What's something we could do to change something small in CO?

[IShouldDoThisAllTheTime]

I've also mentioned working together to write up a bill that will hold all elected officials to a higher standard than civilians. Something where there is a minimum threshold, and any crime committed (while in office or running) at or above that level will come with a MANDATORY jail/prison sentence. Politician wants to raise our taxes but is later found to have been dodging paying his/her own taxes? Immediate jail time. If they don't like the rules, don't run for office.

I submit that this would discourage honest people from running for office AND be a goldmine for incumbents.

Think about the tens of thousands of badly written, opaque, and selectively enforced laws and regulations on the books. Sane legal scholars across the political spectrum state that it's virtually impossible for a person to go an entire day without unwittingly committing a crime.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...keep-straight/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc

Think about the O'Donnell nonsense happening in Delaware right now, and that's just because she once admitted to being a silly teenager. Think about the Whitman debacle in California, where she actually did everything right. In these cases the stakes are embarrassment and potentially losing an election. Now imagine if an incumbent DA could actually have a challenger thrown in jail for the duration of the election.

I'm already worried about the O'Donnell and Whitman cases causing everyday folks to decide that running for office isn't worth the risk. If we're truly going to be a nation of self-government, then people actually have to get out there and get themselves into the government rather than leaving it to 1) professional politicians and 2) people who don't plan to be around when things fall apart.

I draw parallels to the parts of Sarbanes-Oxley which make officers of a corporation personally legally liable for the actions of that corporation. Who's going to sign up to be liable for the actions of 200,000 employees? I suspect that the real effect is to drive away honest folks and leaves things in the hands of those who are corrupt and wiley enough to avoid prosecution.

If you want to do something small and meaningful, campaign door-to-door for someone you support. If there isn't anyone you support, run for office -- especially local office, where one person CAN make a difference. Encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same. Elections are won and lost by ground-game, so vote and get people you know to do it too.

[Irving]

Can people go a single day without going over a certain threshold of law breaking though? For example, I'm not positive, but pretty sure I've gone more than one day in a row without committing a felony. Pretty sure...

[IShouldDoThisAllTheTime]

The point of both links I provided is that you *can't* be sure. Even worse, if you state to a federal law enforcement officer that you have not committed a felony today, and you turn out to be wrong (not lying -- *wrong*) that is itself a felony. Just ask Martha Stewart.

The point is to not give more tools to the would-be Stalins of the world. They've got more than enough.

[Irving]

Yeah. It appears that my idea has less merit than I originally thought. I still like the first idea, but something tells me that the DOW either needs, or will say that it needs, all the money it can get and wouldn't be willing to give away free licenses in exchange for labor.

[OgenRwot]

I say lets go for gold and push for arizona, vermont and alaska carry! Would it even be possible here? I belive it has a fair chance.

Not a chance in hell here, not right now anyway. We're going to have a GOP controlled House but that's only 1/3 of the battle. The Senate probably stays in the Dems hands and Hickenlooper will definitely be in the Governor's Office. That being said, it might pass the house and even if enough Senators get confused and vote for it Hickenlooper vetos the bill faster than you can say UN Bicycle Program.

I lived in Arizona for a few years and it was an extremely difficult bill to get through the legislature even with both sides controlled by the right.

It takes baby steps when you're dealing with what we have here in Colorado right now. Even Phoenix is pretty conservative. Denver is bat shit crazy liberal, same with Boulder. Pueblo is pretty liberal and other minor cities all up and down the front range. Remember, Obama won 53.5 - 44.8 and Bush barely won in 2004. We're coming back around to the right but it's gonna take a few more years.