All
-- An interesting discussion is
flowing from the Obama phenomenon.
I,
however, am dismayed at how easily so many Americans are succumbing to
the
"cult of personality" -- even our WDDM brethren.
If we
believe in direct democracy, how can we surrender our faith to
any
one
politician, however appealing, and remain true to the cause. Whatever
promises
are made, nothing happens without some 300 other egos going along.
The
only change that means anything would be a commitment to giving
Americans
the right to vote on issues of their own choosing and have their
decisions
bind the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches to
action.
Everyone
seems to agree that Washington is broken. Duh - but I guess
that
indicates
some progress in public awareness.
Now -- does anyone really
believe
that electing another member of the
(D) & (R ) club, who broke it in
the
first place, will result in it being fixed?
B.
Thomas Marking Please
visit:
www.FirstDemocracy.org
admin1(at)firstdemocracy.org
-----Original
Message-----
From: Annette
and Martin [ajackson123(at)bigpond.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 1:18
PM
To:
wddm@world-wide-democracy.net
Subject: Re: [WDDM] Direct Democracy with
Obama
Bruce,
he is the best thing that has happened to America since
JFK,
Regards
Martin
"I am in this race to tell the corporate
lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have
done more than any other candidate in this race to take on lobbyists — and
won. They have not funded my campaign, they will not get a job in my White
House, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am
president."
— Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines,
IA, November 10, 2007
At a Glance
Speak your mind and help set the
policies that will guide this campaign and change the
country.
The
Problem
Lobbyists Write National
Policies: For example, Vice President Dick Cheney's Energy Task
Force of oil and gas lobbyists met secretly to develop national energy
policy.
Secrecy Dominates Government
Actions: The Bush administration has ignored public disclosure
rules and has invoked a legal tool known as the "state secrets" privilege more
than any other previous administration to get cases thrown out of civil
court.
Wasteful Spending is Out of
Control: The current administration has abused its power by
handing out contracts without competition to its politically connected friends
and supporters. These abuses cost taxpayers billions of dollars each
year.
Barack Obama's Plan
Shine the Light on
Washington Lobbying
·
Centralize Ethics and Lobbying Information for
Voters: Obama will create a centralized Internet database of
lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance filings in a
searchable, sortable and downloadable format.
·
Require Independent Monitoring of Lobbying Laws and
Ethics Rules: Obama will use the power of the presidency to fight for
an independent watchdog agency to oversee the investigation of congressional
ethics violations so that the public can be assured that ethics complaints
will be investigated.
·
Support Campaign Finance
Reform: Obama supports public financing of campaigns combined
with free television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of
moneyed special interests. Obama introduced public financing legislation in
the Illinois State Senate, and is the only 2008 candidate to have sponsored
Senator Russ Feingold's (D-WI) tough bill to reform the presidential public
financing system.
Shine the Light on Federal Contracts,
Tax Breaks and Earmarks
·
Create a Public "Contracts and Influence"
Database: As president, Obama will create a "contracts and
influence" database that will disclose how much federal contractors spend on
lobbying, and what contracts they are getting and how well they complete them.
·
Expose Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public
Scrutiny: Barack Obama will ensure that any tax breaks for
corporate recipients — or tax earmarks — are also publicly available on the
Internet in an easily searchable format.
·
End Abuse of No-Bid
Contracts: Barack Obama will end abuse of no-bid contracts by
requiring that nearly all contract orders over $25,000 be competitively
awarded.
·
Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through
Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review
them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving
the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House
website for five days.
·
Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel
Spending: Obama's Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act will
shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked
for each earmark, along with a written justification, 72 hours before they can
be approved by the full Senate.
Bring Americans Back into
their Government
·
Hold 21st Century Fireside
Chats:
Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the people by requiring his
Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband townhall meetings to
discuss issues before their agencies.
·
Make White House Communications
Public: Obama will amend executive orders to ensure that
communications about regulatory policymaking between persons outside
government and all White House staff are disclosed to the public.
·
Conduct Regulatory Agency Business in
Public: Obama will require his appointees who lead the executive
branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business
of the agency in public, so that any citizen can see in person or watch on the
Internet these debates.
·
Release Presidential
Records: Obama will nullify the Bush attempts to make the timely
release of presidential records more difficult.
Free the Executive Branch
from Special Interest Influence
·
Close the Revolving Door on Former and Future
Employers: No political appointees in an Obama administration will
be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially
related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will
be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during
the remainder of the administration.
·
Free Career Officials from the Influence of
Politics: Obama will issue an executive order asking all new hires
at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee offered
them the job solely on the basis of political affiliation or contribution.
·
Reform the Political Appointee
Process: FEMA Director Michael Brown was not qualified to head
the agency, and the result was a disaster for the people of the Gulf Coast.
But in an Obama administration, every official will have to rise to the
standard of proven excellence in the agency's mission.
Barack Obama's
Record:
·
Federal Ethics Reform: Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took
on both parties and proposed ethics legislation that was described as the
"gold standard" for reform. It was because of their leadership that ending
subsidized corporate jet travel, mandating disclosure of lobbyists' bundling
of contributions, and enacting strong new restrictions of lobbyist-sponsored
trips became part of the final ethics bill that was signed into law. The
Washington Post wrote in an editorial, "The final package is the strongest
ethics legislation to emerge from Congress yet."
·
Google for Government: Americans have the right to know how
their tax dollars are spent, but that information has been hidden from public
view for too long. That's why Barack Obama and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK)
passed a law to create a Google-like search engine to allow regular people to
approximately track federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and loans online. The
Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "It would enable the public to see where federal
money goes and how it is spent. It's a brilliant idea."
·
Illinois Reform: In 1998, Obama joined forces with
former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL) to pass the toughest campaign finance law
in Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money
by Illinois legislators and banned most gifts from lobbyists. Before the law
was passed, one organization ranked Illinois worst among 50 states for its
campaign finance regulations.
·
A High Standard: Unlike other candidates Obama's
campaign refuses to accept contributions from Washington lobbyists and
political action committees.
For More Information about Barack's
Plan