The Concept of “Our Open Office”

 

 

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

- Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, 1801-1809

“When citizens speak, their Representative must listen completely.  Across our land, the so-called “Representatives” have not troubled to listen to We the People, and this is a key reason our country is in such dire straits today.”

- Jake Towne, 2010 Candidate for Pennsylvania's 15th District

Are you one of the few Americans who has picked up the phone to call your representative or senator? Ever wonder exactly how much good it really DID? Were you the only person who called, or were there hundreds more? Sure, the staffer might have tallied your call, but was your call seriously considered by your politician? The truth is stark. First, most of the time you truly have no real idea. Second, your Democratic and Republican politicians like it this way.

When the Tea Party movement started up on April 15, one of my observations is that people came out for many reasons – those who wanted limited government, those aghast at the taxation and size of government, those fed up with our costly wars abroad, those who were just upset at the blatant favoritism shown to the big corporations and Wall Street – but they had one key complaint in common.

They all wanted accountability out of their out-of-control politicians, and to be heard. The people in the streets (and many still sitting at home) are reaching record levels of dissatisfaction with the inane, verbal platitudes of today's crop of current Democratic and Republican incumbents. We the People can still remember how quickly the country went on the road to serfdom under a Republican President and Congress from 2000-2006, how it was somewhat slowed by a Republican President and Democrat Congress - who still managed to pass the Banker Bailout of October 2008 - and how we are now once again back on the express train to socialism under a Democrat President and Congress. Today's Republicans just represent the local train.

As an independent candidate competing with twin political machines – which, at their rotten cores, are truly no more different than Coke and Pepsi - I have to pay close attention to what my constituents want. Just as in a free market economy where the customer is king, my constituents are both my customers and my sovereign employers. They control the votes that will elect me, and I must have their support if I am to represent our district in DC. So, I needed to find a way of delivering accountability and giving a voice to each citizen – the top demands by my estimation. “Accountability” and “transparency” are often just empty buzzwords, so I needed to find a way to solidify them.

What I've come up with is the following, what I've nicknamed “Our Open Office.” As far as I know, it is a unique, revolutionary idea that is not in practice by any representative or senator on the federal or state levels anywhere in the world. It is based on the town halls and Roman forums of old, but with today's online communication technology. Better yet, it is also simple and easy to implement – I've even got a simple, preliminary forum already active at TowneForCongress.com with the help of Raging Debate, a firm dedicated to facilitating citizen's powered media. The key benefits of my proposal are:

• Empower the Citizen

  • Each resident has a real public voice – to comment, vote, debate, and criticize

  • Each constituent will have a way to publicly demand I address their ideas and concerns by submitting bills online

  • Citizens can summon me to a town hall discussion by reaching a threshold level on topics they feel I am not addressing timely enough or to their satisfaction

  • By incorporating the feedback of specialists in different fields and interests, particularly with the bill submission ability, our office will be far more efficient with better ideas than other districts because our work force will be larger and more specialized. Those “working” outside of my office will be working voluntarily on issues that have the most importance to them, empowering the individual citizen.

• Accountability and Transparency

  • All residents can receive a monthly report from my office detailing each house floor vote taken, each bill introduced, and each bill co-sponsored. Feedback from the forum will be summarized. Most importantly, I, the representative, will be forced to outline WHY I voted each way.

  • My office's budget report will be publicized and readily available on the website so citizens can see how their tax dollars are spent.

  • Empowering citizens to public discourse and enabling open, visible criticism of my actions makes me more accountable to the people

Without further ado, here's the idea in slide format. The PDF file and photo licenses can be downloaded from here.

 

My closing comments are that my idea is quite obviously the thoughts of an individual who is completely fed up with his tyrannical government, and is motivated to change it for the better. Yes, politically-speaking, the above idea creates a fertile area for competitors - which I wouldn't mind in the least, but you can bet most incumbents would! However, far more importantly, it delivers to the voter what I believe they want: accountability, transparency, and empowerment. The only possible drawback is that with roughly 700,000 residents, my staff and I may not be able to service customers' needs fast enough. However, reflect for a moment; this is a blessed problem to have, and completely the opposite of today where the Gang in DC has totally failed us, leading us on a path to economic and moral ruin.

Here I must point out that the incumbent, Congressman Dent, could start implementing this right now, and save me the trouble of doing it myself after I win the November 2010 election. In fact, perhaps I will write him yet another letter, although he is already on notice since I keep showing up at town halls to hand-deliver my (unanswered) open letters and just had a feature editorial published today in the local Sunday newspaper on health care. Whichever Democrat (call him/her “Pepsi”) challenger wins the primary is free to include my “Our Open Office” idea in their platform as well. In fact, I dare them to do so and by acquiescing to my demands, they will do myself and all of us a favor. No, not a favor. THEY WILL BE DOING THEIR JOBS.

I am highly irritated by the two-headed, one-party duopoly in DC which has lost all touch with reality since October 2008 when Congressman Dent voted to pass the Banker Bailout. It is high time for the residents of the 15th district to throw out Mr. and Mrs. Coke-Pepsi, and replace them with a healthier choice, someone who has principles and is intent on working tirelessly to bring REAL change, REAL hope for our futures, and is determined to avoid the corruption of the Republicrats.

Truth be told, I could just as happily be pursuing my professional career as an expatriate engineer in Asia, which I resigned so I could return to my home to run for office. Or I could be happily traveling about the world, which is one of my passions.

Instead, I willingly chose to spend a year and a half of my life campaigning without a steady paycheck, figuring out how to create a website, fill out all the required forms with the IRS, FEC, and various other government agencies and procure the 3,600 or so required signatures in 2010 so that I am a legal candidate for the 2010 election. Everything the campaign achieves will be accomplished by grassroots volunteers who hear the message and the voters who agree. Everything accomplished will be without the help of multi-million dollar political machines Mr. and Mrs. Coke-Pepsi will have at their disposal.

I have chosen this path to follow since I am not wholly convinced I will be better off if I leave the current politicians alone by not running. History teaches that socialist states have a harsh hand. Furthermore, I really care about protecting my family and the citizens in our district, especially from the inevitable monetary fallout from the demise of the dollar and the violations of civil liberties. By running, and running to win, I am bringing a real choice to the people of the Lehigh Valley district.

I will, quite merrily, bring “Our Open Office” to the Fighting Fifteenth district of Pennsylvania if you will only entrust me with your vote, your volunteering, and your financial support to spread my message. The abominable pick between “the lesser of two evils” or “politics as usual” stops when you place your liberty and your family's liberty first and vote Jake Towne for U.S. Congress in 2010.

Keep an eye out for the first of many face-to-face town halls for the campaign to start up soon. We will be organizing protests, joining with the peaceful protests of like-minded groups, seeking how best to help our local community, and writing a bunch more open letters to the incumbent.

As John Paul Jones, the famous American sailor, once boldly told the mighty British Navy, “I have not yet begun to fight!”

Thank you for your time.

For the Republic,

Jake Towne

August 16, 2009 

 

 

 

 

Jake Towne for US Congress PA-15 - Our Open Office (Aug 2009)