Comments on: New Allies for Campaign Reform? http://www.politicalparlor.net/wp/2006/06/27/new-allies-for-campaign-reform/ & Home of Lawn Mower Repair Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:18:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Don http://www.politicalparlor.net/wp/2006/06/27/new-allies-for-campaign-reform/#comment-145 Thu, 29 Jun 2006 14:22:00 +0000 http://www.politicalparlor.net/wp/2006/06/27/new-allies-for-campaign-reform/#comment-145 Debbie, PACs are not the only issue that needs to be addressed with reform legislation, but so many legislators benefit from them that they will never legislate real reforms unless one of two things happens. [1] It gets passed as a result of tremendous pressure from voters on their legislators to pass it or [2] voters initiate the legislation through Initiative and Referendum (I&R) when we get it. My theory is that rather than having to get voters to apply the necessary pressure on each individual issue, the better route is for everyone who is concerned about any reform issue to unite and concentrate on obtaining I&R first, and the other issues can then be more easily addressed by “we, the people”. I urge everyone who agrees with me to visit my I&R website @ www.doctoriq.com and join with me and others in that struggle, and to urge all of their Alabama friends and acquaintances to do the same. Debbie, PACs are not the only issue that needs to be addressed with reform legislation, but so many legislators benefit from them that they will never legislate real reforms unless one of two things happens.

[1] It gets passed as a result of tremendous pressure from voters on their legislators to pass it or [2] voters initiate the legislation through Initiative and Referendum (I&R) when we get it.

My theory is that rather than having to get voters to apply the necessary pressure on each individual issue, the better route is for everyone who is concerned about any reform issue to unite and concentrate on obtaining I&R first, and the other issues can then be more easily addressed by “we, the people”.

I urge everyone who agrees with me to visit my I&R website @ www.doctoriq.com and join with me and others in that struggle, and to urge all of their Alabama friends and acquaintances to do the same.

]]> by: Debbie Murphree http://www.politicalparlor.net/wp/2006/06/27/new-allies-for-campaign-reform/#comment-144 Thu, 29 Jun 2006 02:47:00 +0000 http://www.politicalparlor.net/wp/2006/06/27/new-allies-for-campaign-reform/#comment-144 Don, I totally agree with you! We have got to push to get PAC TO PAC transfers abolished. I don't care which party they benefit, it's not right when the general public (who does not have time to investigate pac transfers) does not have the benefit of knowing who these candidates are owing allegiance to. It sickens me to keep delving into these pacs and see just how controlled politics are by the major players such as AEA, etc... Don, I totally agree with you! We have got to push to get PAC TO PAC transfers abolished. I don’t care which party they benefit, it’s not right when the general public (who does not have time to investigate pac transfers) does not have the benefit of knowing who these candidates are owing allegiance to. It sickens me to keep delving into these pacs and see just how controlled politics are by the major players such as AEA, etc…

]]> by: Don http://www.politicalparlor.net/wp/2006/06/27/new-allies-for-campaign-reform/#comment-143 Wed, 28 Jun 2006 15:25:00 +0000 http://www.politicalparlor.net/wp/2006/06/27/new-allies-for-campaign-reform/#comment-143 My reading of the only way PAC reform legislation will be passed is that it will have to be done by the voters, rather than the legislature, because even if some legislators decide to join the few who have attempted reform in the past, they will still be outnumbered, and both houses are controlled by just a few members and their special interest backers, anyway. Sufficient pressure by constituents on a majority of legislators to pass reforms is not likely because most voters just throw up their hands saying there’s nothing they can do about it, and now that’s true. But, if those voters would pressure legislators to pass Initiative and Referendum legislation, once it has been approved by voters they would have the tool they need to initiate reform legislation (in any area) that could bypass the legislature and the governor and be put on the ballot and approved by those same voters. My reading of the only way PAC reform legislation will be passed is that it will have to be done by the voters, rather than the legislature, because even if some legislators decide to join the few who have attempted reform in the past, they will still be outnumbered, and both houses are controlled by just a few members and their special interest backers, anyway.

Sufficient pressure by constituents on a majority of legislators to pass reforms is not likely because most voters just throw up their hands saying there’s nothing they can do about it, and now that’s true.

But, if those voters would pressure legislators to pass Initiative and Referendum legislation, once it has been approved by voters they would have the tool they need to initiate reform legislation (in any area) that could bypass the legislature and the governor and be put on the ballot and approved by those same voters.

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