WE NEED CHANGE

Our government is paralyzed and will continue to be stalled until we remedy certain items that put our lawmakers in a position of not governing.

1. The Super-Majority requirement in the U.S. Senate.
Real or threatened filibusters have created the need for 60 out of 100 senators to reach an agreement. If just one senator doesn't like something, the entire Senate is stalled, now without the need to actually stand on the floor and debate the issue. Any Senator using the filibuster rule, which only used to be used for extreme or unusual issues, should be required to stand and speak on the floor for hours and hours on end until he drops the block and the item can be voted on. The filibuster has been way overused in the past three years like never before in history.

2. Extreme politics in the U.S. House.
Democracy is based on compromise, however, House members have been unwilling to compromise on any level, making governing an impossibility and the public outraged. There are many pieces of legislation stalled because Republicans refuse to negotiate.

3. Excessive political polarization in the country.
The parties don't trust each other and have radical differences in views making policy decisions almost impossible. Then the extreme radicals of the Tea Party take everyone hostage to kill the country as a whole.

4. Partisan redistricting in American elections.
State legislators are creating redistricting to favor their party taking extremism to the limit, instead of fair electoral accountability.

5. Low voter turnout encourages political leaders to play to their base.
It was reported that about 40 percent of those eligible vote in congressional elections, and 60 percent vote in presidential elections. We need to urge more people to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

More people need to vote; replace the radicals with rational people; change the Senate rule to majority-rules; and revamp the filibuster rules. We need to encourage more non-partisan compromise and the will of the PEOPLE needs to be heard – not the will of the RICH, the CORPORATIONS, or the SPECIAL INTERESTS that fill the pockets of legislators who only care about their own bottom line, NOT the people who put them in office.