Is This Any Way to Pick a President? Madison's Nightmare

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06-01-2008, 01:06 AM
chinthee

Is This Any Way to Pick a President? Madison's Nightmare

opinion

Quote:

The current system for picking a nominee is the product of accident rather than design, more like the result of small children scrambling to use up their Lego blocks than a master architect's plan. Depending on how things play out, this nominating process could look like James Madison's nightmare, the antithesis of the system of government that he and his fellow Founders devised.

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That system has stood the test of time. But the current process for nominating our President - the chief symbol and, in important respects, the primary custodian of that system - looks like it stands Madisonian principles on its head. In Madison's time, of course, presidential nominees were picked by small, elite groups. But those groups generally were representative of their parties, and nominees were selected for both their appeal across the party and their prospects for electoral success. And the selection was self-consciously designed to create a different constituency for the President than for the collateral branches of government.

Is This Any Way to Pick a President? Madison's Nightmare - Yahoo! News

Time for a constitutional amendment on the way we pick Presidents? Maybe...
06-01-2008, 06:55 AM
Texpat

Any suggestions Chin?

Today's instant news and a voting populace spread across five time zones is problematic.
06-01-2008, 08:10 AM
Jet Gorgon

Um, six, Tex. Adding Hawaii.
06-01-2008, 08:36 AM
Texpat

^ you're right, almost

24 time zones if you include absentee ballots. :)
06-01-2008, 08:38 AM
Thormaturge

^
America should get tips from the Thai Electoral Committee on how to pick the president before the election.
09-01-2008, 03:40 AM
Hootad Binky

Quote:

The current system for picking a nominee is the product of accident rather than design, more like the result of small children scrambling to use up their Lego blocks

In other words, grassroots democracy.

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a master architect's plan.

An elected "master"?

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the system of government that he and his fellow Founders devised ...That system has stood the test of time ...In Madison's time, of course

If it has withstood the "test of time," why isn't it in practice today?

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presidential nominees were picked by small, elite groups

How is that better than allowing citizens to pick the nominee?

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nominees were selected for both their appeal across the party and their prospects for electoral success

Thereby giving an enormous advantage to only the richest, most powerful candidates.

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Originally Posted by chintee

Time for a constitutional amendment on the way we pick Presidents? Maybe...

Maybe not! A Madison approach stifles democracy and would lead to coronations rather than nominations, and phenomena like Obama's surge could never happen.
09-01-2008, 04:32 AM
sabang

I guess you can pick faults with any democratic system.

I think, rather than tampering with the current Presidential nomination system, the Accountability and Transparency of the Presidential office should be tightened- and thus, indirectly, the Power.

One of the worrying aspects about the Bush administration has been it's effective usurping of Power at the expense of Congress, the Judiciary and Administration. As well as it's accompanying lack of transparency. There appear to be inadequate Constitutional or Legal measures to prevent this.
09-01-2008, 05:58 AM
Boon Mee

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thormaturge

^
America should get tips from the Thai Electoral Committee on how to pick the president before the election.

Yeah, why not?
In fact, Dubya should do like Hugo down in Venezuela and remain President for Life!:1st:
09-01-2008, 06:38 AM
Hootad Binky

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabang

One of the worrying aspects about the Bush administration has been it's effective usurping of Power at the expense of Congress, the Judiciary and Administration. As well as it's accompanying lack of transparency. There appear to be inadequate Constitutional or Legal measures to prevent this.

Agreed; until GWB came along I didn't realize that the Executive branch in the US had the power to unilaterally alter the Bill of Rights, almost like a monarch. Whatever happened to "We the people..."?
09-01-2008, 09:03 AM
Butterfly

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

In fact, Dubya should do like Hugo down in Venezuela and remain President for Life!

Deserve a red for that comment, too bad I greened you already in that other thread