Pick 27 people...

[bluecollar2]

I was having a discussion this evening with an old shipmate who is a conservative.

I mentioned to him that if times were different I'm not sure that the American experience could be repeated today.

He asked,"how so"?

I said, in those days you had Franklin, Washington,Adam's, Jefferson etc


We decided to look into it.

If you had to put yourself in the same situation they were in, to start a new country/america/ society....and you could only draw from the people you know and have been alive during your lifetime...who would you pick and why?

Who would you select to write a new constitution and bill of rights?

There are no specific requirements.

For the record, my first choice was Dolly Parton. She epitomises every thing that is decent about America.

Would love to hear your input.

Remember to add why you specifically recommended or suggested the individual or individuals.

[Irish_Dem]

1. Zelensky

[bluecollar2]

9. Why...n/t

[Lefta Dissenter]

2. Jimmy Carter

I love the picks so far.

[bluecollar2]

10. Why...n/t

[bluecollar2]

11. Why...n/t

[Wicked Blue]

4. Al Franken

[bluecollar2]

12. Why...n/t

[Wicked Blue]

48. Good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, people like him

TBH I admire his intellect and political views.

[SouthernIrish]

5. Several smart intellects in Congress

Katie Porter
Jamie Raskin
Sherrod Brown

[bluecollar2]

13. Why...n/t

[Meadowoak]

6. Bernie Sanders

[bluecollar2]

14. Why...n/t

[Meadowoak]

7. Barrack Obama

[bluecollar2]

15. Why...n/t

[treestar]

51. lawyer like Lincoln and Jefferson

philosophical - thinks about things. Also has a line on the common people - he is well smarter than they, but still respects them. He always showed he knew what was going on, what were the latest trends and jokes. He did things like his basketball bracket and his list of books he liked for the year.

The endeavor includes thinking of the future, the children, which he gets so well - he is a child and baby whisperer! That film of the crying baby stopping when Michele hands the baby to Barack! Classic. And wearing the tiara with the little girls. Empathy which must come in handy when trying to form a working government that will serve all the people.

[bluecollar2]

53. Excellent reasoning....n/t

[Grown2Hate]

17. Rachel Maddow would be high on my list.

She's thoughtful and does an extraordinary amount of research, helping us learn from past mistakes, and always with a long view type of vision.

[bluecollar2]

18. Thanks for your input

And reasoning.

[Grown2Hate]

20. Sure thing! Very interesting thought experiment.

[Grown2Hate]

19. President Joe Biden. You'd be hard pressed to find a leader that

makes decisions from a more empathetic place than Joe, so he'd have others in mind throughout the process.

[Celerity]

21. You said: 'you could only draw from the people you know and have been alive during your lifetime'

I highly doubt most people know these famous people they are picking.

[bluecollar2]

23. Good point

I'll go back and edit...

BTW...well done vs. Palace.

Was hoping to go up against them in the final. Although they're good, Chelsea are tougher.

[MerryBlooms]

24. Yeah, I thought I wasn't getting the question

When I saw the answers. Founding Fathers knew each other, I thought?

[cachukis]

26. The founding fathers knew each other mostly by their own

intellectual rigor. Think about it. They were miles apart before their meetings at conventions and brought their own perspectives to the table.

[MerryBlooms]

29. But they did meet, and they did come to know each

Other more than just through namesake and writings. I took the question in the OP different than you, that was all I was saying.

[cachukis]

37. Not a problem to me. I took the OP to put together a revisit

to the founding with contemporaries worthy of the task. I don't personally know more than a handful of intellectually savvy despite my time in education.
I feel I know Thoreau, Dostoevsky et al, from the questions I posed them as I read. Thankfully, they generally anticipated those questions and answered them later on in the books. If that is not conversation, I stand corrected.

[cachukis]

25. We all have intellectually responded to the characters

we have met, even from afar. I would be able to sit at a table with Bill Clinton and know him well enough to converse comfortably. I would not be able to challenge his inner circle authority, but could certainly discuss matters of import with an awareness of his past responses.
Dolly Parton, for example, wears the heart of all of us on her sleeve.

[Celerity]

27. public personas often do not match the real person

[cachukis]

36. No question about that, but you can sense their

understanding of the world, regardless. Ted Cruz, for example, plays to his audience. You cannot help but see his ambition shading any sense of responsibility to anything but that. Katie Porter, is a gamer in the real sense that it matters to her children.
If I'm wrong on either of them, then I'll eat shoe leather.

[cachukis]

22. Neil de Grasse Tyson, science

Gary Kasparov, outsider, chess master
Laurence Tribe, constitutional lawyer
Ken Dryden, figured out flying pucks
Bill Russell, the greatest athlete in an unforgiving town
Billie Jean Moffitt King, showed men
Hilary Clinton, been through it all
Jane Goodall, humanity was not started with humans
Angela Merkel, stands for humanity despite manity
Elizabeth Warren, anticipates the rebuttal
Stacy Abrams, knows the opposition to the right thing

Off the cuff. Would insist on more scientists, sociologists, and even economists. Add a few lawyers for grammar and legal experience, but want people who have faced obstacles and were not jaded by them.

[StarryNite]

42. I like your list!

[chowder66]

28. Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Stacey Abrams, Michelle Obama

Katie Porter, Joe Biden, Al Franken, Jamie Raskin, James Clyburn, George Carlin, Carl Sagan, Barrack Obama, Deb Haaland, RBG....

These are not listed in order of favorites.

1) Hillary - she is always right and has one of the most comprehensive backgrounds of anyone to have led the U.S.
2) Nancy - knows how to get things done, mastery of political maneuvering.
3) Stacey - knows how to organize and message
4) Michelle - fresh compassionate perspective and strength
5) Katie - Succinct Soul Crusher
6) Joe - compassionate leadership and deep history of political knowledge
7) Al - Smart, fresh, analytical and gets to the point
8) Jamie - very similar to Joe, heartfelt, passionate, focused
9) James - knowledgable, influential
10) George - Prescient and tells it like it is
11) Carl Sagan - Prescient
12) Barrack - to see what he could have achieved without the constraints.
13) Deb - takes Native causes seriously and get things done
14) RBG - need I say more?


There's more but I can't think...I just got hit with a tired stick.

[Takket]

30. i'm going to give specific names so much as qualifications

All would be highly respected and accomplished as chosen by the peers in their fields

A doctor, specializing in women's health and reproduction
A psychiatrist
A 5 star general
2 lawyers
2 judges
A law enforcement officer (commander of a major city)
3 legislators
An agriculturist
An architect (specializing in master planning)
An engineer (specializing in transportation)
An engineer (specializing in renewable energy)
3 high ranking ACLU members
3 Economists
A computer scientist
A journalist that covers politics
A foreign policy states-person
A high ranking OSHA member
A Union rep/spokesperson
A teacher
An environmentalist

[bluecollar2]

31. Thanks all for contributing

I started this thread on a thought that we'd get a diversity of opinions.

I'll try to refine it over time.

27 candidates over 27 days is the goal.

[LuckyCharms]

32. 27+1, off the top of my head (Edit: only 27, counted Raskin twice)

1) Biden

2) B. Obama

3) M. Obama

4) Hillary Clinton

5) Jimmy Carter

6) Raskin

7) Zelensky

8) William Apostle (younger perspective, has known suffering and has risen above hardship)

9) Raskin

10) Dolly Parton

11) Al Franken

12) Adam Schiff

13) Chef José Andrés

14) R. Maddow

15) Liz Cheney

16) Dwight Eisenhower

17) Lyndon Johnson

18) JFK

19) Malala Yousifazi

20) Jon Stewart

21) Maya Angelou

22) Jimmy Kimmel (seriously)

23) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

24) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

25) Katie Porter

26) Muhammad Ali

27) Malcom Nance

27+1) Carl Sagan

[mountain grammy]

33. I feel lucky to have been alive at the same time as

Martin Luther King Jr.. He allways knew what he was fighting for and always had his eyes on the prize. He understood the meaning of full citizenship and the wastefulness of war. A deep and thoughtful leader who moved mountains and would have done so much more. The untimely death of MLK is right there with Lincoln and Kennedy, in my opinion.

There are so many more, but Dr. King is always at the top of my list and I'm too tired to do more. Interesting thread. Thanks.

[First Speaker]

38. My choice to head the convention would be Richard Posner...

...well-known judge and constitutional expert. Not, I hasten to say, because I agree with him 100%--I don't. But because I've read his work on constitutional history, think he's the most brilliant student of the subject in my lifetime, and feel that he'd guide the convention thru its ups and downs with fairness and a steady hand.

[Ferrets are Cool]

39. My first two choices are dead

Zappa and Carlen.
And please don't ask why.

[nocoincidences]

40. christiane amampour for her perspective on the world

[summer_in_TX]

41. I'd add Steve Schmidt to the pool of talent.

For his love of country, his broad knowledge of history, and for his mental toughness. I think we need to be sure to include that in the skill set. Plus, he will add a di

Stacy Abrams for her brains and organizational skills.

Al Franken for his brilliant intellect and his humor.

Deb Haaland to make sure that indigenous Americans have a seat at the table.

Cory Booker for his eloquence, moral compass, and heroism.

Delores Huerta, for her strong organizational skills and commitment to laborers.

[Raine]

43. Zelensky

first, last and always! 💙🌻🇺🇦🌻💛

[KS Toronado]

44. My list

Martin Luther King
James Earl Jones
Chris Rock
Patrick Mahomes
Colin Kaepernick
Tony Gonzalez
Michael Strahan
Denzel Washington
Morgan Freeman
Dwayne Johnson
Samuel L. Jackson
Laurence Fishburne
Forest Whitaker
Eddie Murphy
Danny Glover
Sidney Poitier
Jamie Foxx
Michael Jordan
Michael Clarke Duncan
Billy Dee Williams
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Ving Rhames
Wesley Snipes
Chris Tucker
Don Cheadle
Kevin Hart
Chadwick Boseman
Dave Chappelle
Spike Lee
Carl Weathers
Harry Belafonte
Arsenio Hall
LeVar Burton
Mr. T
Barry Sanders

Well, the white males aren't doing that good of a job running this country.
Many on this list rose up out of poverty.

[Autumn]

45. Willie Nelson, Martha Stewart, Snoop Dog, Matthew McConaughey,

AOC, Bernie Sanders, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Neil de Grasse Tyson.

Willie because my husband dragged me to a concert of Willie's and then he had to drag me out. He is a decent fun person

Martha Steward because It's a Good Thing. And she knows what I like.

Snoop Dog because hey it's Snoop Dog

Matthew McConaughey because Alright Alright Alright and if you ever hear him and Snoop Dog cruising in a Lincoln singing Willie Nelson's On The Road Again you'll know why.

AOC Because she's perfect and brilliant and would make a great President of the world.

Bernie Sanders because he's gruff, wears great mittens and he cares.

President Volodymyr Zelensky because hr knows democracy, is willing to fight for it and is a compassionate caring leader.

Neil de Grasse Tyson because Science is a thing.

[Ziggysmom]

49. Martha Stewart? She just let her four vicious fleabags kill her innocent cat. Disgusting.

And she defends the poorly trained beasts, who are supposed to be her purebred beauties. She calls negligence an accident. Dogs have a great sense of smell, they can determine an intruder from a cat! Those ugly beasts should be put down before they kill a small child " By accident". A She still puts her insincere smirk on advertisements for pet foods and items. No, anybody but Stewart. She's a bad thing.

[Autumn]

50. Well whatever you do don't put her on your list.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

46. 27 people?

I would like the best from 3 different groups-
9 from an educational viewpoint-some of the best teachers, educators, etc.
9 from the healing arts-doctors, medical support, people who work in social services
9 from those who are experts in the legal or government field who can help implement ideas.

How did I do?

[Victor_c3]

47. I'm not sure I'd even pick many of the founding fathers for the job back then

As a group, the founding fathers were among some of the wealthiest men in America at the time and many were slave owners.

There were much more liberal factions out there and it seems to me that the group of men we call our founding fathers forced themselves to the table so that they would be able to maintain some semblance of the status quo and their lofty positions in society after a revolution. Some of the founding fathers were idealists, but I wouldn’t assume that was the case for many of them.

If it were to all happen again, I would gander that we’d see a similar group of people step forward. The ultra-wealthy would have their oversized say in the formation of our government and we’d have a system, that at least outwardly purports to be liberal and for the people, but mostly maintains the current status quo.

[treestar]

52. Being wealthy alone is not a condemnation

especially back then, when education followed.

They threw off monarchy, which was an important forward development in their time.