Quote of the Day: “Government leaders are servants of the people; the people are not servants of their government.” — John Boehner, presumptive Speaker of the House, writing in the “Wall Street Journal” on November 5, 2010, distilling the message he claims to have learned from the recent election.
Yesterday I said that . . .
1. We’re going to change how we operate
2. I would provide evidence that the Downsize DC Way is the most effective thing you can do.
Tomorrow I’ll share the first details about HOW we’re going to CHANGE our approach.
Today, I’ll share the evidence for the power of what we’ve ALREADY DONE. Drum roll please . . .
* Newly elected Senator Rand Paul has pledged to introduce all of our Downsize DC bills
* Congressman Glenn Thompson (Republican, Pennsylvania District 5) has pledged to introduce all of our Downsize DC bills.
* Tom Marino, Congressman-elect (Republican, Pennsylvania District 10) has pledged to introduce all of our Downsize DC bills.
Assuming that these politicians keep their promises, we’re going to have sponsors in BOTH CHAMBERS of Congress for ALL of the following . . .
* The Read the Bills Act
* The One Subject at a Time Act
* The Write the Laws Act
And not just one sponsor, but THREE! One in the Senate and two in the House!
Plus, we’ll also have extra support for the “Enumerated Powers Act.”
But it gets better!
The Republican leadership has also started singing from our songbook. The presumptive new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, wrote a column in the November 5th “Wall Street Journal” promising to pursue the following changes:
“Let Americans read bills before they are brought to a vote.”
“The speaker should insist that every bill include a clause citing where in the Constitution Congress is given the power to pass it.”
“No more “comprehensive” bills. No more bills written behind closed doors in the speaker’s office. Bills should be written by legislators in committee in plain public view. Issues should be advanced one at a time, and the speaker should place an emphasis on smaller, more focused legislation that is properly scrutinized, constitutionally sound, and consistent with Americans’ demand for a less-costly, less-intrusive government.”
Where did Mr. Boehner get THESE ideas?
* He got them from the Read the Bills Act, the One Subject at a Time Act, and the Enumerated Powers Act.
* He got them from Downsize DC.
* He got them from YOU, because Congress has been reading YOUR letters.
Please take note of the full significance of this. ALL of the major ideas expressed in the first national column from the presumptive Speaker of the House come directly from Downsize DC! All of them!
But there’s MORE . . .
DC Downsizers had specifically demanded that Congress wastes less time on insignificant measures. Here are two examples . . .
* Do They Know How Ridiciulous They Look?
* Should Congress Read the Bills or Pass Pointless Resolutions?
In response, the presumptive new majority leader in the House, Eric Cantor, is proposing . . .
* Eliminating congratulatory and recognition resolutions
* Reducing the time spent on Post Office designation bills
And like Boehner, Cantor is echoing other Downsize DC ideas.
Congress is reading your letters, and taking YOU seriously.
But our vast influence doesn’t end with these examples . . .
You and I have also had a profound impact on the Supreme Court.
The December issue of “Reason” magazine carries an excellent story about the Citizens United case. This story makes it clear that the turning point in that case was the discussion of the “freedom of the press.” But what the “Reason” story doesn’t say is who first introduced the “freedom of the press” into the discussion . . .
It was us (in our earlier incarnation as RealCampaignReform.org) and our attorneys, who have pounded on the “freedom of the press” in many legal briefs that DC Downsizers helped to fund.
Prior to our involvement the legal debate over campaign finance centered on the “freedom of speech,” but we are changing that — reorienting the debate to focus on the “freedom of the press” — with the objective that YOU will have the same legal rights to influence elections that the New York Times has.
Think about what we’re saying here. We’re saying that . . .
Our tiny organization has generated the key new ideas that are at the forefront of the public debate.
Has anyone ever done so much with so little, as we have? I think you would be hard-pressed to find other examples.
Now I’m thrilled by all of this, but I’m also irritated.
I can’t help but think about how much more we could have accomplished if we had been better funded. People are free to spend their money however they want, but I’m painfully aware that lots of money goes to lots of things that aren’t nearly as effective as we are.
I really want this to change in 2011. In fact, I would like to see the start of that change begin TODAY.
* I would like to be able to inform the media of where all these ideas are coming from.
* I want to take steps to make sure that the members of Congress who have pledged to introduce our bills actually follow through.
* But I lack the funding. You can help to change that by starting a monthly pledge, or making a one-time contribution.
But that’s not all. We have many more powerful ideas that we want to implement. We’re going to spend the rest of 2010 telling you about them. Do you like what we’ve done? Do you want us to do more? Do you think we deserve more support? If you answer yes to these questions, then please support us financially.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to our existing donors who have made our spectacular success possible.
Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.