This outlines a hard-ball offensive against incumbents who ignore the American public and their constituents to either get them back on track or remove them from office. It employs a deft combination of petitions and pledges to force the hand of legislators who have become the puppets of the rich and powerful.

::::::::

Grover Norquist's no-new-taxes pledge (the "Norquist Pledge") that he demanded of conservative legislators has become a weapon of mass destruction. The American economy now suffers from the burden of unsustainable cumulative debt and the shredding of the social contract  because the fiscal terrorists of the right refuse to require the rich to pay their fair share of the cost of sustaining a viable, compassionate, humane society. 

In addition to the imposed fiscal conservatism of the Norquist blackmail, there is a second pledge, the "silent pledge," allowing big money to trump voter preferences in determining national policy. We see this in the deluge of dollars flowing into Washington via lobbyists, campaign contributions, PACs and SuperPACS that have drowned out the legitimate voice of the common citizen.

I suggest that we can the Norquist Pledge and the "silent pledge" to an opposite effect; that is, as a means of restoring sanity in the legislative branch of government. This coming election provides the necessary and pivotal opportunity to confront our representatives and deliver an ultimatum, an ultimatum in the form of a new kind of pledge, one that hasn't been seen is a while -- a pledge to do the right thing. Or else!

The Idea

We put it in writing. It takes the form of a candidate pledge to decisively and unambiguously undertake certain initiatives in Congress on a particular issue. There are specific directions to implement a policy supported by a large majority of American voters. We force candidates to sign the pledge. If they do, we're in. We get the legislation we want. If they refuse, we humiliate them, harass them, jeopardize their support, attempt to defeat them. We brook no compromise. We accept no excuses. We leave no room for equivocation. 

For this to work, the pledges must cover those issues where the voting public by vast majorities have indicated precisely what they want done: Social Security, taxes on the rich, the war in Afghanistan, oil industry subsidies, Medicare. Frankly, it is appalling how many important issues the public has in credible polls indicated unambiguously where they stand only to have our politicians defy them.  

Every candidate should be required to sign the pledges. This would put the control of voting on these critical items directly back in the hands of voters.

Realistically this is impossible. There simply is not enough time. So for now, it is more important to target incumbents, specifically those incumbents who have voted against enormously popular measures. Conveniently, via their voting records, they have handed us the ammunition we need to force their hands. These are the arrogant scoundrels who have brazenly sold the American public and their constituents down the river. They have bowed to their rich campaign donors and blown off the rest of us as irrelevant. 

These are the ones we go after. They are the ones we need to either turn around or send packing.  

Let me point out that this kind of precise targeting is exactly the way the right wing goes about decimating the ranks of progressives. It obviously works. Time to turn the tables. 

Step 1:   Petitions

The process starts with petitions, i. e. canvassing within a particular voting district, or state if the incumbent at issue is a senator, for hard evidence of the level of public support for the initiatives we want to see passed.

Here is a sample petition, the suggested format for canvassing on any issue: 

I am a registered voter and will only vote for a candidate for public office who will leave social security alone. If a candidate guarantees unequivocally to fight for keeping social security as it currently stands, I will give that candidate my unqualified support. 

Obviously, the petition is more of a statement of support for a specific policy position than an actual petition for some action. But it accomplishes precisely what's needed here. 

In fact, the petitions are the linchpin for the assault on these scoundrels. They provide the leverage needed to get the attention of candidates and make them an offer they can't refuse. 

Undoubtedly, it would be ideal to get a majority of the voters in a district to sign the petitions. But that is a daunting, time-consuming task, even on issues which have large majority support. I frankly don't think it's necessary. All that needs to be achieved is convincing a candidate that if he or she doesn't sign the pledge, they risk losing election. It must appear either rationally or fearfully in their best interests to sign on the dotted line.

Let's say local polls show that a candidate in a given district of 20,000 voters has a comfortable lead of 2,000 votes. It seems to me that if only two to three times this number of petition signatures show up, that's going to make a candidate take pause. Are those 4,000 to 6,000 petitioners demanding specific action on a particular issue -- "I will only vote for a candidate who ..." -- the ones who will tank the election? I predict some cold sweats and sleepless nights.  

Petitioning is no fun and people are often shy about signing them. But getting 4,000 to 6,000 people out of 20,000 to sign a petition telling the government to bring our troops back home from Afghanistan or to stop screwing around with Medicare, seems pretty doable. 

In fact, polls indicate there are a number of issues where a large majority of Americans, from left, right, and center of the political spectrum, overwhelmingly agree. The size of that majority will vary from district to district. The point is that within each local political environment it's possible to identify at least one if not several issues, where the voting public is upset, if not furious about the vote that was cast by an incumbent politician. It's time to put his or her feet to the fire. 

Step 2:   Getting Another Candidate To Sign

As leverage, it is essential to have another individual in the race sign the pledge.

Ideally it should be the incumbent's major-party opponent. If it is, it's a done deal. He or she will sign the pledge. No candidate is going to give their primary opponent that kind of ammunition by refusing.

But it doesn't have to be. It can be any minor-party candidate, or even an independent.

Besides the Democrats and Republicans, there are three political parties which have active, aggressive, structured organizations at both the state and national levels: the Constitution Party, Libertarian Party, and Green Party of the United States. The Green Party is, for example, registered and functioning in every state of the union, and Washington DC.

Additionally, there are 37 minor parties, some national, some local, regularly putting candidates on the ballot.

It seems reasonable to assume that in any congressional race, it would be possible to find at least one candidate from this profusion of parties who is willing to sign the pledge. Minor-party candidates need all the help they can get in their usually doomed efforts to win a seat. Many such candidates are already running on populist platforms in support of the very initiatives we would be promoting. These causes are their motivation for tackling the thankless and typically futile ordeal of running against the big guns of the major parties.

As a final resort, someone could volunteer to be a write-in candidate and sign the pledge.

The important thing is to be able to honestly claim that another candidate in the race -- even just a "spoiler" wild-card third-party or independent candidate -- has already signed the pledge.

Step 3: Confronting the Targeted Candidate

The candidate is shown the petition signatures. The candidate is asked to sign the pledge. 

Here is a sample pledge for leaving social security alone, which depending on how the polling question is framed, nationally registers from 64% to 80% voter support. It offers a template for demands on a host of other issues:

I, [candidate name], if re-elected to my seat in the [Senate/House of Representatives], hereby commit to co-sponsor and vote in favor of legislation to establish a 10-year moratorium on any reductions to social security benefits, on raising the eligibility age, or making any other alteration in the program as it is now configured such as would negatively impact recipients of such benefits. I will offer no resistance to, put up no impediment to, and in fact will publicly and on the floor of Congress actively promote any and all legislation in support of this measure. If no other legislator comes forth to offer such a moratorium, I pledge to introduce by my own personal initiative, within 90 days of taking office, such a legislative act.

I further understand and fully agree to the following:   If I violate the above-stated terms of this pledge, I will tender on the 91st day after taking an oath of office for my legislative seat, my full and unqualified resignation from this elected position. Moreover, within one year of my resignation, I will refund all contributions made from individual donors in support of my candidacy for this office.

This pledge constitutes a legally binding contract between myself and that class of citizens who will be my constituents, should I win the upcoming election. In the event I fail to perform the above-required actions, redress may be sought by those citizens in the form of a class-action suit in a civil court of law, and I will be liable for a minimum of $10,000,000 damages for breach of contract. If I fail to resign from office due to my failure to fulfill the other requirements of this contract, I may be liable for an additional class-action settlement in the amount of $50,000,000. No portion of these settlements may be paid from campaign donations, PACs or SuperPACs.

I take this pledge voluntarily and with full appreciation of my responsibility to those citizens I will be representing in my capacity as elected representative from [name of state]. I accept the terms of this pledge with a thorough understanding of its requirements and consequences.

Signed: __________________________    Dated: ___________

Predictably, he laughs. He huffs. He puffs. He stalls.

Now we point out that another candidate has already signed the pledge.

If this other candidate is the major-party opponent, this should be stated loud and clear.

If it's a minor-party or an independent, there's no point in volunteering who it is.

But remember, this is still very bad news for the candidate we are confronting. It's not going to be as frightening or urgent but it still applies the pressure. We have just shown several thousand signatures of people who have said they will only vote for a candidate who supports the position. And we've got another candidate who has signed the pledge. All the targeted candidate needs to think is that there is a "spoiler vote" out there, a significant enough number of angry voters that they could cost the election. Ask Al Gore about spoiler votes.

The ball is now in the candidate's court.

If he signs, we've got him or her where we want. Like it or not he is aligned with us, at least on the legislative matter covered by this particular pledge.

If he doesn't sign, he is setting himself up for a firestorm of bad publicity, hopefully some serious public outrage. The candidate him or herself has written the script.

I can see the local headlines now . . .

[Name of candidate] Refuses To Sign Pledge Protecting Social Security

Yes! This will get some attention. I can see some herniated eyebrows at campaign headquarters. It should make some voters think twice. Or at least make the candidate fear that they are.

And if the media won't cover it, we've still got the streets, the internet, and word-of-mouth.

We Facebook it. We Twitter it. We Tumbler it.

We call it into radio talk shows. We get ourselves on TV.

We carry signs at rallies, in mall parking lots, on busy street corners . . .

Millionaire Senator [name] won't sign pledge for fair taxes on the rich! 

Congressman [name] won't pledge support for affordable health care!

And though I shouldn't have to say it, let me make this very clear. I know this is tough talk. But this is not about causing random mayhem or inciting a campaign of character assassination or vindictiveness. It's about taking our country back and having "representative government" represent us -- something it hasn't done for quite some time.

I have also thought a lot about the timing and have come to the conclusion that the pledge should be presented in the first week of October -- our little October Surprise! This is a full month before the election but it doesn't give the candidate much time to think about it, analyze the stats, come up with a counter-offensive. Let him or her sweat. Let them worry that if they don't sign, they are going to blow the election.

Let me add this: This tactic doesn't have to and shouldn't wherever possible revolve around a single issue. Each voting district has its hotbuttons. It has some set of issues which are threshold issues, matters of public policy which a majority of voters have strong feelings about. Each of those hotbutton issues equates to a pledge. Refusal to sign any or all of the pledges results in the campaign I am proposing, a campaign to educate the public. To force the candidate to comply.

It's their choice. Either they sign the pledges and start working for us or they go bye-bye.

This has Become a Necessary Approach

It's unfortunate it has come to this. Politics have always been a rough-and-tumble game. But the game is now so rigged, we have no choice.  

The important thing is to show these sell-outs that we are fed up with the way our voice has been silenced by big money corporate donors, by the military-industrial complex, by the banks, by the thieves that have looted the U.S. Treasury and now are coming for our money. 

This offensive if properly orchestrated, even only concentrating on a few dozen of these turncoat legislators, is going to be big news. It's going to put on notice the politicians who have been for too long sliding by on empty promises. 

I believe that if the above-outlined strategy of petitions and pledges is brutally applied across the country on the incumbent puppets posing as the people's representatives, it will change the way business is done in our corrupted legislature. Unlikely as it may be, if ultimately both major party candidates for each legislative seat sign our pledge demands, even under our flawed two-party system, mission accomplished! Legislative action by public fiat. The majority will have spoken. We'll be heard. We'll get what we want. What a concept! It kind of sounds like democracy. 

It's time to take back our country. Immediately!

Authors Website: https://jdrachel.com

Authors Bio:

John Rachel has a B.A. in Philosophy, and has written ten novels and six political non-fiction books. His political articles have appeared at OpEdNews, Russia Insider, The Greanville Post, and other alternative media outlets.

Since leaving the U.S. in 2006, he has lived in and explored 35 countries. He is now somewhat rooted in a traditional, rural Japanese community about an hour from Osaka, where he lives with his wife of 12 years.

You can follow his writing and the evolution of his world view at: https://jdrachel.com

"Scribo ergo sum."