In the first part, I described the Job Model for a U.S. Senator. From that, I will derive the skill, knowledge, and experience requirements.
See the link: http://howtoselectanamericanpresident.blogspot.com/2017/02/how-to-select-senator-part-1-of-2.html
By way of comparison, you may refer to How to Select an American President by James A. George with James A. Rodger © 2017 Archway Publishing. What is the difference between the job requirements for a President and those of a U.S. Senator?
There is one big difference, a U.S. Senator is not a chief executive or commander-in-chief. A Senator who also possesses CEO experience might be a very good candidate for President.
The job of Senator is very much focused on the law. A Senator writes, amends, retires and changes laws in concert with other Senators. The job requires collaboration and consensus. It requires exceptional communications skills.
Something strange about the American Political System is that specific domain expertise comes to the Senate randomly. For instance, the nation may need a Senator with legal and scientific or medical expertise. It is accidental that states will produce incumbents with the knowledge that is needed.
A high priority for the nation is to engineer a sustainable economy around a renewable energy paradigm. What expertise should a Senator possess to be able to help produce essential legislation that serves that purpose?
First and foremost, a Senator should be trained in the law. After that, they should reflect the knowledge and expertise that maps to what will be necessary for the nation to optimize return on national resources for the next 6-12 years or more.
As with the President, citizens should want their Senators to be of high intelligence. They should have demonstrated integrity and ethical behavior.
They should have credentials from the best universities that can include the best in their state of representation and beyond.
Senators must have demonstrated allegiance to their country and that includes having served in the U.S. Military or other public service. They should have demonstrated loyalty to their political party through hands-on engagement.
Look at the candidates’ resumes.
Here is an outline to guide your consideration and to encourage candidates to tell their story following this guide.
· Candidate name:
The kind of candidate I am: (Their words)
· Met the statutory requirements: Age requirement: 30 years, Citizen of the US: 9 years minimum, Be an inhabitant of the State for which chosen to represent
· Birth date:
· Place of birth:
· Residences during the past 9 years:
· Intelligence Quotient (IQ): (Provided by candidates from an accredited source)
· Education:
o High School (School Name/Location)
o College Graduate (College/University Name/Location
· Degree Type:
o Major areas of study:
o GPA:
o Honors/Distinctions:
o Post Graduate (University Name/Location) (for each)
· Professional Certifications:
o Bar
o CPA
o Engineer
o Medical Doctor
o Other
· Occupation/Vocation/Profession:
· Health Status: Healthy, sick, recovering, recovered: Verified with doctor’s report
Voter’s assessment of candidate age: (Will the candidate be able to complete two terms? Does the candidate have sufficient knowledge and experience as evidenced by the time spent to acquire it?)
· Young 30-50, Middle 51-60, Older 61 >
· Affected Class:
· Candidate description:
· Verified by Census filing
· Voter assessment of character and behavior
From reviewing past president’s we identified certain terms that are helpful in differentiating and describing candidates listed in alphabetical order.
o Adaptive
o Allegiant to the Constitution and nation
o Brave in the face of adversity
o Leader, follower
o Listener, talker
o Passionate, impassionate, easy-going
o Process-oriented (how), task-oriented (what), results-oriented (outcomes)
o Thundering or reassuring
o Visionary, administrator, integrator, independent, loner
This category is refined further, though this is a thought starter.
Voters’ assessment of leadership style
Similarly, we captured some words used to describe leadership styles.
o Collaborator
o Creative and inventive
o Delegator
o Detailer
o Do it yourself
o Hands on
o You’re fired
· Education and Training (Professional Development)
Life-long learning – It is beneficial to observe how presidential candidates have stayed abreast of contemporary knowledge and skill requirements.
· Knowledge:
o American government system
o Concept of operations
o Concept of the role of the president in optimizing the nation’s government performance
o Constitution
o Economics
o Entitlements
o Foreign policy
o Information and communications technology
o International trade
o Knowing each governmental department and primary expectations for them
o Knowing how to create laws
o Knowing how to work with Congress
o Law
o Operational architecture
o Primary presidential tasks and associated outcomes
· Skill:
o Administrative
o Budgeting
o Strategic planning
o Writing
o Speaking
o Negotiating
o Collaborating
o Debating
o Planning
o Problem-solving
o Decision-making
o Sense-making
o Predicting
o Modeling
o Recruiting and staffing
o Organization development
o Program evaluation and management
· Life History (Childhood to adulthood status)
The kind of person that can relate to me; the kind of person to whom I can relate; my kind of person:
o The person next door
o The person who lives on the best street
o Successful
Ability to manage the economy: The job of president is to create an environment in which private enterprise can flourish as that is what increases revenues.
· Optimization = Increasing GDP and higher quality service for the least cost and labor intensity
· Presidential Platform and Agenda: Priorities, Issues, Causes, Programs, Solutions, Vision
· Banking
· Fossil fuels
· Energy independence
· Entrepreneurs
· Food supply
· Green renewable
· Housing
· Infrastructure
· Job creation
· Manufacturing
· Nation-building
· Nuclear
· Peace-building
· Preemptive war
· Promote democracy
· Sustainable economy
· Transportation
· War is last resort
Relationship with Powerful Forces: Military Industrial Complex, Wall Street, PACs and Lobbyists
· Political Party
Relationships with party leadership
· Values:
o Attitude about big business
o Attitude about campaign contributions
o Attitude about educators
o Attitude about free speech
o Attitude about government regulation
o Attitude about gun control
o Attitude about health care
o Attitude about immigrants
o Attitude about organized labor
o Attitude about public service
o Attitude about rural America
o Attitude about small business
o Attitude toward women
o Attitude toward immigrants
o Attitude toward minorities
o Patriotic
o States’ rights versus Central government
o Work ethic
· Military Experience:
o Rank
o Combat Veteran
o Unit
o Command
o Wars and battles
o Citations and awards
· Public Office Experience:
o Vice President
o Judge
o Department Secretary
o Governor
o Senator
o House Representatives
o Mayor
o State Legislature
o Other Public Service
· Private Sector Experience:
o CEO/President
o Large Corporation
o Medium Corporation
o Small Business
o Vice President
o Director
o Professional Manager
o Entrepreneur
o Inventor
o Patents
· Memberships: Organizations and Leadership positions
· Voters’ assessment of candidates on religion: Faith matters; Faith is irrelevant; Faith is private
Arlen Spector, best US Senator example
How can a Senator be focused on the law, when many incumbents have not studied the law?
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