then the idea could be fairly easily nipped in the bud by its critics.
This seems to indicate that you feel that a few people that are opposed to something should always have their way, regardless if the majority would want it.
Well, then they could launch a full scale surprise attack on their opponents.
This is a group of people trying to help make things better. Not declare war.
and prepared beforehand, the council could put up a united front and articulate its idea elegantly and convincingly while its unprepared opponents are still coming to grips with the idea and revving up to try to prevent it from coming to pass.
This is why things are given a chance to be discussed first, and then voted upon. You are saying that they should never have a chance to work out things that they no will NOT pass. That would be a COMPLETE waste of everyone's time. I'd much rather see a proposal that has been refined and polished so that people like it better, and won't argue as much about it. If they simply threw something out with out a chance to think about it, then each and every one would be bogged down in arguements, instead of only a few things that people might go against and say: "Well, sounds good, but we'd like to talk about a couple of points first."
The council might also try some trick like ......
This is just complete hostility against any type of organizational progress. It's called being paranoid. Sorry that you have that type of issue.
Suddenly the question is more like "Do you want to keep things like they are now, or change them back to the old way?" rather than "Do you want this change to happen at all?" or "Do you like how this proposal we've drafted sounds, or would you change some parts before accepting it?" or "We're thinking of proposing this idea, what does everyone think?" Thus the power of inertia is removed from the side of the opponents and granted to the council.
Again, the structure they have proposed prevents the council from shoving anything down anyone's throats, unless the majority of the members want it.
If the council DID try something like that, members can then in turn put their own proposal to have council removed, or things changed.
Basically, if people know what the council is up to, they can stop or change things before they become too big and mature to be easily preventable.
Again, this comment shows that you think that anything the council comes up with will always be suspect or bad. Period.
Also, the less efficient communication available among the council members prevents group coordination in pushing an idea and defending it from attacks.
Oh yes, god forbid if there were any type of organizational thinking that makes things run smoothly and helps promote communications with outside groups, because we all know that the council is really the Evil Emperor and Darth Vader......
Again, you act as if this were war.Ye Gods your hostility is quite evident about any form of representation. Instead of understanding that what they are trying to do is form a group that works for you, you are making them in to a group that is going to try and control you. That anyone on the council is going to always go for some sort of "Power Trip" and exert their authority on everyone.
That anything the council comes up with must be treated as an attack on you or others. That it is important that the council should always be kept off balanced and unable to work in an organized way of any sort, because that is just simply unfair.
What other people think may be a different matter, as I said: 
