I'm one of those people who can be counted on for a signature on any petition about something I care about, but that is not enough. I don't have the time or resources to keep track of what the President or my Governor, Senators or Representative do to about each of the petitions I sign and the causes they support or oppose, but sites like DailyKos and the progressive infrastructure behind such sites do have the resources.
When DailyKos or Credo or Move-On or any other Political or Social organization sends me a petition request there should be a check-box that says:
"I care about this issue. How the President or my Governor, Senators or Representative act on this issue will affect my financial support and my vote come the next election".
When someone I helped elect receives a petition with 10,000 or 100,000 signatures they should know that 10,000 or 100,000 votes are at stake. There should be consequences if any elected official acts against the wishes of the people they need to elect them. There should also be rewards for those who do the right thing.
When I check the "I Care" check-box I should receive a followup email telling me how my Senators and my Representative acted on this issue and a few weeks before the next primary and the next general election I should receive a scorecard email listing the results for every petition and issue I signed up for.
Building the software to support an "I Care" check-box and the infrastructure needed to track each issue would take a few weeks for any one who could build a site like DailyKos. The "I Care" check-box should be a service available at a nominal cost to any Progressive or Democratic organization. Operating such a service would cost very little because much of the information is already available online.
Every vote in the Senate and House of Representatives is recorded on the Congress.gov web site. Similar information is available for most states on each states legislature or secretary of state web site.
Consider this an open request to Markos Moulitsas of DailyKos, Michael Kieschnick of Credo, Joan Blades and Wes Boyd of Move-On and every other Progressive or Democratic organization.
Real Democracy requires that the people have a say in what their elected representatives do about things the people care about. Real Democracy requires that political actions have real consequences; if you do something I approve or disapprove of I need to know so I can make an informed decision about who to support or oppose with my money and my vote.