A Pandemic Christmas List
Sitting at home in my pandemic state of mind, I decided to write myself a political Christmas List 2020. My Twelve Days of Christmas. I know it seems like I’m asking Santa for way too much, especially considering that I grew up in a family where underwear and tube socks were considered a Christmas gift, but what the heck I’m going for it.
Santa, please blow up the Electoral College and retire its remnants to the dustbin of history. In large part, the Electoral College was an effort to ensure that the states which enslaved black people would ratify the Constitution. It was also a reflection of how the majority of the founding fathers thought people were too damn stupid to make the right decisions about who should govern is. Just like today, the powerful and wealthy property owners were given undue influence over most citizens. My ancestors became 3/5 of a human being on paper while having their basic humanity denied institutionally.
Eliminating the Electoral College will also influence the behavior of national politicians, specifically Republicans. I want to imagine a world where a vote in California is as important as a vote in North Dakota, West Virginia, or Iowa. Maybe a politician’s policies and rhetoric would have to be less vitriolic and batshit crazy to appeal to a more significant number of Americans. This would result in leadership decisions that are more reflective of the majority of Americans’ needs and societal objectives.
2. I’m asking for this to replace a previous gift broken by someone else (Supreme Court). Please enact legislation requiring all 50 states to submit their electoral laws and policies to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. Conduct a review to determine if any discriminatory or suppressive elements result in intentional or disparate infringement on a citizen’s right to vote.
The only thing I agree with the majority decision in Shelby is that the current Voting Rights Act was 40 years old and needed to be updated. It needed to be strengthened and applied to all 50 states. The notion that only the former Confederate states engage in discrimination and voter suppression is an antiquated paradigm.
Some will cry about an attack on federalism, who want to disingenuously decry that this is an attack on states’ constitutional rights. Still, I would respond that there is a strong federal interest because the States are administering elections to select federal officials.
Chief Justice Roberts’ argument in the majority decision is that the tools used to discriminate in the past (poll taxes, literacy tests, low registration) were no longer being used. He and the concurring Justices were trying to tell us discriminatory practices no longer existed because monitored States did not use those distinct earlier practices. How obtuse must one be to conclude that the problems surrounding discriminatory practices and procedures no longer existed, the tactics have just changed? I’m pretty sure it was not an issue of being obtuse; it was more likely disdain for having to ensure the voting rights of Blacks and POC. How do you explain that the Voting Rights Act must be renewed every so often, like a magazine subscription? That’s a pox on all politicians’ houses. Voting denial and suppression are as old and enduring as the Constitution.
3. This one is as much for my descendants as it is for me. Reign in the police. Are their jobs important? Yes, but the amount of deference and protection they receive is excessive, while they act as judge, jury, and executioner with impunity. This is both deadly and ludicrous. The people that shoulder the overwhelming burden of these grants of power are Blacks and POC. With great power comes great responsibility, and I would add accountability. The level of accountability for people that we entrust to make life and death decisions is nearly non-existent. We should expect more accountability from them, not less than the average citizen. Eliminate “Qualified Immunity” and require police to take out liability insurance. Municipalities and States could negotiate group rates for their police officers. The burden of paying for police officers’ malpractice and negligence would be lifted from taxpayers and their governments.
The eligibility requirements for police must be raised dramatically, including psychological fitness, educational background, and experience that is compatible with being a public safety officer for all the people and not being a party to maintaining a developed system to oppress one group of people.
4. We love to say that no one is above the law in our society, but the people responsible for applying the law are the only ones above it. The Trump Administration has made it abundantly clear that maintaining a democracy is not something that can rely on a set of “Gentlemen’s Rules” that relies on good faith and shame. Presidents and Congressmembers must have more clearly defined conflict of interest prohibitions established through legislation. Some examples that come to mind would require elected officials and cabinet members to divest themselves from their investments and forbid them from owning and selling stock during their tenures. Could we also restrict all public safety organizations from participating in political activities? Prohibiting this would not limit individuals from participating in the political process. Public safety organizations should not be allowed to support or show a preference for any political party, politician, or agenda.
5. Would I be ageist if I ask for legislation that requires the retirement of government-appointed officers and employees at age 65 and that no politician could start a new term of office when they reach 65 years of age? Indeed, we will miss the benefit of having distinguished states(wo)men and dedicated civil servants. Still, there needs to be an infusion of new ideas and energy best supplied by younger generations. We also benefit from eliminating a significant amount of dead weight that is around only because of seniority. Nowhere is it worse than in the Senate and the Judicial System. If you must, give them some Emeritus status and seek their expertise when applicable.
6. I don’t know if this would fit in my Christmas Stocking, but I would love to see an expansion of Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges. My primary concern right now is the Supreme Court. Expand the Supreme Court to 27 Justices. Justices would be subject to mandatory retirement at 65 years old, as mentioned earlier. Cases brought to the Supreme Court would be reviewed by a randomly selected set of nine justices. There would not be an option to request an en banc hearing, but all Justices will be allowed to review cases and share their observations with the presiding Justices.
7. I don’t understand why this next gift has been so hard to get (actually, I do). Still, we should grant statehood to Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Between the two, we deny equal and full citizenship to over 4 million Americans. As it currently stands, we deny these Americans their rights to participate in our Democratic Republic governance. This change is the gift that keeps on giving. Of course, this will be based on their interest in becoming a State.
8. I would like a set of laws that would minimize our reliance on customs and gentlemen’s agreements to regulate the behavior of elected officials, government appointees, and Justices/Judges. We should have learned by now from the Trump Administration that reliance on rules and customs is woefully inadequate. This has been true in previous administrations, but Trump’s incessant lawlessness and reckless behavior have driven that point home daily. Formalize these customs through legislation. For example, a President should be required to place their assets in a blind trust and release 20 years of their previous tax returns once they become the established party’s nominee. Same deal for Justices and Judges.
9. I would love to share a gift for everyone on the right and the left. We need a seminar that teaches us what Socialism is and what is not Socialism. This seminar will do its best not to make judgment calls based on previous misunderstandings. It will instead focus intently on defining what Socialism is in theory and practice. It would be very enlightening for both advocates and adversaries. I would like to see the course start with an affirmation that the existence of effective social programs is not Socialism.
10. Eliminate gerrymandering. It’s cheating. People should select their politicians, not the other way around. There are electoral maps that strain credulity. They employ tactics and methods like “Cracking” (diluting the power of a party) and “Packing” (concentrating the opposing party’s voting power in one district). Voting districts should contain an equal number of constituents and be contiguous. This process should be managed by participants from various parties that do not hold any political or government positions.
11. This is a gift that would have particular relevance for me. I have submitted myself to the Federal Government security clearance process at least six times in my career. It is a process that is required to establish trustworthiness and the likelihood that one can protect classified information. Please let us see a law requiring that Presidential candidates go through a Top-Secret Security investigation before the General election. That requirement would have at least a twofold benefit. It will eliminate those who know that they have skeletons in their closet and ensure that the eventual winner has been vetted for conflicts of interest and security vulnerabilities.
Also, Presidential candidates should be required to release their tax returns to the public for a minimum of ten years. How can you be trusted with the nation’s most important secrets, and we have no clue if you are trustworthy?
12. Last but not least, take off the training pants Senate. Eliminate the fiction that the Senate is somehow a deliberative gentlemen/women’s club. Republicans are constantly beating their chests about how elections have consequences until they get their asses whipped. They want to stand by an antiquated and obstructive custom that requires the affirmative votes of at least 60 Senators to bring proposed legislation to the floor, let alone pass it. McConnell has already trashed that rule for Judges and Justices, and Democrats better not revive it based on some self-flagellating “principled” stance. Place the filibuster in the same garbage dump as the Electoral College.
When I was eight years old, the “must-have” toy was the James Bond Attaché Case. I remember I begged and bugged my parents endlessly for one leading up to Christmas. Well, I didn’t get what I wanted, the attaché case, but I did get the Berretta.
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