Nov. 8, 2010
Trackfast is a political activist from my generation. He understands the #1 rule of politics: be able to inflict pain.
Liberal Republicans know that if they squish out (sell out) that an Odonnell is sitting in the wings to take them on and out. For years Reps have quietly sold out to Dems because they were in "safe " districts--safe because Dems couldn't beat them in the general election--guess what....There are no safe Rep districts now. You squish -- you go. The politics of pain is here!!
For decades -- long before I worked on Capitol Hill in 1976 -- the Congressional Record structured the reports so that the voters could not track who voted for what. The rules favored concealment. This is still true.
There are special-interest groups that track voting on specific issues. These can help. But I have not found a single site that provides the following for all bills:
1. The bill voted on
2. The implications of any revisions of old laws' wording
3. The meaning of a "yes" or "no" vote
4. Who voted "yes" or "no"
Voters cannot track what their Congressmen do.
It is far worse for state and local representatives.
We need specialized blogs in each Congressional district that monitor -- without comment -- what the Congressman has voted for ir against.
There can be allied sites for commentary, mobilization, and funding. But there needs to be a series of sites that are strictly factual, that everyone trusts.
I suggest a Wiki site. The site would track specific bills in both houses of Congress. Get the division of labor going. There are political junkies who will do this for free.
If it's nonpartisan -- "Just the facts, mam." -- people of all persuasions will volunteer. Just make sure the rules are clear: who, what, when. Skip why and where.
The goal is simple. It is the implementation of Joe Louis's strategy for Billy Conn. "He can run, but he can't hide." (Note: Conn almost beat Lewis. Never count your chickens before they're hatched.)
It would be great if every state had a site like this for statewide politics.
It's not a matter of money. It's a matter of time.
I wish there were a free Wiki template for this. I think Eagle Forum hire someone to design it. So could the Heritage Foundation. There are a dozen others that could do it. NOW could do it. People for the American Way could do it. I don't care who does it. Just do it.
As far as I'm concerned, it could be a joint effort: pinkos and rednecks together. Let a committee police it. No debates over "who, whom," No debates over who wins, who loses. Blip all that. Just the facts, mam. (It would be great if Joe Friday had ever said it. But it's like "Play it again, Sam." He never did.)
Politicians would hate it. They run. Then they hide. This would increase the cost of hiding.
Post this article somewhere. Maybe there is some programming whiz out there who will produce the template/site it without outside funding.
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