There are numerous reasons to admire Congressman Ron Paul, as I have for many years. Clearly he is running for president as a Republican, rather than a third party candidate, for the purpose of getting richly deserved media and public attention not available to those outside the two-party duopoly. He has proudly described himself as a champion of the Constitution. However, he is missing a major opportunity to demonstrate his courage and allegiance to our constitutional republic.
He has acknowledged the appropriateness of amending the Constitution. In fact, he introduced legislation for an amendment that would stop giving automatic citizenship to babies born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents. He said: 'Our founders knew that unforeseen problems with our system of government would arise, and that’s precisely why they gave us a method for amending the Constitution. It’s time to rethink birthright citizenship by amending the 14th amendment."
Personally, I endorse this particular amendment. More important, however, I am disappointed that he has never latched on to the long history of Congress’ failure to honor and obey the part of Article V of the Constitution that gives Americans the right to a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution. The convention is an alternative to Congress proposing amendments. Interestingly, the particular amendment that Paul favors will probably never emerge from Congress, but might have a better chance through an Article V convention.
Why has Paul failed to acknowledge that Congress has ignored over 500 applications from state legislatures from all 50 states for an Article V convention? As a champion of the Constitution, surely he knows that the one and only requirement explicitly stated in Article V is that two-thirds of state legislatures ask for one. And surely he knows that Congress has never passed any law that expands or modifies this single explicit constitutional requirement. So, I ask: Why haa Paul remained silent on the Article V issue?
If he does not believe that Congress should honor Article V’s provision for a convention, why not say so publicly? If he believes that it should never be used, then why not call for an amendment to delete it from our Constitution?
I urge Congressman Paul, as a champion of the Constitution, to not behave like other members of Congress and silently veto a crucial part of the Constitution that the Framers wisely gave us. They anticipated that eventually Americans could lose confidence in the federal government. Paul clearly has earned the respect and support of millions of Americans because he objects to so many policies and actions of the federal government. Thus, Paul, more than virtually any other member of Congress, should appreciate the wisdom of the Framers in giving us the Article V convention option.
I beg him to speak up and demonstrate just how much of a champion of the Constitution he really is by bringing national attention to the Article V convention issue and supporting its use. As a founder of Friends of the Article V Convention I invite Paul to play a leading role in giving the United States of America its first Article V convention.
The author had the pleasure of a private meeting with Congressman Paul about a year ago to discuss his book Delusional Democracy Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government: http://www.delusionaldemocracy.com He serves as National Press Secretary of Friends of the Article V Convention: http://www.foavc.org
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joel_Hirschhorn
Friday, July 13, 2007
Can Anyone In America Still Become President Of The United States Of America? Yes!
Isn’t it time you ran for President? In the 1990s everyone had a talk show. In the 2008 presidential election it seems as if everyone is running for president. But when we get to the primaries we find that the same names keep coming up winners every election cycle. John Kerry, Hillary or Bill Clinton, George Bush (1 or 2), John Edwards, and the list goes on. Whatever happened to the American dream of anyone becoming president? Further, in today’s climate of the professional politician, how is a grass roots candidate ever going to get a real chance at our nation’s highest office?
The answer lies within the World Wide Web. For the first time any American born citizen over the age of 35 has a real chance to build a following, generate contributions and run for president. And I believe over the next two or three election cycles, enough people will have access to the web, and the trust factor will build to the point to make it a viable medium for a real campaign. What is needed is a single website to bring all these candidates together, and allow the general public to evaluate them, and score them. This will separate the wheat from the chaff, and allow the engaged citizen to direct his support resources to a handful of candidates with the best chance for jump starting a political career.
There is such a website. U4prez.com has attracted over 2100 presidential candidates in just four months. These citizen candidates come from all walks of life, and represent a diversity of opinion not available anywhere else on television, newsprint, radio, or the web. All of this took place a year and a half before the election of 2008, which bodes quite well for the future.
Is it working? Are the candidates being seen and heard? More than you can imagine. In this same period of time the candidates platforms have been viewed over four million times. And nearly one half million votes have been cast. Voting is done simply by rating the candidate on a scale of 1 to 10. While the average candidate has been voted on 250 times, several candidates have received over 5000 votes. It is only a matter of time (perhaps just months) before one of these candidates breaks out and generates a critical mass of supporters. When this happens, the candidate will have the ability to raise money, raise awareness to a level compatible with “real” candidates, and begin a run in earnest for president.
At this point it is highly unlikely that a candidate could emerge and win the presidency in 2008. Several candidates have however launched campaigns for governor, mayor, and city council using the site has a test bed for floating ideas and generating support. The 2012 election offers a much better chance for a real grass roots candidate to mount a successful campaign, and by 2020 it all but inevitable that a dark horse candidate will not only challenge, but win the presidency.
Is this good for the country? Absolutely. The professional politician today, despite all of the media channels available, has become more detached from the center of America than ever before. The chicken dinners, and other meet the people events have become highly scripted both in speech, and in the operation of the event. Candidates no longer interact with the populous in any meaningful way. U4prez.com changes that. The candidates are questioned in real time, and must respond to pointed questions. The debate on the site goes back to the roots of Lincoln Douglas and other famous debates that can go on for hours. A sixty second sound bite simply will not suffice. This allows the dialogue to incorporate tangential issues, and gives the potential voter a much better understanding of the candidates position, and character.
So who is winning the race? As of mid-July the national candidates are dominated by Fred Thompson on the Republican side, and Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama are close leaders on the Democratic side. But Ron Paul, a relatively unknown Republican also generates solid support, and draws from Democrats, Republicans and independents. The really interesting thing is the number of average Joe (and Mary) candidates that generate just as much, or even more support than the top tier candidates.
What issues are hot? If you watch the news on television or read newspapers you would assume global warming is the biggest issue of the day. You would be wrong. With over 300,000 comments posted on issues, Global warming is one of the least discussed issues. The top issues are the Mexican border wall, the war in Iraq, abortion, and education.If you think you’ve got what it takes to lead this great nation you might want to head over to U4prez.com and begin your campaign. Or you can register as a voter and jump in to the debates.
Registration is fairly simple, you just need a user name and a sound bite. For those more serious candidates you can customize your platform, and add as much detail as you’d like about your positions, and political preferences.
Eric GurrU4prez.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Gurr
The answer lies within the World Wide Web. For the first time any American born citizen over the age of 35 has a real chance to build a following, generate contributions and run for president. And I believe over the next two or three election cycles, enough people will have access to the web, and the trust factor will build to the point to make it a viable medium for a real campaign. What is needed is a single website to bring all these candidates together, and allow the general public to evaluate them, and score them. This will separate the wheat from the chaff, and allow the engaged citizen to direct his support resources to a handful of candidates with the best chance for jump starting a political career.
There is such a website. U4prez.com has attracted over 2100 presidential candidates in just four months. These citizen candidates come from all walks of life, and represent a diversity of opinion not available anywhere else on television, newsprint, radio, or the web. All of this took place a year and a half before the election of 2008, which bodes quite well for the future.
Is it working? Are the candidates being seen and heard? More than you can imagine. In this same period of time the candidates platforms have been viewed over four million times. And nearly one half million votes have been cast. Voting is done simply by rating the candidate on a scale of 1 to 10. While the average candidate has been voted on 250 times, several candidates have received over 5000 votes. It is only a matter of time (perhaps just months) before one of these candidates breaks out and generates a critical mass of supporters. When this happens, the candidate will have the ability to raise money, raise awareness to a level compatible with “real” candidates, and begin a run in earnest for president.
At this point it is highly unlikely that a candidate could emerge and win the presidency in 2008. Several candidates have however launched campaigns for governor, mayor, and city council using the site has a test bed for floating ideas and generating support. The 2012 election offers a much better chance for a real grass roots candidate to mount a successful campaign, and by 2020 it all but inevitable that a dark horse candidate will not only challenge, but win the presidency.
Is this good for the country? Absolutely. The professional politician today, despite all of the media channels available, has become more detached from the center of America than ever before. The chicken dinners, and other meet the people events have become highly scripted both in speech, and in the operation of the event. Candidates no longer interact with the populous in any meaningful way. U4prez.com changes that. The candidates are questioned in real time, and must respond to pointed questions. The debate on the site goes back to the roots of Lincoln Douglas and other famous debates that can go on for hours. A sixty second sound bite simply will not suffice. This allows the dialogue to incorporate tangential issues, and gives the potential voter a much better understanding of the candidates position, and character.
So who is winning the race? As of mid-July the national candidates are dominated by Fred Thompson on the Republican side, and Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama are close leaders on the Democratic side. But Ron Paul, a relatively unknown Republican also generates solid support, and draws from Democrats, Republicans and independents. The really interesting thing is the number of average Joe (and Mary) candidates that generate just as much, or even more support than the top tier candidates.
What issues are hot? If you watch the news on television or read newspapers you would assume global warming is the biggest issue of the day. You would be wrong. With over 300,000 comments posted on issues, Global warming is one of the least discussed issues. The top issues are the Mexican border wall, the war in Iraq, abortion, and education.If you think you’ve got what it takes to lead this great nation you might want to head over to U4prez.com and begin your campaign. Or you can register as a voter and jump in to the debates.
Registration is fairly simple, you just need a user name and a sound bite. For those more serious candidates you can customize your platform, and add as much detail as you’d like about your positions, and political preferences.
Eric GurrU4prez.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Gurr
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)