LET’S STOP VOTING FOR A PRESIDENT
Chuck Klosterman postulated in his book But What if We’re Wrong that perhaps the undoing of the USA would be the constitution itself. The document, and more importantly the process, needed to adapt to the current timeframe. There is a widely held belief that the forefathers of the country were infallible and therefore whatever system of government they came up with, was going preordained by God as the perfect system.
Recent political maneuvering and divisions seem to have exposed several flaws in this “grand experiment.”
One such flaw is the office of the President. The founding fathers never imagined the role of president having as much power as the office has today. In fact, the Electoral College was created because in a country before mass communications, they feared that the people would not have heard of many of the prominent national candidates. How was a farmer in Vermont to be aware of a candidate from Georgia? To ensure that the office was filled, the electoral college was instituted to select a leader that would best mirror the wishes of the people of the state (whether directly elected or not). As the country grew each president, with some exception, would grow the powers associated to the office. At the same time, communications proliferated and politicians became well known everywhere. The Constitution never intended to handle this type of democracy.
With the office power growing and news coverage ubiquitous, the position became more about the person than actual governance. I can't recall the specific election, but in the last 20 years the ability to "sit and have a beer" with a candidate became an important factor. I could expand on this topic in much more detail (and perhaps I will later) but the point that I am trying to make is that the office became more about the person than the actual issues. On top of that, it is expected that every candidate be passionate about and have a plan for every issue. AND that all issues are weighted the same. There is no thought given to what a governing agenda should prioritize.
The Z Axis:
The X and Y axis schools of thought are to elect a Republican and Democrat in alternating terms and expect balance to prevail. This clearly isn't working.
The Z axis would suggest that the office of the President be eliminated. Stop voting for celebrity and start voting for actual issues. Vote directly for cabinet positions. This would include:
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor, Department of Labor
Secretary of Health & Human Services
Secretary of Housing & Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Homeland Security
Voting directly for these positions allows the country to vote for real experts. Today, cabinet positions are appointment by the celebrity the President, and often are assigned as political favors rather than genuine qualifications (I am sure that Pete Buttigieg is a fine leader, but I doubt he is the most qualified to run the Department of Transportation). It also requires candidates to present real plans that address real issues. This allows the country to prioritize those things that they want done. If it becomes determined that another department needs to be created, Congress can have the power to create the position. Or conversely, it can remove those that have become obsolete.
There are many details that would need to be worked to institute this, but in general this accomplishes three primary things:
1) It brings power closer to the actual issues
2) There is a much more clear structure for accountability
3) It removes the "celebrity" factor (well, it at least gets things moving in the right direction)
