, any ideas are welcome!!

Next year our party must finance a recall on arnold. Any suggestions for candidates?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. But to get any of that to work

You'd need real campaign finance reform, or else disgruntled millionaires with more money than brains or ethics could pull a Darrell Issa. You'd have to specify that all recall petitions had to be gathered by volunteers and that any campaign that used paid signature gatherers would immediately be disqualified.

Otherwise you would have not "the voice of the people," but "the voice of the millionaire cranks and the people they managed to buy or dupe."

I saw the initiative and recall system SO abused in Oregon.

[burr]

4. mike malloy said it best...

the time has come for the limousine liberals to put their money where their mouths are. Any true revolution can only succeed with some backing from the elite.

[genius]

5. We need a candidate who will not hand the election over to Bush

Some people are so impressed with their candidate that they are not asking if their candidate is doing something that would get him entirely disgraced or even arrested on the eve of the general election. I don't think any of the Democrats have the appeal of Arnold to fight serious allegations of misconduct.

[burr]

6. This will change for arnold once he is in power...

as it is changing for shrub. If our party should learn one lesson, it should be that the party in power should be made responsible for everything wrong that happens, whether it is 9/11 or the recession.

[loyalsister]

8. I've seen this in action

it is a complete failure. It is subject to manipulation. At the end of the last session, my Dem governor was handed two bills by the puke leg. He could either provide K-12 education, screw the poor, and then make further cuts. Or, refuse to support Ed in order to try to show some support for social programs then make cuts.
This was due to our budget problems forced on us by the tax cuts. However, as with everywhere else the perception of who is in power is NOT accurate. The media blames the gov. when the fact is the leg has most of the power.
The puke leg would not entertain the possibility of closing a tax loophole for corporations. It got no play in the media. As usual, the gov. took all the heat. They aren't recalling. They're counting on 2004.

[burr]

9. if the governor took all the heat in 2003, why not in 2004?

then we can talk about changing the state constitution so a 60% vote in the legislature isn't required to bring in more revenue. But Arnold has to go!!

[loyalsister]

10. Here?

The scenario you're talking is about getting a Republican leg to change the constitution so that a Republican Gov can be recalled.
Dream on.

[burr]

11. I have an alternative...

let our nation become an one-party plutocracy, and fuck voting or any other helpful ideas. In other words, the hell with democracy!

And screw the idea of a Legislature recall...I suppose you oppose this as well.

Besides I thought a recall was allowed based on how many signatures you can get from voters, not by the state house and senate.

[loyalsister]

12. Signatures?

Do you think we got a puke legislature by accident? They were voted in. It swung that way in 2002 for the first time in over 50 years.
The leg set the Dem gov up to fail. Handed him two bills that could not possibly both be supported in the budget. Do you think they would do something like that to their own Gov?
Nope. They will hand him a smooth session where he signs every bill and they close early with the only controversy being objections (painted as whining) from Democrats.

[polpilot]

13. The re-call sigs should begin TODAY and in earnest. No words...no

reasons...just sigs on paper preparing for the re-call election 8-12 months out. Coincide with the prez '04 election. JUST DO IT.

RECALL DE GUBENER '04...

[burr]

14. at least someone agrees with me!!

total recall 2004...

[dean4america]

7. a candidate with a brass pair

aside from reform, etc., what we really need is a candidate with a brass pair who won't take any shit from the mediawhores or the right-wing. I'm no fan of Gray Davis (though I have voted for him), but it reality he's a shitty (and more or less shady) politician who got screwed and couldn't defend himself. And Bustamante? He really had no chance in hell of stacking up against Arnie (makes you wonder if DiFi could have beaten him, even). the voters were pissed, and in the absence of real leadership, they went for the guy who they were convinced wasn't a politician.

In other words, the Dems running for Pres on down to local office had better learn a lot from this one. whomever is the dem nominee for Pres (and I hope like hell it's Howard Dean, because he WILL fight) had best be ready to sack up and fight this one out, because you know the guy on the OTHER side WILL be puting up a fight, and certainly not a clean one.

[LuminousX]

15. One Item

1. Embrace a bit of civic republicanism and turn election day into a Federal holiday. Everyone should be proud to vote, be able to work as election judges, and participate in election day activities (which there will be if everyone has the day off.)

[burr]

16. Amen!

let's do the same for all primaries, national and local recall elections. Most importantly, schools should be let out so kids can see their parents participate in the democratic process.

[beyurslf]

17. That would be great

for those of us with all Federal Holidays off. So how many have next Monday, Columbus Day, off? It is a Federal Holiday. I work for a bank so I am not working. Every person in my family, though, works.
I plan to go shopping and run errands. The people at those businesses work on that day. My post office will be closed but grocery store open. School is in session. I assume if I need police, fire, or medical assistance I will find personell there.

And if voting was mandatory, as some suggested above, how would we enforce it? Jail time? Fines? How would this "improve" our elecorate? Yes, more would vote. But wouldn't the uninformed voter who was pissed about having to do it be more inclined to vote for a "cool action guy" like Arnold than some boring policy wonk?

[burr]

18. good points...

what we need is yet another constitutional amendment requiring employers and states to give employees this day off. Make election day last two days so first responders and other necessary workers can work on one day, and others will fill in on the second day.

[kwolf68]

19. No way

Recall them, they do us, we do them...Democracy isn't supposed to work this way.

In the very least, a recall -if allowed to happen- should not be valid until after the candidate has served at least 1/3 of his/her term.

Davis just got elected months ago and the Republics spearheaded a recall campaign. In a sense, it was mocking the democratic process. We need to be bigger and better than this. We either win with grace and our principles or this nation will get what it deserves.

Somewhere in me I have faith.

[GreenPartyVoter]

20. Re"no way" I agree

That kind of voter reform will just make the situation even messier.

I think Clean Elections, IRV, Proportional Representation, and ballot box accountability are what we should be looking at instead.

[kwolf68]

21. Well Im the idiot

Who is for completely "Free" campaigns in the form of access to airwaves and public resources, equal opportunity for all viable candidates.

This business where elections are a race to raise the most money (which invariably comes from the largest corporations who expect access to be tied to their donations) are a disgrace to our democracy.

This has been the real death blow to Democrats. The party used to do a lot of grass roots organizing, and really rejected the big money, but they simply can't compete unless they sellout.

We either have 49 or 50 Democratic Senators who most sell out or 98 Republicans.

Real reform must happen and not the bandaid called McCain-Fiengold.

[burr]

22. What democratic principles would you support?

the democratic election of the president?

the popular election of heads of the FCC, the adminstration, and the Vice President in his own right?

term limits for Congress and a single six-year term for the President?

what reforms would you support?