Food for thought ~ Representatives

[richardowlmirror]

In a different post I mentioned the importance of the upcoming elections.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections will be held on November 6, 2012.
Elections will be held for all 435 seats, representing the 50 U.S. states.

Elections to the United States Senate are to be held on November 6, 2012, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections whose winners will serve six-year terms from January 3, 2013 until January 3, 2019.

Now, take in to account the various efforts related below and ask yourselves if writing and delivering a proposed Constitutional amendment can be affected simply by the voice of the people or specifically by State Legislatures? Imagine pouring in enough money and influence to gain a majority of these 435 seats, representing the 50 U.S. states and that majority imposing it's mandate upon the whole of the country.

~@~

"Constitutional Amendments ~ Although amending the Constitution is the most direct way to reverse Roe v. Wade, neither Congress nor the states have passed a constitutional amendment related to the issue of abortion. The anti-abortion forces have found it extremely difficult to achieve a public consensus on this divisive issue. However, at least 19 state legislatures have passed applications to convene a constitutional convention to propose an amendment that would outlaw abortions. Congressional representatives have also worked to bring such an amendment about. The many dozens of amendments that have been proposed can be grouped into two main categories: STATES' RIGHTS, and the right to life. The former would restore to the states the same control over abortion that they exercised prior to Roe. The latter would designate the fetus as a person, entitled to all the privileges and rights guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment.

One unsuccessful attempt at changing the Constitution was the Hatch amendment of 1983, sponsored by Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), which stated, "A right to abortion is not secured by this Constitution." It did not receive the two-thirds majority necessary in Congress to be submitted to the states for ratification."

MORE@: Life-at-fertilization initiative ?
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44935764/ns/us_news-life/

[rustyhoundog]

What you point out is extremely important; we need to elect legislators who support the rights of the people. Those that support themselves only or are sycophantic to corporations or religious organizations should be replaced with folk focused on representing the rights of the people.

[daniel]

Perhaps we should use these forums, with the growing lists of wolf-pac's in each state to start organizing campaigns ourselves instead of looking for candidates that meet our criteria.
Perhaps we should start a section in this forum dedicated to choosing, from our members and other like-minded groups, people to place in every election in the country for state and federal legislation.
At least that's what i'm hearing when i read richard's posts.
We could write out a list of rules that must be met by each person interested that mirror the rules we want governing our candidates and use that as a reason for John Q to pick our people.
Even if we end up with only 10% of the seats it would be a hell of a start towards our goal.
We could also have people putting info in those forum sections regarding all requirements for each seat be it state or federal. And we definitely need to try for both levels.

[richardowlmirror]

Actually I half-jokingly have suggested previously that every American citizen who is willing to serve should permit their Social Security number placed in a BIG hat, then we simply reach in to that hat and pull out the winner.

Naturally there should be criteria one must meet a particular standard to participate but, can you imagine actual people, just like you and me going to Washington as Representatives and passing Federal budgets for the President to sign.

[achamian]

I think a multifaceted approach is important. Putting as much pressure as possible at all levels of government is important. If enough state legislatures get on board, it will put pressure on congress.

Regarding getting politicians that actually represent us, I've often wondered if our system is fundamentally flawed in the sense that the majority (or even a plurality) gets all of the power. Although it has problems, I'm a bit of a fan of proportional representation. I think it would help diminish the polarizing effects of two-party control and allow room for more voices to be heard.