Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapters
01 - The Candidate
02 - The Staff

Chapter 12

Optional Tactic

The Democracy project: This has not been tested and will bring quiet resentment from both political parties. It was conceived for Assembly races only and should not be used in State Senate or federal elections. It works on the idea that people have the right to govern themselves. If elected the candidate would pledge to vote the will of the voters in each session of the State Assembly. Voters would receive their ballots by mail with instructions, a stamped return envelope and a survey. The survey will ask questions pertaining to upcoming bills with a comments section on the back. The survey will be sent by mail, email or touchtone phone, to the local newspaper that will count the results and publish its findings. Preventing voter fraud is easy if each voter has an access number like the last four digits of their Social Security. The new Assemblyman would have to vote the will of the people and keep his promise to be reelected. To assure the candidacy, this announcement would be made after winning the primary.

The survey will have a brief description of each bill, what both sides say about it and what the candidate thinks. It will also have a web address where the bill can be read in its entirety. The survey will come with a paid postage envelope addressed to the newspaper to assure anonymity and an access code in case they prefer to vote by phone or online.

Benefits:

1. Instant national coverage and name recognition.
2. A flood of volunteers
3. A common man image boost for the GOP.
4. Endorsements from organizations that never supported a Republican before.
5. A friendly local newspaper that is usually critical of Republicans.
6. Public immunity from scandal.
7. A real chance to win in a Democratic district.
8. Less staff needed to run the Assembly office.

A candidate willing to give the power of decision making to their constituency will make the news. Every talk show host and journalist will want an interview with the person stirring the pot; Thomas Jefferson said, “It’s important to stir the pot or the scum rises to the top.” The free news coverage and the excitement it would generate would make winning the election possible in the heaviest Democratic districts. If elected, the other Republican Party members may not like the new assemblyman, but they will all benefit from the image boost as they did when Senator John McClain was elected or when the AARP endorsed the Presidents prescription drug bill. Success will thaw cold shoulders and help the party realize that conservative voters are more likely to send in a survey than liberal voters.

The local newspaper in charge of the survey would see and instant boost in circulation as people look for the result in the Sunday paper. This would make the paper less inclined to public, crackpot allegations against the assemblyman just before an election as they sometimes like to do. The Assemblyman would be unable to take bribes due to his inability to change his vote.

Liberal Democrat housewives and Libertarians could both embrace a true democracy candidate without conflicting with their core beliefs. Minority communities would be able to choose what’s best for them and the gay and lesbian voice would reflect their actual numbers. Many people that are registered and usually vote Democrat are conservative on the issues. In the end, the Republicans would gain valuable votes for crucial bills that a Democratic Assemblyman would have voted against.

The Assembly district office in the State Capital would only need a chief of staff, a press secretary, a receptionist and some general office workers. The Assemblyman would have more free time to use his office and media cache to improve the district.

Risks:

1. If a candidate running on the Democracy Project platform looses the race their political career is over.
2. No organized political party would ever give a candidate a second chance to change the system on their own.
3. Financial support may be harder to come by from big donors.
4. The opposition candidate may make the same pledge if they think they’re behind in the last month of the campaign.

Clause: The most outrageous bills are announced late or they are surprise riders on existing bills. In these cases the Assemblyman would have the right to vote his conscience because the original bill was altered after the voters made their choice. However, if the rider of a bill is directly related to the proposed law and would not change the bill in any significant way, the Assemblyman is, of course, obligated to obey the will of the voters. If the Assemblyman disagrees with the will of the people he could voice his opinion, but still must attend the vote and keep his promise.

Americans love democracy! The candidate that gives the people a voice in their own governance will be loved, respected and reelected.