MY VOTE IS FOR SALE

The problems America faces today originate in Washington. It is fallacious reasoning to suggest that the problem lies with the people of the United States. Our government is a republic. Our republic is predicated on the theory that those elected to public office have intellectual competence, educational skills or experience that exceeds that of the electorate and that those elected public leaders will do what they believe to be right for the country even if it means voting against the majority public opinion. During most of the past century, the political class has demonstrably failed to lead, but have instead become political prostitutes selling laws and benefits in exchange for votes transforming our Constitutional republic into a tyrannical mob-rule democracy destined for bankruptcy.

As one voice among We the people, I think it is time to withhold the delegation of that power by only delegating it to selected politicians and then only with strings attached.

Ronald Reagan won two landslide elections by telling Americans he was going to cut the government in Washington down to size. The Contract with America gave the Republicans control of both houses of Congress for the first time in roughly thirty years. The lesson that Republicans seem to have difficulty in learning is that the people are conservative and when presented a conservative agenda they will vote for it. And conversely, when pandering is all that is offered, the public prefers the real prostitutes every time. I have a solution to this problem. I call it the

I am not giving my vote to anybody in November. I have decided to auction my vote in each November's Congressional elections. Politicians are going to have to bid for my vote. I have decided not to exclude any particular politicians or parties from the bidding. And I have decided to attach some rules to the bidding itself:

1. There is a minimum bid.
2. Anyone defaulting on any part of the minimum bid will be barred from consideration for future auctions.
3. A public pledge to guarantee to bring the minimum bid to the floor for a vote is an acceptable alternative to a written and signed contract, although anyone offering a written and signed contract similar in format to the Contract with America will be given preference.
4. Any part of the minimum bid or "contract" not enacted into law will be supported and returned to the floor in the next or subsequent sessions of Congress as required until enacted into law.
5. If there are no acceptable bids for my vote in Congressional races per the rules above, my vote (normally Republican straight ticket) will not be cast at all. Let me provide a simple illustration in order to understand why this represents such enormous power. In Saddam Hussein's Iraq, there were hundreds, if not thousands of men who had the power to condemn other men to death. The power to lawfully condemn men to death is awesome power. But in Hussein's Iraq, only Saddam had the power to grant a reprieve for a man once he had been condemned. Real power is the ability to withhold something deemed essential.

   Minimum Bid:

   1. Complete scrapping of Title 26, Subtitle A-Income Taxes.
   2. Replacement of the Income Tax with the Fair Tax, the Flat Tax, or a combination of the two.
   3. The growth of government spending is unacceptable. I not only want it stopped; I demand that it be reversed by at least 2% per cent per year for at least the next two years. In 2006, I will re-evaluate to determine whether or not the rate of reduction should be adjusted for future years.
   4. No more socialism. That means no new payments to individuals except for services rendered or goods purchased. That means no new grants to organizations, public or private, and no new grants to state or local governments.
   5. Immediately begin the voluntary privatization of Social Security using the Cato plan.

   This is only the Minimum. There are a number of suggested options that politicians could add now or that we will add in future contracts for future elections.

   Suggested Options:

   • Amend the Constitution to provide for Term Limits for members of Congress and the Federal Judiciary.
   • Sunset law for all Federal Regulations not reauthorized within five years.
   • Sunset law for all Federal agencies not reauthorized within five years.
   • Balanced Budget Amendment that allows deficit spending only when there has been a Declaration of War by Congress or by a 60% majority vote of both houses of Congress when and if there is a previously accumulated saved surplus that is larger than the proposed deficit or by a two thirds majority vote in both houses if there is no saved surplus or the saved surplus is less than the proposed deficit.
   • All votes in both houses will be roll call votes electronically recorded and electronically verified by key encryption, password enabled.
   • Constitutional Amendment allowing Line Item Veto by the President.
   • Change the rules of the Senate eliminating the filibuster.
   • Constitutional Amendment repealing the XVII Amendment to the Constitution.
   • Abolish the Department of Education.
   • Abolish the Federal Reserve

   Most of these problems would eventually be solved by Term Limits. However, because of the Gokhale-Smetters clock, I think the Term Limits Amendment should be saved for the 2010, or even later elections to avoid a replay of the votes on the Balanced Budget and Term Limits Amendments under the Contract with America. And a case can be made that we should give Republicans a short interval of  time for a period of adjustment to get used to the kind of pressure that we may need to bring to bear on people who are used to exerting power rather than being subjected to it.