Article: How about a little democracy for a change?

"My personal interest is in electoral, political and government reforms. Virtually all the reforms I examine and recommend in my book could be accomplished through constitutional amendments. People need to see amendments as an alternative form of lawmaking. Because Congress has failed the public as our regular lawmaking institution (and we have no federal ballot initiative mechanism to create laws), we are forced to use the Article V convention option the framers of the Constitution gave us – they correctly anticipated that the time would come when we the people acting through our sovereign states would need a way around Congress. One thing about Friends of the Article V Convention group that I stressed during its formation is that we should not make the mistake that all previous efforts at getting a convention made: namely, they all advocated a specific amendment. All that does is bring out opponents not just to the specific amendment, but to the convention idea itself. What I stress is that we must honor the exact words of Article V, and that means we have a right to a general convention. Convention delegates must be free to consider any possible amendments they think worthy of discussion. Our group will try very hard to avoid advocating specific amendments and stay passionately focused on getting a convention – period."

11. What are your thoughts on electronic voting machines?

"I have always had a Luddite streak in me. And so I have always been skeptical of the trustworthiness of electronic voting. We need absolute transparency in our voting system to maximize trust in it. I have such a negative view of the two major parties that I think they (and their rich supporters) are quite capable of using any available dirty tricks to win elections. It may sound crazy, but if no can stop damn Internet spam and Microsoft can’t make reliable software, then why should we trust electronic voting?"

12. With your obvious disdain for the two party duopoly, I assume you are not supporting a presidential hopeful from either side. Putting reality aside, who would you like to see as our next president?

"I have zero confidence in ALL Democratic and Republican candidates; as long as they all take big money from corporate and other special interests they have no credibility and deserve no trust and public support. I have waited for some major party candidate to say that they would only take campaign contributions of no more than, say, $50 dollars from individuals and groups. I always vote for a third party candidate."

13. You often write about the need for a vibrant and competitive third party. Of the existing third parties, which do you think has the best opportunity to break the duopoly?

"None of the current ones have a chance. That really saddens me. The two big ones, the Greens and Libertarians, never seem to have the capability of reaching a broad cross-section of Americans. They also delude themselves that winning a few local elections will, somehow, some day make them competitive on the national level; I just don’t see it happening. I am working with a new party: the Centrist Party (www.uscentrist.org) that has just been formed, and I also support the Populist Party of America (www.populistamerica.com). There is also a new Whig Party that merits attention ( http://thephoenixchronicles.org/)."

14. What do you say to critics who assert that voting for a third party candidate (i.e. Nader) is a waste or to those who contend that it robs a viable contender of a chance at victory?

"The only people who should feel ashamed and guilty are the ones putting Democrats and Republicans in office. To me, it is pure insanity to keep putting both of these totally corrupt parties in power. I am a proud dissident and would rather see more people not vote, than keep voting for the two major parties. Lesser-evil voting has already destroyed our country. In a perverse way, it would help the nation if voter turnout dropped to, say, 10 percent of eligible voters, so the two-party controlled political system and government would have absolutely NO credibility, certainly not as any type of democracy. At least voting for third party candidates sends some message to the power elites about the degree of dissatisfaction in the electorate. I also favor, as an electoral reform, having all ballots give voters the option of None of the Above."

15. In light of the severity and extent of the Bush administration’s criminal behavior, how do you account for Pelosi taking “impeachment off the table” now that the Dems have control of Congress?

"Just proves my point that Democrats as well as Republicans do not merit any support by true progressives, dissidents, and politically astute people. Another constitutional amendment we need is one that broadens the scope of justifications for impeachment of the president. I also advocate prosecution of Bush and Cheney for criminally negligent homicide. I am sick of so many people calling themselves progressives (what I call neo-progressives) because for some reason they are ashamed of openly calling themselves Democrats. Of course, as Pelosi and most other Democratic members of Congress are showing, neo-progressives should feel ashamed for their support of Democrats."

16. If you were sitting face to face with the reader of this interview, what are five things you would encourage them to do to aid in destroying the delusion and making democracy a reality?

"First, visit www.foavc.org to learn more about the Article V convention provision in our Constitution and why it is needed.

Second, become an active member of the group and help build support for a convention among citizens and state legislatures. Anyone who thinks of themselves as a dissident or rebel, or is just turned off by our political and government system, should become a member.

Third, read my book Delusional Democracy – Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government. I can promise even the most politically engaged persons that they will learn a lot of new information about the decline of American democracy and the ways to restore it. People need to rally around a set of specific reforms to improve our nation. Emotions are not enough.

Fourth, stop voting for Democrats and Republicans. Either do not vote or find a third party candidate you feel good about.

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