>...mechanisms that hold them accountable while they are in
>office.
>
>Right now I say instead of protesting in the street, we should
>be doing sit-ins in their offices, on their front lawns.
>Scale now because of the issues at hand but this is in
>general. Folk need to talk to their representatives and let
>them know how they feel and want to be represented.
>
>But that's on the ground action which isn't guaranteed any
>success yet, because the infrastructure isn't there to back it
>up. The infrastructure that's needed is a way for the public
>to go on record with their interests, not just their votes.
>We vote for people and expect those people to represent our
>interests but never get to say what those interests are.
>
>So we need the mechanism to officially record our interests
>and have our representatives go on record with their stance on
>those interests/issues. They are then elected directly
>because they fall in line with our interests. Then once they
>are elected they can be held accountable. If a bill comes up
>and they vote against our interests, sit in on their office
>and on their lawn with the paper trail detailing they are not
>representing our interest as we voted.
>
>Hold them accountable while in office.
>
>This is just tip of the iceberg. It's a lot of work to be
>done. Voting alone is not going to fix a 200+ year old system
>that protects itself over the people.


Respect! I like that direction and glad you came back and replied. I REALLY like what you're talking about re: mechanisms to record our wishes and having would-be politicians get in line BEFORE the elections. That said, I have to restate I never said voting was the magic bullet, I did say and will continue to say we need to vote each and every time as a part of a comprehensive movement.