Having two legislative houses, each based on population, is an anachronism. Go unicameral. Cut government salaries, starting with Jungbauer's. He's been taking taxpayer pay, mouthing off too much, and is a knuckle-dragger on social issues. Get him and Amy Koch, and the others out to where they have to earn a living and not have one given.
Have one legislative body. Two year elections. Term limits so that nobody will again be able to say,
"If we don't have any structural change, we're going to be in this position - we've been in this position the nine years I've been here," in the Senate.
The answer to that, Sen. Jungbauer - term limits. He's been there too long already, while he has part of his term left.
I guess, my proposal, he can't get "really excited about that" either - as theory. Put a bit of heat, however, on his personal globe and he might recognize its warming.
Of the two things - term limits on the likes of Michael Jungbauer would be the primarily beneficial reform to hope for. Questions of bicameralism vs unicameralism are a bit more complicated, but any politician too long in office is like a fish out of water and in the summer sun too long.
Abeler's been in office how long? Erhart at the county level?
Entrenched politicians in either of the two parties in our two party system are problematic.
It is not as if there is a lack of competent people outside of the career politicians. Many could hold Jungbauer's seat, doing better and bloviating less.
If there were unicameralism and a GOP choice between Abeler and Jungbauer, Abeler is able. (And he has a warehouse full of signs that he sends out in semi-trailer batches.)
Bicameralism in the federal system was a compromise between populous and less populated states. England has two houses, but the House of Lords is window dressing as much as the crown, and England basically is unicameral and successfully so. If bicameralism is to be kept, it could be at the level of one senator for every four legislative districts, with 4-to-1 getting closer to the federal ratios between the number of seats in the two houses.
In closing Part 1: Tax the rich. The GOP does not want it. The ballot box offers a solution. And shrinking the size of the civil service also offers potential reform. However, given that politicians would control downsizing, or union seniority, probably too many of the wrong people would be kept.
Part 2.
Government IS a spoils system to too great an extent. And there seem to be too many executive branch chiefs, relative to indians. Brass heavy. Reform ready. But as with taxing the rich, it would be harder to trim at top bureaucratic levels of power, than to shrink the civil service levels.
You want two examples? I have two examples. And if you want bipartianship, I have bipartianship.
First: Anoka County Watchdog woofs yet again against Dan Erhart:
DAN THE HORSE MAN
The Watchdog has been wondering what Anoka County commissioner Dan Erhart was going to do with himself after voters marginalized him at the 2010 elections, relegating him to "has been" status.
And with the elevation of conservative stalwart Rhonda Sivarajah to board leader, it was plain to county government observers that Erhart had clearly thrown his sucker in the dirt and stomped away, which was a good thing for taxpayers tired of Ehrart's "help."
So we read with interest this week that Erhart has been appointed to the Minnesota Racing Commission, a regulatory body that oversees the state's horse racing industry.
That's a head scratcher.
As far as we can tell Erhart has utterly no experience or training in the field of professional horse racing.
GOVERNOR PAWLENTY APPOINTS FIVE TO METROPOLITAN AIRPORTS COMMISSION -- January 9, 2009
Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of John J. McDonald, Jr., and Donald P. Monaco; and the reappointment of Lisa Lebedoff Peilen, Andy Westerberg, and John M. Williams, DDS, to the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC). All five are appointed to four-year terms that expire on January 7, 2013.
No head scratcher to that, with any of the pup's four paws?
A dentist? And a voted out of the legislature insurance salesman politician? For the air port commission?
Consistency must truly be the hob-goblin of petty minds.
The fact is: Boards and commissions are handled that way. To the victor go the spoils of war.
And while Harold is a bit one-dimensional and myopic in his woofing, (if not arguably hypocritical or holding a severe Erhart-based grudge); he has yet to accept any such pork-and-beans commission appointment for himself, so score a very big one for watchdog integrity that way.
It is something he easily could have done.