While candidates may come and go, the political parties are here to stay …
There is no doubt in my mind that both political parties in California are corrupt and will do or say anything to get their candidates elected and, once elected, keep them in power. The candidates may come and go, but the one constant in California politics are the two major parties.
Both parties have fielded candidates which have claimed to be responsible and both parties claim that they would like to see a smaller, more accountable and transparent government which maximizes the taxpayer’s dollar and minimizes waste, fraud, corruption and abuse. Great talking points – but in reality, far from the practice of party politics.
Conspiracy of confusion and corruption …
We have seen the democrats spend money, not on repairing or replacing California’s crumbling infrastructure nor actively investigating fraud and abuse in state-run programs, but on social programs to enlarge their voter base.
We have seen that republicans have openly conspired to vote with the democrats in the largest tax increase in California history; openly saying that they were willing to “sacrifice” the three republicans needed to clinch the vote in order to spare the rest of the republicans from any voter retribution.
And let’s not forget our governor, who pretends to be a republican while voting like a democrat – the man who signed the bogus budgets, knowing they were flawed and deficient.
Both political parties are corrupt and/or complicit in robbing the taxpayer and destroying our state …
Both parties are equally complicit in siphoning off the taxpayer’s hard-earned money for the personal and political benefits gained by pandering to the special interests. Whether seeking campaign funds, voter support or jobs for friends, members of both parties are equally guilty of robbing the taxpayer with a chaotic and confusing series of legislative acts and Administrative edicts that, in the final analysis, only serve to harm California and its residents. Why the state openly condones the violation of our state sovereignty and then diverts billions of dollars into supporting an illegal foreign culture within California can only be explained by either evil intent or the abdication of one’s responsibilities to their oath of office and their fiduciary responsibility to the state’s legal, law-abiding and responsible citizens.
I have an idea …
Since there is little or no chance that any new legislation can control basic human nature and that party politics will reign supreme in the years to come, I think that I have an idea which will serve as an additional check and balance against corruption stemming from the continuing political subversion of our formerly-golden State. The idea is simplicity itself.
A political performance bond …
For each of the major candidates proposed by the state’s two major political parties, the party must post a non-cancelable bond in an amount sufficient to fund a successful recall campaign – including a number of media announcements and the funding of professional signature gatherers – for each of the major positions to be filled in the Administration, Senate and Assembly.
The bond could be exercised if the candidate was found guilty of wrongdoing, abuse of office, lying under oath, misusing state funds, engaging in quid pro quo deals with special interests or violating the candidate’s oath of office and/or fiduciary duties.
Should the candidate serve honorably and without incident, the bond will expire at the end of the candidate’s service. The bond could not be rolled over to another term or another candidate. The bonding process would begin anew with each and every candidate and with each and every election.
The bonding company could require the use of a confidential candidate questionnaire and investigate the background of the candidate in setting an actuarially-appropriate rate to secure such a bond. The rate could be advertised and would serve as an index of potential corruptibility. Sort of like setting odds on the potential for corruption and/or malfeasance.
With such a political performance bond in place, those opposed to political shenanigans and malfeasance could prove their case in a court of law and secure the release of funding for the recall of politicians who have misbehaved.
I cannot envision any other mechanism for holding California politicians accountable for their actions – and those of the major political parties. To continue to allow an unelected political party to continue determining the course of California’s future by promoting palatable, but deeply flawed candidates, is ludicrous. And to allow the incestuous control over the political process by parties which have been proven time-and-time again to be fielding corrupt politicians is also ludicrous.
It is now time to take our government back from those who have brought us nothing but hardship, pain and suffering with their policies. Especially those policies which benefited key politicians and their special interest friends over the citizens of the State of California.
Help improve the concept …
It’s just an idea … and if anyone wants to comment further, please let me know what you are thinking: both the pros and cons of promoting the idea of political performance bonds. The only negative I can anticipate is if the malfeasance comes at the end of an election cycle when the candidate can be replaced without a recall. Perhaps this idea would only be useful for mid-course corrections or be useful in limited circumstances. On the other hand, perhaps the idea of a political performance bond can be expanded to encompass a number of mutually-agreed on political goals and a metrics-based measuring system.
But in any event, we need to get the attention of the politicians and the political parties by throwing the current crop of bums out of office. Never vote for the incumbent, never vote for a professional politician switching political posts. Never vote for a lawyer or someone who has not worked in the private sector. That is, until they can prove they can govern ethically and effectively in our name, their time at bat will be extremely limited. Something along the lines of a part-time legislature also sounds good.
But for now …
-- steve
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