My Idea for Elections

Anyone else starting to block out election coverage? Tomorrow’s Iowa Caucuses are 308 days until the General Election on November 6th. Romney “officially” announced he was running 214 days ago on June 2nd, 2011. Even before Romney’s announcement, political commentators spent hours analyzing potential candidates (“Will she run… or not?”). He is one of at least 8 people sharing this coverage. This whole process has gotten absurd.

There are a whooping 28(!!!!) primary debates either completed or to be completed for the GOP. Really?! If we haven’t reached it already, when do those debates become repetitive?

I see no need for presidential candidates to campaign for over 500 days. There is such a thing as apathy. I also say this understanding this is being done by President Obama as well. He’s done fundraisers while in office while his GOP contenders battled it out at a debate.

Here’s my idea: I propose making “election season” an eight-month ordeal. Not too short that candidates can’t get their message across and not long enough that we get tired of hearing their message. Instead of allowing candidates to declare candidacy whenever they’d like, they have the first week of March to enter the race. Stand on your front porch and make your entry speech, then hit the road, but not a day before March. You’ll also be prohibited from doing fundraising prior to March 1st (you too, President Obama).

Former Governor Jon Hunstman

3.5 months after you declare your presidency bid, the primary elections are held. No early Iowa Caucuses or New Hampshire Primaries; everyone, from all 50 states, vote on the same day. How a candidate performs in Iowa early on, on some occasions, determines if that candidate stay in the race. Why does Iowa get to “whittle down” candidates for the rest of the country? Jon Huntsman, arguably one of the GOP’s strongest candidates, isn’t putting any effort in Iowa. It’ll be interesting to see how long that campaign lasts. (side note: 2008 GOP candidate John McCain finished fourth in the Iowa Caucasus that year.) There will be five debates; one for each of the major news networks (Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS).

If you survive your party’s nomination process, you begin next four months campaigning for the General Election. Again, not too short and not too long…. just right. Four months is plenty of time to continue to plead your case to the country (remember, you’ve already been doing it for 4 months during the primaries). During debates, you will be questioned on previous policy and evasive half truths and lies will not be tolerated. You’re running for President; not getting voted to a popularity contests. Truths may hurt, but lying is so much worse.

As normal, the General Election will take place the first Tuesday in November.

I bring up this suggestion knowing it will never work. BILLIONS of dollars are tied to the election. 24/7 news cycles will have little to fill their hours of commentary with (maybe more reruns of Lockup: RAW?). Sales teams at local TV stations will have massive amounts of inventory to fill bottom-feeding  advertisements. (Have you or someone you know been a victim of ____?).

Again, I know this would never have a chance of changing the political landscape. Still, it’d be nice to see the season shortened so we, as the electorate, can actually begin to care again. Dwayne Wade and Kobe Bryant are enjoying a shortened season, why can’t Mitt Romney and Ron Paul?

What ideas do you have to improve the election process?