CRITICAL QUESTIONS

The direct democracy constituent polling pledge makes candidates running for office virtually immune from the usual political smearing by opponents, because they involve their constituents in all of their voting decisions. They are non-partisan and represent the common interests and needs of both liberal and conservative voters.

A direct democracy candidate can quickly turn debates into situations that typical politicians have no way to handle, especially incumbents. Their opponents will end up tongue-tied, trying to explain why they don’t want to poll their constituents before making voting decisions that could benefit or harm them.

Here are questions to ask any political candidate, as well as their supporters, political reporters, or pundits. No corporate paid mainstream media reporters would dare to ask them. This is because they would lose their jobs at mainstream news outlets, like our major broadcasting stations, cable news outlets, and major city and national newspapers. These questions bring up how a direct democracy would threaten to take away the financial influences on legislation by the corporate advertisers for these news sources.

This is why interviewers and debate moderators on TV only ask questions that reveal the personal opinions of politicians. Status quo politicians don’t want political power to be in the hands of their constituents after elections, and nor do the corporate advertisers on our mainstream news sources. Direct democracy representatives do. They want their constituents to tell them which laws and policies they want to meet their liberal or conservative values. They accept their roles as public servants, and are free of the corporate and wealthy donor financial interests that influence typical politicians.

Here is a collection of questions that you have never heard presented by any debate moderator or interviewer from a mainstream media news outlet.

“How many constituents do you have that can vote in your voting district?”

(Follow up for incumbents) “Since you’ve been in office for x years, how many of these constituents have you contacted by any method of communication to learn how they want you to vote on legislation?”  

(Follow up) “Since you have never tried to find out and record the opinions of any substantial number of your constituents about your legislative decisions, can you name anyone else that influences your voting decisions?”

“You have proposed several ideas for change related to issues your opponents may agree or disagree with, which require legislation to fulfill.” “Have you written legislation that would fulfill your advocacy to implement these ideas?” “Can you give us current examples of legislation that address the issues you support?” “Where’s the law that will fulfill your ideas?”

“Your opponent seems to have similar ideas and promises. Can you tell us how your ideas and promises differ from theirs?” (Ideas and promises that do not have any law to support them are irrelevant.)

“Can you tell us why you voted for or against this bill (x) that spends x dollars of taxpayer money, from our (city, county, state, federal) treasuries?” “Did you ask your constituents to approve your voting decision for it?”

“Why did you vote to approve giving our tax dollars to these (contractors, vendors, etc.), without vetting them to see if they qualify to perform their services?”

Direct democracy representatives want their constituents to know the name, address, and employer that received their tax dollars and a line-item accounting for how they were spent. Questions like this reveal that typical politicians rarely hold vendors accountable for not fulfilling their contractual obligations. Not one has ever introduced a law that would demand that government projects be insured to perform a service or create a product for public consumption.

(Incumbent) “You mentioned you would continue to fight for several ideas if reelected, such as x. Since you have been fighting for this idea for x years, can you name the person(s) who you are fighting with? Is it members of your own political party, or another, who regularly vote against this idea, and who are they?”

If they have had several terms of office, and the idea has not been addressed, then the next question is: “Why have you failed so many times to address this issue you claim to be fighting for?”

“Who among your opponents will you invite to be part of your staff?”  “Why would you hire, or not hire them to be involved with the decisions made for your constituents?”

“Are you taking political donations from people that don’t live in your voting district, and how much have they given you?” “Why are you doing this, if these people don’t even live in your voting district?” “Tell us about the communications you have with them, such as how they want you to vote on legislation.”

(New candidates for office) “As someone who is running for office for the first time, will you make personal decisions for your constituents on legislation, like your opponent(s), or will you use constituent polling to determine the interests and needs of your constituents before you make voting decisions for them?”

Here are a few questions to ask people you have argued over politics with in the past. Instead of arguing over issues that both of you have absolutely no control over, you will hopefully reach some common ground by simply focusing on who has political power after elections.

“I’ve been voting in elections for x years. How about you?”

“Do you accept having other adults, namely politicians, making all of your political decisions for you to follow and obey?”

“Would you like to have a way to influence the decisions of your representatives?” You can use these questions to introduce the concept of a direct democracy, and how voters can finally have a voice in government decisions on issues they share in common.

As a direct democracy representative or candidate for office, town halls and debates become an opportunity to educate voters about how they can be involved in your decision making. Constituent participation in your voting decisions is your platform. You may mention issues related to financial security, health, safety, or government services, but point out that all have one thing in common. They are all defined by laws or policies that your constituents will have a voice in deciding after elections.

Direct democracy representatives also encourage their constituents to contact their family members and friends to learn about the benefits of a direct democracy. They promote making constituent polling a requirement for representatives to give citizens a voice in government.

Most importantly, direct democracy public servants will have constituents voting on one issue that has a profound impact on every citizen, taxation and how their tax dollars are being spent. Just bringing up this matter alone will terrify typical politicians more than any other. It will have voters questioning why they are not involved in budgeting decisions in this 21st century, and what a direct democracy can do about it. Click on the Taxation tab for more information.