Political Responsibility

I put forth an idea on the internet that politicians should be required to write a 500 word essay every time they cast a vote.  I was asked to explain it more fully, but the format was not friendly to drawn out conversations, thus I am writing this blog about it.

It is a very simple concept, every elected official must write a 500 word essay for ever vote they cast, or in the case of executives every bill they sign or veto.  They must write it themselves and this duty is not to be passed on to their staff.  In it they just have to explain to the people the rhyme and reason for their action.  Example, “I voted against/vetoed the popular VA benefits bill because someone from the other party attached an amendment to outlaw abortion or eliminate food stamps.”  It does not have to be overly complex and I think our elected officials owe us a 500 word essay.

Now for this idea to be effective, after they have finished and submitted the essay it must be posted publicly.  I say it must be posted on a website that will include their entire history and once each essay is posted, they cannot touch it.  Now do I suddenly expect this to improve the quality of politicians, of course not!  Will they suddenly become more honest?  Well the smart ones will, because the more lies you stack on top of each other, the more likely it will collapse like a house of cards.

So what do I hope to gain from this? Well our “leaders” have forgotten one of the most basic concepts of leadership, they do not LEAD!  They cater to this and that special interest group; lobbyists carry more weight than voters!  If they need to pass an unpopular bill, explain to us why the fuck it is needed.  When it comes time for another election that action (and all others) can be defended or attacked.  It all comes down to accountability for actions.  For some odd reason elected officials seem to believe they are exempt from any responsibility.  I cannot accept that and no people should allow their elected officials such a privilege.  It is because of this that their elitist attitude is completely out of control!  They only time they care about the people is when an election is just around the corner or it is a good chance for a photo opportunity.  Even then we are treated like objects.  They forget one tiny fact, we are their fucking bosses!  

How to enforce this mandate? With no mercy!  Every essay that they do not post they will be fined 10% of their total net worth, multimillion dollar fines for some and in the thousands for others.  If they have others write their essay, a felony and 5 years in prison with violent offenders for every essay they did not write!  Show them no pity, they show us none.

How hard is it to write a 500 word essay? This essay is 520 words and took less than 30 minutes while eating and reading twitter.