I Prefer Congress Give Us a CLEAR, “No!”
A DownsizeDC.org memo by Jim Babka
(412 words)
Quote of the Day: “I know… that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot… because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out…” – Revelation 3:15-16
Will Members of Congress sponsor our Lever bills?
- The Read the Bills Act
- The One Subject at a Time Act
- The Write the Laws Act
I hope most of them say, “No!”
This hope…
Makes it possible for you and I to win either way! Either…
- Sponsors give us a platform. Sponsorship is obvious progress and provides mainstream credibility. News of our bills, and even more importantly, of Congressional behavior, spreads into places we couldn't reach otherwise.
OR…
- Members of Congress issue a clear and firm “No.” By refusing reasonable reforms, they lose legitimacy. This can lead to more profound changes later.
Our goal, sponsor or no…
Draw greater exposure to the nefarious behavior of an institution that engages in criminality more often than it does in acts of true governance.
In other words…
Delegitimize the State, one piece at a time.
In this case, we want to demolish the notion that others have the necessary skill and the moral right to violate the…
Zero Aggression Principle.
And every time Congress says No, they make our case. In fact…
No is to be preferred to Yes.
Does that SHOCK you?
We should reject neutrality and the lying pretense of lukewarm support.
I want to encourage you: Stop settling for vacuous form letters. Insist upon a strong, firm opinion (either way), on record.
- Sponsorship should be taken to the media and to other platforms, for a national dialogue.
- Refusals should be taken back to the people and waved like a bloody shirt.
The case we should make, either way, is…
It's impossible to fix an institution whose primary incentive is always to preserve and enhance its gunpoint coercive powers over you, your neighbors, and the world. You see…
Whether it operates under the professed leadership of progressives or conservatives, Congress always advances the cause of Statism.
Corruption is a natural, functioning part of a coercive political system; NOT a design mistake.
- Sponsorship proves the problem exists.
- Opposition exposes those who wish to continue the corruption.
Since reform is impossible, elimination must be considered.
The principle is Consent of the Governed. Exposing Congress is how DownsizeDC.org will move people to take Thomas Jefferson's advice, to fundamentally “alter or abolish” this “government.”
—-
Getting your “representative” to say “NO!” is a dramatic new opportunity for a refocused DownsizeDC.org. In 2012…
- We saw the One Subject Act introduced and co-sponsored in the House.
- We saw One Subject, as well as Read the Bills and Write the Laws introduced in the Senate.
- We have reason to believe we’ll do even better in 2013.
Now, YOU can win either way. We need to be creative about how to put more members of Congress “on the spot.” That means…
- A more focused website
- With new tools for you
- A more aggressive action plan
- With new strategies
More and new always cost money. We cannot do it without you.
On top of this, we’re asking you to help us with a new project called Deny Consent. We’ll have more to share about this new website shortly, but…
Right now, when you support DownsizeDC.org, you can have your name listed as one of the co-founders of Deny Consent (Coming Soon). Current monthly pledgers will be joined by new donors and monthly pledgers on this list…
Co-Founders: Contribute $100 or more, one-time, or start a monthly credit card pledge for $10 or more.
Associate Founders: Contribute $100 or more, one-time, or start a monthly credit card pledge for $10 or more.
Founders are ranked by gift size, with pledges multiplied by 12 for that calculation.
Today, I’m asking you to help me create the tools and the platform that will give you and thousands of other people the focused power to achieve a great purpose. Are you emotionally motivated to compel Congress to choose firmly between yes or no? Will you invest to make this happen?
Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.