Republic of the Great Lakes

The Republic of the Great Lakes or RGL is a newly formed autonomous movement seeking independence for the long neglected people of the Great Lakes region. The “United” States government has willingly forfeited its legitimacy by failing to represent the people first. It has instead fallen to the corrupt interests of the ultra wealthy, Wall Street and corporations to the detriment of the people. The establishment of a new nation that respects, serves and preserves the interests of the people first is a necessary response to the institutionalized corruption that has taken over the government of the United States of America.

The formation, constitution and makeup of the RGL would need to be decided upon by a peoples congress in the future. The founders of this movement would like to make some suggestions below on how this new government could be comprised to ensure it does not fall victim to the same problems currently existing in the United States.

Founders Suggestions:

The RGL would be made up of Legislative, Judicial and Executive Council branches. Legislative would have one body of elected representatives. No senate would be necessary and this one congress would hold most power in the RGL. The Executive Council would be elected by the members of Congress but beholden to that Legislative body.

The Legislative Branch would consist of elected representatives from their respective communities. Each representative would represent a set number of voting age citizens to keep representation proportional. The total number of representatives in the Legislature would increase and decrease in number as population changes. The Legislature is the most powerful branch in government. No other branch may interfere with the decisions of the Legislature as it most accurately reflects the will of the people. To ensure government always serves the interests of the citizens first, this government should require that a Peoples’ Party of the RGL always maintains a 2/3rds majority in the Legislative Branch by law. This is critically important to ensure the RGL does not fall victim to the same problems of the United States, the capture of government by the ultra wealthy and corporations.

The Executive Council would consist of 11 Members elected by the Legislative Branch every five years or upon special circumstances where an election is called. The duty of the Executive Council is to represent the government to the world, vote on time critical decisions of national security and craft short/long term national policy proposals that the Legislative Branch is responsible for voting on approving. The Legislative Branch can always override the decisions of the Executive Council and all acts of war must be approved by the Legislative by law.

The Judicial Branch will be made up of 25 Judges. The members will be nominated by the Executive Council and must be approved by the Legislature by a 60% majority. The Judicial does not have the power to overturn laws written by the Legislature. In strict cases of questions over constitutionality of laws passed by the Legislature, the Judicial must submit them to the Executive Council which will vote to determine if they should be submitted for reevaluation by the Legislature. If constitutionality of a law is kicked back to the Legislature, the Legislature must vote on amending the law or scrapping it.

While the nation’s capital will be decided upon a vote in the first Peoples Congress, we anticipate the following cities should be considered candidates: Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee and Cleveland. Should the situation change, Toronto should also be considered. This list is strictly only a suggestion.

States will not exist within the RGL to maintain the cohesion and shared identity of the people regardless of their geographic location within it. Local governments will maintain authority of and administration of their regions. They will also submit their chosen representative to the National Congress through a vote of the people in that region. Elections for each seat must take place every five years. Any representative may be recalled by a majority vote of their constituents at any time. A representative may also be removed by the National Congress and submitted back to the local government for a new election upon the success of a 55% vote in the National Congress. All elections must be funded by the local government for each representative to maintain free and fair elections. Elections for the EC and Judicial branches will be funded by the national government. No private money can be allowed into the process by law.

A fundamental goal of the RGL is the maintaining and preservation of the waters, wildlife and biodiversity of the Great Lakes. Our future is intrinsically tied to the health of the Great Lakes. Water is a fundamental necessity not just for life, but for the peoples of the Republic of the Great Lakes.