A question that must be asked... and answered.

Germany, soundly defeated, was forced to ban Nazi everything.

We, however, must figure out how to silence these anti-Americans.

Critical is a blowout this election and, for the Senate, the two following elections.

I pray that that blowout occurs.

Looking to see what others have to say here.

Thank you for posing the question.

that would protect us from legislators leveraging the fact that approximately 40% of the population being woefully ignorant, criminally greedy and or wildly racist. I do know we have plenty of smart DUers and look forward to their ideas.

will depend upon refocusing on and reinvesting in public education. None of what has happened has happened accidentally; the conservatives methodically took over school boards and bent education to their twisted plans. Undoing that damage is the foundational step in moving this country forward. As long as a sizable percentage of the population remains functionally ignorant and devoid of critical thinking skills, we will not make much progress.

Cuts to public education over many years and crazy evangelical impacts on curriculum have certainly taken a toll

the RIGHT to vote must be in the Constitution, possibly with an obligation TO vote, even if for "none of the above".

Also, publicly financing campaigns and banning ALL private/corporate/religious contributions.

would be a good step. I don’t remember the figures, but what the US spends on campaigns is far more than other countries.

After that (in no particular order)

Add supervisory judges to every Federal bench that has been corrupted by Trump/McConnell
Expand SCROTUS
Reform elections with national standards for voter access, automatic audits of every single election, solid absentee/mail voting support, etc
Outlaw campaign contributions greater than $200 per person.
Constitutional Amendments to repair Citizens United and similar SCROTUS malfeasance.

Though I would publicly finance campaigns and ban all contributions. He who writes the check, calls the tune. Even $200 is beyond some people means.

People may donate to the treasury, who will then disburse the cash equally in bulk. Obviously few people, except truly civi minded types, won't donate.

If we are going to allow donations, then they must be publicly disclosed, may only come from citizens, and may NOT come from legal proxy persons (corporations, LLCs, etc).

tighten lobbying laws. Lobbyist expenses are NOT tax deductible. Lobbyists MUST wear an easy to read, from the front and back, patch that says "X Lobbyist" (where "x" is the company/group he represents) at all times when meeting with candidates, or their staff, and whenever they are on government property (federal/state/local). Or perhaps a money green jacket, with a their employers logo on the back.

MAKE THESE PEOPLE VISIBLE!

The first step in modernizing the impeachment power will be to eliminate the filibuster. That will help a lot if followed by a Constitutional amendment allowing removal from office by the Senate with a simple majority.

-Laelth

Your proposed change in the impeachment threshold would have brought Bill Clinton to within just one vote of conviction.

If the rat bastards retake a firm majority, they wouldn't hesitate to remove a Democratic president they didn't like.

In the example you cited, Al Gore would have become President following Clinton’s removal from office by the Senate, and Gore probably would have won the 2000 election after Clinton’s removal. That’s not a bad outcome, as far as I am concerned.

Regarding the filibuster, if we eliminate it in 2021, as I believe we should, Republicans will be more than welcome to reinstate it as soon as they next control the Senate. Will they? Of course not, and that merely proves that the filibuster has outlived its usefulness.

-Laelth

willy-nilly investigations and impeachment hearings and Republicans cannot be trusted with such power.

the McConnells and Gingriches of the world would also have that power.

For the life of me, I can’t see the downside.



-Laelth

with a simple majority, it would be used to remove any president, whether there was actual misconduct or not. We cannot be changing presidents just because the opposition party gained a majority in the midterms.

The same party would continue to control the executive branch, no matter how many times the party in control of Congress removed the current, sitting President.

This OP asks, “How do we prevent a Trump in the future?” Impeachment is the only way to remove a sitting President, but impeachment (under our current system) doesn’t work. Never in our 233 year history as a republic has a President been removed from office pursuant to articles of impeachment. Thus, I argue, it needs to be much easier to impeach a President and remove him or her from office.

Under our current circumstances, Pence would now be President if the Senate had removed Trump from office earlier this year. I think we would be better off now if that had happened. For the life of me, I can not see the downside to a Constitutional amendment that makes the impeachment and conviction of a President far easier than it is at present.

-Laelth

to remove every president they could. We would guarantee that any time they controlled the House, and a Dem was president, he would be impeached. Even if that was doomed to failure in the senate, he would still be impeached and the the business of governing would could to a halt while the impeachment was conducted. Seriously, I could see Obama being impeached repeatedly, since there is not limit on impeachment. And every time they impeached him, the senate would have had to hold a trial.

Any reform we undertake must not allow this kind of abuse.

Find another way, and I will listen to what you have to say. At present, impeachment and conviction in the Senate is the only way to remove a sitting President.

-Laelth

Find a way to restore checks and balances that cannot be abused. Simply lowering the removal requirement from 2/3s to a simple majority is an invitation for daily impeachment of a Democratic president by the GOP.

Most of what happened was possible only because Republicans refused to deal with it. For the most part it was McConnell keeping them 'in line.' Trump would not have acted as a king had McConnell not silenced any internal opposition.

testing would be in order to determine mental and physical fitness, and results to be shared with Americans, no exceptions.

would help immensely, too!

One to which I do not have an answer as of this point.

I don't know, but I would like to hear others' ideas.

1. Give politicians reasons to follow you. Otherwise, politicians will follow something else.

2. Confront bad science. Environment and health.

3. Confront bad economics. Tax cuts for rich. Regressive taxes on poor. Homeless issues.

4. The powers that be will always find ways to justify themselves. Take it back.

The "economic safety net" and "social contract" issues are the bridge between abstract concepts and real policies.

Otherwise, good people wont vote for good leaders.

and remove POTUS's power to give security clearances to candidates. Or something like that.

Reactivate the Independent Counsel law.

In addition, Congress must systematically dismantle the powers of the executive branch, in particular, the emergency powers act, war powers, Patriot Act, as well as executive privilege. This would include abolishing DHS, and legislating limitations on when a president can deploy non-National Guard security forces within US boundaries. Much of this can be done without amending the Constitution.

First and foremost, Biden’s DOJ must shred the memo that says a President cannot be indicted while in office, and congress must replace it with a law that says he can be indicted, with some limitations on prosecution while in office.

I would also add eliminating "signing statements" (Bush), Executive Orders designed to neutralize laws or as work arounds to grab power not in the law.
Retroactive impeachment of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush Sr., Bush Jr. and Cheney.

that another Trump will not be created. We need to do our job and address long term issues.

Also, the ambassador must fluently speak the language of the country he is from, and must have foreign policy/diplomatic experience.

crap...that come after we save the US economy , health care etc. If we do our job governing,there won't be another Trump. Get rid of the filibuster and don't let the GOP stop us.

this is the legal structure by which governance is performed. It has been destroyed and must be repaired and reformed.

Link to tweet

?s=20

Keep that millstone hanging around their necks for generations!

Problem is, it wasn't enforced. Dept. of Justice needs to be revamped as much as anything.

It cannot fail just because the president and his minions refuse to comply and the president may not be indicted. The impeachment process is completely broken as it is entirely susceptible to political abuse.

As a trucker, I have to take a special test and pay an extra fee to haul hazardous materials, over and above the qualifications I already have (I had a HAZ-MAT endorsement for years, I just don't need it now and didn't want to pay for it) which allow me to haul doubles, triples and tankers.

There have actually been SWAT raids on Barbershops in this country to enforce licensing!

It was noted some time back that Trumpy could not pass the requisite mental stability tests that any officer manning/operating a missile silo is required to pass, yet he has the sole authority to launch those weapons.

We need to demand a minimum standard for education and fitness for office.

The idea that "Anyone can become President, even you!" is horseshit and needs to be done away with. Any and all presidential candidates should satisfy a verifiable, minimum educational standard and an experience level commensurate with the job.

To add, maybe even a security check like that which would be given a person going t work for the CIA, NSA etc.

Edit to add: and can not be part of any organization that favors one group of Americans over another.

the mere fact that someone is elected to the office AUTOMATICALLY gives him/her complete security clearance, up to and including (one would suppose) access to any secure facility under the control of the US Government. Trumpy could demand to be taken to Groom Lake, NV and have a walk around all of the facilities there, and no one would be able to tell him no. He is more likely to blab about such an experience than I would be, yet he gets the privilege because of an outdated fluke in our electoral system.

. . . that the next trump might actually be a trump.

Bring to light everything he & his minions did so that we know the scope of the problem.

Every single power check failed. Backed by a corrupt party with control of the senate, he corrupted every important agency with the power to thwart him.

To reiterate, bring together some of what others said:
No expectation of privacy for this office!

* Name cannot appear on a ballot without complete financial disclosure publication
* Name cannot appear on a ballot without some kind of security check - SF86, secret clearance
(failure to meet clearance is ok - people can choose whatever jackass they want)
* cannot take office without a complete medical exam, from blindly - selected medical staff
(questionable fitness/competence is ok - people can choose whatever jackass they want)

Medical exam for fitness must be conducted & disclosed 1x per year
Financial and tax records publicly disclosed every year

Trump and company submitted financial disclosures and that told us nothing. Taxes might have shown the Russian money.

Also the person has to totally divest of their businesses and investments. No more grifters.

Ballots are done at the state level, so we'll need the big states like CA and NY to enact these laws.

If the Democrats become a center left majoritarian party the trumpers will be politically marginalized. If Democrats fracture between the center and progressive wing it might be President Donald Trump Jr. in 2024

The existing system is currently is ruins, having failed utterly to stop a man who should never allowed to stand due to his criminality.

Trump should have been in jail about 30 years ago, for tax, security, and bankruptcy fraud.

the next Trump may be smart and organized. We must punish everyone that has assisted in his law breaking. When I say harsh I don't mean calling names. He and the just following orders folks must be made examples of.

happening in many countries.

We have to work toward either dismantling the right wing hate propaganda media network.

We have to value education, learning, curiosity, science.

We have to truly work on looking at the people in our country as all worthy and have the necessary conversations about diversity and equality and find ways to make actual changes.

and on and on...ideas are easy. implementing them is hard.

maybe that's the key - recognizing that trump is what happens when we don't tend our way of life. He is chaos. he is the result of entropy

1) Education. Fully fund and support robust public schools. Bring back Civics class.
2) Voting. Pass a John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act that makes it easy for every citizen to vote.
3) Remove the Electoral College.
4) Pass the 28th Amendment to take money (gigantic Dark) out of politics.

These are only a start. Removing white supremacy is essential. I'm old (MUCH older than I was 3.5 years ago!) and even if I won't see this one in my lifetime, our country requires it.

This pandemic has shown us vividly how stupidity kills. That's why education is first.

The solution is public financing for elections, term limits, and limits on the number and scope of presidential judicial nominees.

It's not that 90 is too old. It's that 40 years in power is too much. Judges should not be lifetime appointments. They wanted patriotic wisdom, what they got was greedy self-interest and partisanship.

Every president should get at least 1 Supreme Court nominee, even if it means retiring the longest serving sitting Justice. No president should get more than 2, even if a seat remains vacant for years.

All citizens should vote. Fine them if they don't. Add a $300 tax penality via the IRS.

but carrot instead of stick. Tax credit when you vote. Enforcement/verification is a problem in either case.

the influences of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Russian trolls, Fox News, and other "mainstream" (actually corporate) media organs who played Trump's election as a means of enriching themselves, and sided with him to protect those profits from a Democratic president.

The "Money=Speech" ruling must be repealed. Citizens United must be repealed, and corporate "personhood" be severely restricted,if not banned. Corporations "duty to shareholders" does not trump their "duty to society". Corporations exist at the sufferance of the people and should have to have their charter's renewed every "x years". Corporations that commit crimes MUST see their officers punished, jailed, and banned. Violations of the law should result in severe fines, based on repeat offenses. First offense, 1% of gross revenues. Second offense, 10% of gross revenues. Third offense, 50% of gross revenues. Any offense greater than 3 in a ten year period should result in charter revocation (the corporate death penalty).

Oh, and restore the "Fairness Doctrine" on all news organizations.

1. Unf*ck the Judiciary: Create a Judicial Review commission of impeccably-credentialed jurists to review all of the appointments during the past TWO administrations, and commence impeachment of those who demonstrably lied about their qualifications during their Senate confirmation hearings.

2. Unf*ck the electoral process: Several actions here, including the enactment of meaningful campaign finance regulations; the end of the Electoral College; a commission to investigate, expose, and reverse vote suppression actions over the past 40 years; and finally, a new Voting Rights Act.

3. Unf*ck the demographics of who votes: Review the 2020 Census, and, if necessary, finance a thorough recount; grant statehood and full representation to the District of Columbia and (if they want it) Puerto Rico (if they don't want it, grant them full independence as a sovereign nation.)

4. Unf*ck the economy: Reform the tax code to tax unearned wealth at the same rate as income, adopt a progressive rate scale for taxation, and tax corporations at the same rate as individuals since they have been adjudicated to be "persons"; implement a major infrastructure spending plan focused on reforming the health care and public health systems and creating updated grids for delivering clean power, communications, and goods transport nationwide.

5. Unf*ck the commons institutions twisted by systemic racism and misogyny: Eliminate DHS, rationalize and demilitarize Federal law enforcement operations, pilot new training and operational models, and offer similar assistance to states and localities; pass the ERA and enact enabling regulatory oversight; enact meaningful Immigration reform systems; and investigate reparatory justice programs for those affected by slavery, racial genocide, and, more recently, immigration atrocities.

6. Unf*ck the future: Create a public education system that will be flexibly with both live and distance learning infrastructures and fully available to all communities; reclaim the commons resources for communication, break up media monopolies and enforce net neutrality; reclaim commons natural resources and repudiate climate-damaging exploitation agreements; rejoin the Paris Accord and set new targets for sustainability, funding research and development of new technologies and reclamation programs.

It would be a start, anyway.

wearily,
Bright

and with regard to #2. Increase the size of the House. That would make our elections more representative while we're waiting to get a constitutional amendment passed to get rid of the EC.

Yes, it would dilute each individual member's power, but having fewer people in districts would make constituent outreach much more effective and would reduce the disparity of voter impact. A vote in CA would be much closer to being worth as much as one in Montana.

It wouldn't require anything more than a law; the question is would congresscritters allow such a thing?

Though, that brings a lot of problems with it. We could easily double the size off the house, making the election a maelstrom of venom every two years.

Even here in Iowa where we only have a few seat up, it's a cesspool every time, mostly Republican ads spewing hate and racism.

If we increased the number of members, we would have to publicly finance campaigns, ban all non-public donations, and limit campaigning to six weeks prior to the election.

a whole lot better.

and eliminate perpetual fund-raising.

1) Also require judges to divest themselves of financial interests in corporations. Their funds are liquidated, and their assets are invested in special government bonds that yield a bonus 2% over normal rates, with 2% as the minimum.

2) Universal vote by mail.

3) Statehood offered to all currently held "non-states", i.e., Guam, Somoa, Puerto Rico, DC, etc.

4) Add copyright reform. All copyrights expire after 25 years. The copyright may be renewed 5 times, in 5 year increments. However, on the first renewal, a 10% surtax is imposed on ALL revenues generated by the copyright. The next 5 year renewal is 20%, then 30%, until the last renewal (years 45-50) are reached and a 50% surtax is levied. After 50 years, ALL copyrights expire and all IP is in the public domain.

Copyrights currently older than 50 years may renew, but start at 50% and increase 5% per renewal. Copyrights older than 60 years expire at the end of the year the law is enacted.

Eliminate tax returns filing for people making less than $50K a year. The government will simply compute your taxes from your W2 filings, and your reported marital/dependent status and send you a bill/refund as needed.

Eliminate the penny.

5) Also, completely reform the FBI from the ground up. Eliminate "qualified immunity". Create a national 4 year police academy which police officers MUST attend in order to enter police service. Require re-certification of LEOs every 5 years. Public committees must review all shooting incident and have the power to fire an officer even if no charges are filed.

Eliminate the Marine Corp as a separate service. If the Navy needs soldiers, that's what we have an Army for. Teach soldiers to swim.

Set military spending at 1.5% of GDP. 25% of this amount is allocated to veterans care, and veterans hospitals, which may help provide auxiliary health care to civilians in a national emergency.

6) Change building codes immediately to require new buildings and any major renovations (greater than 25%) to generate 25% of their own power from wind/solar/geothermal. This number increases 5% every two years after that for 10 years, then 1% every year after that. Ban gas furnaces on all new constructions.

The Constitution itself needs a modern re-work for starters with all the twisted BS poorly written language adjusted?

Undo everything and actually fill all the jobs that Jared had?

anywhere near the levers of power.

but what happens when we have another political shift like we did in the 60s, where the Republicans decided to become the party of racism, taking the mantle traditionally held by the Democrats?

We need a system that prevents anyone from doing what Trump is doing, no matter the party.

Starting with Congress passing laws specifically addressing the many loopholes our Founding Fathers overlooked because they assumed unwritten agreements were universally followed. Make what up to now has been mutually agreed on traditional actions the law of the land. And make the breaking of those laws impeachable offenses.

I would add these:

1. Create a new fairness doctrine for media.
2. Strengthen elections laws requiring transparency of donations, presidential candidates’ tax returns, and requiring all business connections to foreign governments be made public. In addition, require any communication between members of a campaign and citizens and/or leaders of a foreign country be made public (not personal between friends but business/government contacts—not sure about this one because of privacy issues).
3. End the revolving door of lobbyist to government position overseeing the same industry. We need complete independence here.
4. Strengthen the IG law and change their reporting to a bipartisan committee in Congress so the president and agency heads cannot hide or stop investigations.
5. Publicly fund federal elections.
6. Pass a law to overturn Citizens United.
7. Limit the use of acting agency and department heads to a few weeks, perhaps six. Trump has abused this power by appointing a never-ending supply of acting appointments that bypass the requirement for Senate confirmation.
8. Analyze our federal court system for responsiveness in time. The last circuit court, the DC. court, was established by Congress in 1982 when we had a population of just under 234 million people. Today we have a population of around 329 million, almost a hundred million more people with no additional appellate courts. Because the SC takes so few cases, it’s the appellate courts that often have the final ruling and those rulings take entirely too long for justice to be satisfied. Any addition, any appeal from Congress needs to be automatically fast tracked.
9. Given number 7’s analysis, the SC may need an additional number of justices added as each justice oversees assigned circuits.

First and foremost, we must investigate and convict the most egregious examples of crimes, grifting and treason. We must make an example of the likes of Roger Stone, Michael Flynn and even a Congress person or two - these are the folks who enabled Trump; the public must know that there are real world consequences to such behavior.

In that same vein, we must resist our tendency to ignore the problem "for the good of the country" or "to look forward rather than backward." The past 30 years (Reagan - Iran contra; Bush - Iraq) have shown us that when we don't make an example of Republican wrongdoing, they get the message that they can get away with anything and it only gets worse over time. You have to stand up to a bully.

Second, we need to learn how to message. Republicans -cheats, liars and cons that they are - are incredibly effective messengers, able to distill their positions into a five second sound bite or three word tag line. We drone on about policy for 10 minutes, losing the public. By wining the hearts and minds of the American people with effective messaging, we can make sure the Pub's don't get effective traction. Study the Lincoln Project Ads!

Third, as many others above have noted, we need to counter the multi-prong attack Republicans have made on voting. From gerrymandering, to all forms of voter suppression to chiseling away at Citizens United (it's about the Supreme Court, people!), we need to make sure that people are encouraged to vote and that their vote is counted. Republicans know that the only way to win is to suppress the vote, so so much of their playbook is devoted to that

Also, agree with second, but that is more of a "party-specific" problem, and I am looking for non-partisan solutions that cannot be abused by any party (or not abused to the point of breaking the system).

These companies have been struggling while outlets promoting provocative and false information thrive. It's disheartening to see what used to be considered fringe move into the mainstream. They need to be pushed back to the fringes.