If you don't fight for what you believe by 1) lobbying congress or 2) convincing others to lobby ...

If you don't fight for what you believe by 1) lobbying congress or 2) convincing others to lobby, you are a passive tool of the corporate lobbyists. In other words, you , no matter how liberal or progressive, are acting as a corporatist enabler .

Why is that? Because although your representatives are motivated by many forces, the number one motivation tends to be political survival, i.e., maintaining office. Since corporate lobbyists can no longer legally give gifts (or promise future cushy jobs), their main source of influence are donations and influence over public message via the MSM. However, donations are only a means for election, and election still requires that the constituents like and agree with their representative. Therefore, local sentiment trumps everything for most representatives (no matter how bought and paid by whichever corporate interest group they appear to be). Thus, it is up to you to influence your representative and convince your neighbors to do so as well.


If you believe in single-payer, you should lobby and make your points now since HR676 will be voted on in the near future.

If you believe in having a strong public option, today is the day to start knocking on your neighbors' doors to get them motivated to visit or call your senators and representatives. If enough people do this it will make a difference. If not, the conservative groups and their corporate enablers will win. Nothing is settled until a final bill is passed.

Writing critical screeds or praise-filled homages without also including specific calls to action are not only a waste of time, but counterproductive.

before Hillary brought forth her plan. At least now we do have a plan we can support in HR 676 that we didn't have back then. My neighbors and friends have already had to listen to me and pretty much agree with me. I know they support HR 676. I believe two-thirds of America does. It's the minority capitalist, corporate, apologists who are getting the majority of the press coverage.

I am speaking for myself of course.

And I am speaking TO anyone who is not fighting the good fight.

Basically for anyone who does not clearly indicate some path to help achieve success for their progressive goals, but only criticizes (or praises).

As for HR676, I always raise it first in my conversations with neighbors and office staff of my reps.

Cause looks like members of the "we are the ones that we have been waiting for" have cancelled their appointment. Must be an easy thing to do to get mad, and do nothing other than blaming everyone else.

"although your representatives are motivated by many forces, the number one motivation tends to be political survival, i.e., maintaining office"

In most cases this isn't true. Why? Because for many getting elected to Congress is a big steppingstone to a very lucrative career in the "private sector". How often do members of Congress who "lose" an election quickly obtain jobs as corporate attorneys or lobbyist for corporate America? Most of the time. And many members of Congress after a few terms leave "public service" to join the private sector where they can make the really big bucks.

This is what they mean by the revolving door .... from Congress to corporate lobbyist, from corporate back to Congress and back for another whirl in corporate!

Money is the main and central motivator among most members of Congress. That's why they bend to the needs and desires of
Wall Street and big business.

I still believe for most that political survival comes first (their very choice of jobs suggests they enjoy political power the most), but it is certainly reasonable to believe that for some at least it is important to not bite the hand that might feed them later. Of course, for those that cynically follow this route, citizen lobbyists will be ineffective. Still I hope that a Senator as corrupt a corporatist as fictional Senator Joseph Harrison Paine of "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" is more the exception than the rule. I am aware of the inadequacy of current regulations (http://www.opencongress.org/wiki/Revolving_door_regulations)

But as I stated, these people (Reps and Senators) most often have the greatest love for political power, and hate to lose elections (i.e. they only retire when defeated), so I think that we the people still have quite a bit of leverage with most. However, there's still another problem.

I suspect a larger problem is that with geographical representation, the congressional representatives often do represent the majority view in their district. And in many districts, esepecially across the South and Mountain states the citizenry is still lost in adulation for the pure free market solution to all problems that is the most damning legacy of Ronald Reagan.

A defeated one-term congressman isn't going to get an extremely lucrative lobbying job.