Obama likes idea of mandatory voting

[GannonFan]

Would "Present" be an option for mandatory voting?

Now you have to admit, that's funny stuff right there.

[LeadBolt]

Would "Present" be an option for mandatory voting?

Wow! Andy nailed this one.

[Ivytalk]

Would "Present" be an option for mandatory voting?

Andy's best post ever!

[andy7171]

Brace yourselves. Sprout ain't gonna like this!

[kalm]

Campaign finance reform must be too difficult for him to make any headway against.

Besides, just b/c everyone votes, doesn't mean the wealthy won't still have access to people in our government.

It isn't difficult, just make it crystal clear where the money is coming from - maximum transparency for campaign donations. The courts are never going to allow real limits on spending because you're never going to be able to convince them that you're not limiting speech. So forget that angle and just make the slickest and best system possible to track where all the money is coming from and the let the voters decide from there.

And yes, the wealthy will always have access to people in government - that will be the case no matter if we took money out of campaigns or not.

1) Agreed on transparency for now but the courts are wrong on corporate personhood and courts can change.

2) The other path is a constitutional amendment. Four states have already passed resolutions in both houses calling for a constitutional convention and two more have resolutions pending. 34 states are needed to make it a go.

3) Yes, the wealthy have more access, but financing elections gives them almost complete capture of the system. Taking money out of politics would not solve all problems but at the very least it would make bribery illegal. To say it wouldn't matter is plain silly.