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AMR's avatar

How to rebuild guardrails:

1. Ranked choice voting with single primaries and no party affiliation on the ballot for all federal elections. This will push political players towards the middle and weaken the extremist fringes.

2. Constitutional amendment to limit the presidential pardon power by requiring Federal District or Supreme Court majority approval on the sole determination that it serves "the interest of justice".

3. Constitutional amendment or SCOTUS case law that allows a crime- fraud exception to presidential immunity (so official actions and motives *can* be considered in court in those cases).

4. Ban stock trading by elected officials - broad independently managed funds, only.

5. Voting with EITHER picture ID OR self identification and leaving an electronic thumbprint (throw the conspiricists a bone).

6. Elimination of all PACs and corporate campaign donations and limitation of private donations to $10K per candidate per election. Campaign dollars go into a managed fund, with all excess after the final election provided to the Federal (or state) government for debt reduction.

7. I might even go for 18-year term limits for SCOTUS.

8. Case law or constitutional amendment to bury forever the "unitary executive" theory. Clearly allow Congress to set up watchdog agencies (their responsibility for oversight) with leadership under Congressional (not Executive) control - true independent oversight.

It's a start.

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