Everyone loves a parade. That's especially true of politicians. Candidates for Congress will attend Fourth of July parades - and other Independence Day events - in cities and towns all over the country in the next few days.
Public Campaign Action Fund announced Operation Declare Independence yesterday -- a simple, easy way to begin to put Congress on notice that Americans want to declare independence from big money and lobbyists controlling Washington.
As candidates glad-hand down the parade route, we're asking people to yell out this question:
Have you signed the Voters First Pledge?
Operation Declare Independence will take 15 seconds of your time. It also takes a little gumption. But politicians need to be put on the spot. Multiply your impact by encouraging friends to ask the same question.
If candidates are asked about the Voters First Pledge by enough people, they will have to give an answer.
Here's some background:
Last week, Public Campaign Action Fund, Common Cause, U.S.PIRG, and Public Citizen mailed a letter to every congressional candidate in the country asking them to support legislation to make elections fair, restore accountability and protect voters' right-to-know. This platform, called the Voters First Pledge, goes beyond what members of Congress have debated in the wake of the Abramoff-Cunningham-DeLay web of scandals.
Politicians like to say that they haven't addressed political reform because they don't think anyone cares about the issue.
They're wrong, and your participation in Operation Declare Independence can help to prove that. When you're at a local parade, barbeque, or fireworks, and a politician comes by, use your voice and ask if they've signed the Voters First Pledge.
Let's put them on record. Let's declare independence from big money and lobbyists.
We'll be collecting stories at a blog thread which will be posted here soon.
