OK, that's what's so. So what? Other than complain or protest or withdraw, what can be done?
Two Chances to Overgrow the Two-Party Duopoly
This New Year brings two heartening solutions, one strategic (good) and the other meta-strategic (even better) to "represent US" and to "WE-distribute" political power.
The first project is called in fact Represent.us.
Founded by activist Josh Silver and based on the work of Harvard law Professor Lawrence Lessig (Please watch this clarifying 18-minute TED talk), Represent.us is designed to address what Lessig and Silver both agree is the one thing that has disenfranchised the people: corruption.
I like the word "corruption". It doesn't single out one party as the culprit but rather points to a system that has for all intents and purposes "legalized lawlessness." While no legal authority would call our pay-to-play system outright "bribery", when 30% to 70% of an elected representative's time is spent raising money for re-election, it becomes obvious that much of what legislators do -- or don't do -- is for money.
Represent.us advocates a grassroots campaign of citizen-led ballot initiatives passed at the city and state level to build momentum towards national reform. Writes Josh Silver:
Every municipal and state Anti-Corruption Act creates common-sense ethics, conflict-of-interest, transparency, and campaign finance laws. State Acts create the opportunity for federal candidates from that state to campaign on the anti-corruption platform -- accountable to their constituents, not special interests.
Candidates who win election on this platform have a built-in incentive to champion Anti-Corruption laws in Washington, D.C. (because that's what got them elected). Every state we win gets us one crucial step closer to passing the American Anti-Corruption Act in the federal government.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
