Draining the Swamp

Campaign Finance Reform

If voters were the only ones who could make campaign contributions, then Congress would work for the voters and not the special interests or corporations.

Candidates would only need a website with their full resume and positions on all issues and some traveling money.  No TV ads or robo-calls or 4 color glossy fliers or paid rioters would be needed. There are about 600,000 voters in each congressional district, so funding campaigns from voters is feasible.

A pro-voter campaign finance law would state that only registered voters would be allowed to make legal campaign contributions and only for those candidates who would appear on their ballots.

Special interest groups could exercise their right to free speech by posting their positions on their own websites.

Repealing the 17^th Amendment

The original US Constitution assigned state legislatures with the task of selecting US Senators.  The 17^th Amendment changed this to electing Senators by popular vote in 1913. We’ve seen the problems with voters selecting US Senators ever since. State legislatures would need to clean up their own act before voters would cede this responsibility back to the state legislatures.

Dissolve Federal Lands

The Federal government thinks it owns 30% of the US landmass because they took it.  This unconstitutional act needs to be reversed.  States should administer the return of “federal lands” to its rightful owners.  If the State is the rightful owner, then states should be able to sell this land to be put to productive use. National Parks would become State Parks.  The economic freedom of the US is based on property rights and few regulations, not land seizures.  The federal government is only allowed to own the land it operates on, including military bases and office buildings.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader