Idiot-proofing Democracy: How to fix the Constitution

The Founding Fathers of the United States were optimists. They never expected that a major party would support blatant violation of the Constitution so often that democratic voices would grow hoarse from trying to stop the avalanche of obvious violations.

Idiot-proofing Democracy is designed to prevent that from happening again. Some changes have been in demand for years, even decades, but no one has made them happen. Term limits, ending the Electoral College, few people argue with things like that. Much more controversial include issues such as legally defining personhood. When are you legally considered a person? When does it start? When does it end? These answers directly affect other questions such as: Who is allowed to decide what medical care you receive?

The two biggest new features of this book are Fitness for Duty and a novel approach to fix gerrymandering. The latter will be addressed in a separate post.

Understanding the Concept of Fitness for Duty

The term Fitness for Duty is based on a military concept. If you are injured in the line of duty, when are you fit to resume your duties? In this context, it is applied to candidates of high ranking positions in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches of government. In other words, the President, VP, Cabinet members, Congress, and Supreme Court justices. Are candidates fit to perform the position for which they have been elected or nominated?

What are the elements of Fitness for Duty?

1. Physical Health Assessment: Nobody expects these people to be Olympic athletes, but we need honest objective assessment of their physical condition. Do they have any chronic conditions or are taking any medications which could affect their judgement or ability to perform their duties?

   
   

2. Mental Health Assessment: The advanced age of many high level people in government has made dementia a growing concern. Are candidates of sound mind? A large percentage of the population has some level of mental illness, but is the candidate sufficiently sound to perform their duties? Are they taking any medications which could affect their judgement adversely?

   
   

3. Financial Assessment: Politicians used to be very responsible about giving up possible financial conflicts of interest, but that has been blatantly ignored by many recently. This affects their ability to make objective domestic policy decisions, but also protects from blackmail by foreign powers.

4. Security Clearances: A daft policy currently in place allows the leaders of the Executive and Legislative Branches to get automatic national security clearances. This is tragic for our military and intelligence gathering agencies. The Judicial Branch justices do not need clearances because our laws are never classified.

   
   

5. Qualifying Exams: This assessment is named based on the tests given before you continue with a doctoral (Ph.D.) program. If you have been elected or nominated for a high level position, do you have a basic understanding of what that job is? If you are elected to Congress, do you know what Congress does? Do you know what checks and balances are? We don’t expect you to be a lawyer but please meet minimal qualifications for your position.