Looking Ahead to 2008

On the heels of this election instead of patting ourselves on the back for more than one day I think we need to look ahead to 2008. There are a couple of things we can do to positively change the course of this country. I think we should explore the possibilities.

There were a lot of referendums on the ballots across the Nation on Tuesday. I would like to first of all suggest a couple and then explore how we can get them on the ballots in our own states.

I would like first of all to propose a referendum making a print out of all ballots at every electronic voting booth in the country that will then be placed in a separate box to be counted later to verify all election results.

I would like a referendum mandating that all candidates that get “x” number of signatures on a petition to qualify him or her to run for office be given public funds for all campaign costs. I want all qualifying candidates to be given the exact same amount of money to spend as he or she sees fit. I want to ban all corporate donations to any campaign. I want to limit all private campaign contributions to $100.00. I want to ban all television, radio and print media advertising of political campaigns. I want all qualified candidates to participate in a round table debate with little or no moderator interference (let the candidates speak freely.) I want a round robin one on one debate among all the candidates under those same conditions. I want all of these debates to be aired on television and radio. I want the money for these campaigns and this airtime to be paid for with tax dollars.

I am sure there are other ideas out there. Please let me know yours in the comment section or by emailing me: xoites@gmail.com