Congressional Accountability - Need Your Help

I am now thoroughly convinced that the only way to get our Senators and Congresscriters to truly represent us is to hold them fully accountable for their votes on important pieces of legislation that affect all of us. The question I wrestle with is exactly how best to do this. I would like your thoughts on this issue. Before answering let me offer mine:

Fact:
Congress is greatly influenced by Special Interest PAC and Large Corporate money. We know that it is this money that funds their campaigns (soft dollars) and helps to keep them in power. This money is also most often on the opposite side of what is best for us - Joe Average American. Take for example this recent bankruptcy bill which had huge financial support and lobbying efforts from the major corporate finacial institutions and will affect tens of millions of Americans. Some recent polls indicate that very few Americans even knew about the legislation. Why? Well for one thing the syncophant major media isn't telling us. And most Americans, unlike us, still don't realize that the Internet is the only source of real truth.

Fact:
The only thing politicians fear is our knowledge. The more we know, the more difficult it is for them to coverup their illicit acts. Yet come election time they all want to tell us what a wonderful job they are doing for us. And why we should send them back to Washington so they can do more of the same (knife us in the back) Bullshit!

Now don't get me wrong their are a few honest and ethical politicos in Washington. Unfortunately they are drowned out by the massive power and greed that permeates every nook and cranny of the Capitol.

O.K. to the point at hand. What can we in the activist community do to make sure that Joe Average American gets the information about what his elected reps are doing, or not doing. In my opinion there needs to be a major grass-roots effort to flood the market with information that will educate Americans on how to hold our reps accountable. Perhaps a clearinghouse of information that can readily be made available to people so they can check on their reps. Yes I know there are Internet sites that can give us this information. But it is only those of us knowledgeagle enough and concerned enough to go there. I am talking about a major campaign to educate average folks about what goes on in Washington and how to hold their reps accountable. A sort of ad hoc Sarbanes Oxley Bill for Congress.

We need one consolidated and unified organization that is funded and dedicated to constantly shining the light on the rats operating behind the Capitol walls and to them let know that large numbers are watching their every move. This will only be effective if is highly organized, well operated, and garners a broad base of support from average citizens. We all know that knowledge is power and that truth is the great equilizer. Americans today are not getting the truth and therfore lack the knowledge to motivate them to take action. I say it is up to us to help lead the way. And the best way to do it IMHO is to start right with the people who pass our laws. If we want things to change we have to force that change. Only when the people we elect fully apreciate and respect their responsibility to those that have put them in office will we be a truly free and democratic society.

So now that I have had my rant. It is your turn. What ideas do you have on this subject and how can we activists force accountability in government?

and you may well be right. However, an alternative view is this:

There are many great organizations that have been trying to do exactly what you are aiming for and some have been very successful despite inadequate funds and volunteer effort. Some of these are: National Resources Defense Council (on environmental issues, including ANWR), MediaMatters.org (calling attention to inaccuracies in the media), etc., etc., etc.

I would urge DUers who have resources of time or money to offer them to organizations that have done a good job. It would give them more power and reward them for a job well done. This would also save the time and money and hassles of setting up a new organization.

However, one of the problems I see in the activist world is that there are too many folks that are doing too many disparate things. We need to have large and powerful organization that will have the backing and support of strong leadership and broadbased grass-roots support. Perhaps this is something Democracy for America could look into. Again, I hope that this will stimulate some meaningful discussion and an effort to move this forward.

and because the influence of big money has had such an influence on the election process and the quality of leaders which emerge from that process, I suggest that we get back to something that DNC chair Howard Dean did during the Democratic primary of the 2004 presidential race. Mr. Dean tried to place limits on the amount of money which could be used by candidates in that race so that the election wouldn't be decided on account of and by $$$ alone. I supported Howard Dean's initiative (and still do). Whats more I would like to see money be limited in every race across the country because that money could be used better on other issues and because that money deters a race being won on account of the will of the people here. Wasn't it something like $42 million spent on the Senate race in SD? I find that figure and the big dollars used in deciding our leadership as being alarming, frightening, and sickening.

As they say in the crime world. Follow the money trail. This is exactly what I want to have exposed. People need to know who is giving and getting in Washington. And they need to see just how that money is buying votes. Only then will there be sufficient clamor to close the loop holes. Hell you don't expect these vampires to cut off their blood supply.

I think corporate accountability and congressional accountability go hand in hand.

If we can weaken the corporate control over our Congressional leaders, we will then have more influence.

So, how do we do that? Well, we need to get information and the truth out to other citizens on how the corporations own our leaders and hence as a result our leaders arent listening to us any more, which needless to say jeopardizes our Democracy and stands to destroy what we have left of it.

I will think about it and get back with any thoughts I have.

Make it mandatory for congressmen to list on their websites the amount of time each week spent with lobbyists or at fundraisers, and have their office maintain a detailed list of where all their money comes from.

The difficult thing is getting a law mandating this through Congress. Would it be possible to do so on a state level through ballot initiatives?

Just take a look at the whole Tom Delay fiasco. This guy should be run out of Congress on a rail. And it may just happen but only because enough people will be informed to keep the pressure on. The system is rigged in their favor. And they know it. This is especially true when one Party controls both Houses of Congress. Then they become even more emboldened then usual.

We have got to find a vehicle for informing the masses, either through print ads, letters to editors, town-hall meeting, flyers, posters, direct mail, etc. Yes it will take organization, talent, and money. But I can't think of one better thing we activists can do. We are all Missionarys in a way and this must be our Mission. It's our Gospel and we need to spread it to every person we can.

Roll-call votes are becoming scarce. Voice votes enable Congressional members to hide their actions from constitutents. Some representatives refuse to answer direct questions from constitutents on how they voted on specific bills.

It should be our RIGHT to know how our elected officials vote on every issue.

I urge people to call their representatives and insist on finding out their actual votes on key bills. If they refuse to state, call a press conference and demand accountability. Tell the media that your representative must be ashamed of his vote, since he/she is trying so hard to hide it!

How many Americans know about this and then how many would even take the time to do it if they did. Our society is such that it needs to be spoon fed everything. We are too busy, too lazy, or otherwise too preoccupied to get involved. That is why this has to be done in a way that they can easily see and understand.

It can be as simple as a basic scorecard that is sent to every registered voted in every district showing showing exactly how their Congressman or Senator voted during this past election cycle and who have been his major contributors. This information is readily available, unfortunately it never reaches Joe Average American. We need an organization that is dedicated to making sure Joe gets it.

I want to report his votes for our local community newspaper, so that those people who don't know how to access Congressional voting records on the Internet (or are too lazy to bother) can be informed.

The system is designed to protect those in power from facing consequences for their actions.

Why can't we have this information. The reason is that we the people don't demand it. They cannot exist unless we let them. It is too easy to just dismiss this as business as usual. Until such time as we demand accountability they will continue to stack the deck with their funky rules that cloak their actions.

She said yes.

Should be an interesting piece, especially if our Representative won't answer my questions on his voting record. I intend to ask his staff to please pin him down; just because a voice vote isn't in the Congressional record, he knows full well how he voted on major measures and ought to answer a reporter from his district. If he won't, I'll have some scathing comments to make.

Please keep us updated. Any chance your story might make it to the wireservices? We need to get more journalists involved in looking at the Congressional voting records and publicizing their findings.

I don't have a run date yet; probably not for a couple of weeks at least as I'm swamped with other stories first.

To get this plum, I had to agree to take a stinker:
the editor wants an editorial on celebrity justice.

I agreed, provided I can include my opinion that the media focuses way too much on celebrity stories at the expense of covering REAL news.

Those words are mutually exclusive. Save your breath. Sing instead! It's good for the heart.

But, what are we really up against? I still find myself researching the blogs for any info I can find to help me determine just who the enemy is and what his intentions are. It's easy to say it's just Bush (I believe he was just the Trojan Horse), or the "neocons", or whatever....My point is, where is the head of this snake? We can see the results of the venum and the co-opting that's taking place, like
Lieberman and his game of footsies with those who would just as soon he drop dead. What has he been told, promised, threatened with.....?
And McCain stumping for private accounts? Does Bush have photos or something else on him? What's going on?
Why does everyone seem so willing to sacrifice their careers for such a devious, unscrupulous asshole like Bush? There's got to be something we can't see yet. It couldn't possibly be because he "inspires" loyalty. If there is something powerful causing this allegiance, I'm afraid threatening our reps with votes may not help. If Ted Kennedy comes out and is suddenly for private accounts, I'm moving.
Give us a mission statement,UGNMoose, and we'll get started. Educating people is a good start, as you say. One thing for sure, we can't just sit here.

To create an independent not for profit organization whose mission is to make our elected officials fully accountable to the electorate for their official acts. This will be accomplished by having every action for every elected official logged, categorized, and compiled in a standardized format that can easily be mass produced and published in any medium for evaluation by the public. At the same time the mission of this organization would be to educate the public as to the existence of this information and to further educate the public on how to use this information to make informed decisions about the job performance of their elected officials.

Postscript:
This cannot be just another watchdog organization. We already have those. This organization has to be committed to grass-roots education and awareness of the goings on in Washington. It needs to hold a very bright spotlight on Congressional activities and report those activities in a manner that average people can easily interpret and understand. This is not a political or partisan group. It makes no distinction as to Party affiliation. Its sole purpose is to spread the message that we the people will no longer accept business as usual in Washington D.C. If we can pass laws to hold our corporate executives accountable, we certainly should have an ability to do the same for our elected officials. For way too long these people have operated beneath the radar screen and under the covers.

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