The intent of this series is to answer President Biden’s question, “What are the Republicans for?” His point being, at the time he said it, the Republican Party does not stand for anything.
The intent for the Republicans in the House should be to move quickly with a legislative agenda that will highlight a lot of national issues that can be/should be solved during the 118th Congress. This will also begin framing the Republican Platform for the 2024 presidential campaign.
Part 1, of this series, how to fix education and race relations and a plan for immigration reform.
Part 2, election reform.
Part 3, a plan for fixing a dysfunctional Congress.
Part 4, taking on the bloated bureaucracy and uncontrolled spending by the Executive Branch.
Part 5, terms of office and term limits.
Part 6, campaign finance reform.
Here is Part 7, cleaning up the primary election mess.
Again, let me remind you that none of this proposed legislation in Parts one through seven will require any taxpayer money.
Presumptive Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy speaking:
The process for the election-year primaries is a mess. Delegates selected by primary, or by caucus; open primaries, closed primaries; proportional convention delegates, winner-take-all delegates; committed delegates, uncommitted delegates; delegates that are pledged, those that are unpledged; Republican rules, Democrat rules; at-large delegates, congressional district delegates; superdelegates in the Democrat party, Republican pledged delegates either bound or unbound.
It is our intent to quickly produce a bill to streamline the primary election season with the underpinnings of one person one vote and that vote counts all the way to the party convention.
The existing 435 districts will provide the basis for equal representation of convention delegates. There will be four delegates per congressional district totaling 1740.
Limit the primary season: There will be no “campaigning” before January 1st of the election year. Included in the law will be a very detailed, unambiguous discussion of what constitutes “campaigning”. Appoint a panel of retired federal judges to rule on complaints of campaigning before January 1st. If found guilty, the penalty will be that the candidate’s name will be removed from the ballot in the state in which the infraction occurred.
No caucuses: Take a look inside the Iowa caucuses. On a cold evening 25 neighbors in a small community will crowd into someone’s living room and listen to speeches for several hours then vote by raising their hand. Given the option to actually go to the polls that day, perhaps 250 folks from that same community might have actually cast a secret vote.
Four voting dates: There will be four regional primary election dates with about fifty campaigning days preceding each. The actual dates will be the Saturday and Sunday closest to February 19th, April 9th, May 29th and July 17th. Voting will take place over a weekend to maximize voter participation.
Each region will consist of a group of contiguous states with a total number of Congressional districts closest to 109; approximately one fourth of the 435 representatives. For example, the northeast region will include the thirteen states in the northeast bordered on the southern edge by Virginia and West Virginia.
The order in which the regions will hold their primaries will be based on a drawing held July 1st, six months prior to the commencement of campaigning on January 1st.
Open primaries: All political parties will hold their elections on the same dates and all primaries will be open. the voter will go to a polling station, show their voter ID card and request a party ballot.
Committed delegates: Every delegate must be chosen by the voters and every delegate will be pledged to a contestant. Superdelegates are either members of the Democratic National Committee, elected officials, and/or distinguished party leaders. They are neither elected by Democrat primary voters nor are they required to pledge their support to a specific presidential candidate; an undemocratic, unamerican process.
Proportionality vs winner-take-all: The delegates allocated to a particular candidate in every state will be proportional to that candidate’s share of the total votes cast. A winner-take-all process does not allow many citizens’ vote to count at the convention.
In or out: Candidates will not be allowed to suspend their campaign and retain their delegates. A candidate is either in or out. If a candidate quits prior to the last regional primary, the delegates they have gained will be reallocated proportionally. For example: A state has 120 delegates; candidate A got 50% of the vote (60 delegates), candidate B 30% (36 delegates) and candidate C 20% (24 delegates). Subsequently, candidate C drops out. Candidate C’s 24 delegates will be proportionally allocated to candidates A and B based on the per cent of the total vote they received.
Convention rules: The usual procedure is for convention rules to be determined at a meeting just as the parties’ conventions begin. The rules for each party will be written and finalized by December 31st before campaigning begins on January 1st.
Any questions?
OK, see you all tomorrow for some more House legislations in the 118th Congress.
Author’s note: The next proposed Speaker presentation to America outlining the legislative agenda for the 118th Congress will soon appear entitled, WHAT’S NEXT REPUBLICANS? (Part 8 Tax Reform).
Republicans have to educate the American people that the numerous and significant nation-wide problems can be fixed and Republicans will lead the process. Therefore, again I ask, if you have contact with any movers-and-shakers in Washington, please provide them a copy of this plan. Thank you. Marv
Marvin L. Covault, Lt Gen US Army, retired, is the author of VISION TO EXECUTION, a book for leaders, and a new book May 2022, FIX THE SYSTEMS, TRANSFORM AMERICA as well as the author of a blog WeThePeopleSpeaking.com