Free the Politicians
Imagine a vocation whose practitioners are:
Blamed for everything that goes wrong
Required to work extreme hours with little job security
Limited to working for two organizations
This is the lot of the American politician.
Folks, our politicians are not the problem. It is the system we put them in. The politicians I have met are good people who work hard for their constituents and communities. Most politicians could make more money with less hassle doing something else.
The goal is a political system that works. Our two-party system has devolved into open warfare. Nigh impossible for your representatives to accomplish anything.
Our politicians need a political system that will help them work for their constituents.
A Fair Deal for Politicians
If I may speak to the politicians in the audience:
When you first dreamed of holding public office, did you imagine spending most of your time asking for money?
Do the policies and actions of either party, Democrat or Republican, reflect your values and the values of your constituents?
Does our political system give you and your constituents a fair shake?
Can you and your colleagues make the current system work for the people of America?
You & Your Colleagues Deserve Better
As candidates, you deserve fair elections and more parties to choose from. As officeholders, you need more avenues for cooperation and coalition building.
Voters deserve a system that reflects their views and interests.
We are Working for You and Your Constituents
Voters Take Charge is working to enact proportional representation and replace Choose One voting in single winner elections.
To truly represent the citizens of America, politicians and voters need proportional representation. For fair single winner races, we must replace Choose One plurality voting. Approval, Score, STAR, Fusion, Ranked Choice and darn near every other voting method would be an improvement.
We support bi-partisan reform on issues of election security and access, although these issues are not the core focus of our organization.
Campaign finance reform? We will support whatever you and your colleagues can work out to reduce the use of donor class money, make your work more rewarding, and your lives easier.
We need candidates and officeholders from all parties to sponsor multi-party election reform. Show the voters that you are serious about reform.
Freedom
Politicians, free yourselves from the shackles of a decrepit two-party system and build a new political system that works for the American people.
You can do it! You have more people in positions of power than the abolitionist, women’s suffrage, civil rights, and gay rights movements combined. The first step is to show pride in your noble vocation.
Your example and a better political system will inspire young people to follow in your footsteps.
Election reform is your issue. Let voters know you are working for them, not the status quo.
Fair Elections for America
We are building a political system that respects voters and politicians.
Let’s work together to make American democracy greater than ever.
PS, I write this the morning after the assassination attempt on the life of Donald Trump. Some blame the character assassination of Trump by the left. This may be true. The right and Donald Trump also indulge in character assassination. Perhaps there would be less character assassination if politicians took more pride in their vocation.