From: wcs@cbnewsh.ATT.COM (Bill Stewart 908-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs)
Subject: Re: This year(?!): Email access to Congress
Organization: Libertarian Politicians From The Black Lagoon
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 19:42:54 GMT
	<6487@lee.SEAS.UCLA.EDU> <1992Mar25.172424.24480@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>

(This is still vaguely related to comp.org.eff.talk, since the issue
of representative vs. direct government becomes something possible
to reconsider with electronic communication technology,
and because our congresscritters often make decisions affecting us
without having a clue what they're doing, but it probably ought to be
moved to talk.politics.misc or somewhere.)

In article <1992Mar25.172424.24480@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> tinsel@uiuc.edu (Thomas Aaron Insel) writes:
   ygoland@edison.seas.ucla.edu (The Jester) writes:
   >I always wondered where congresscritters got the idea they had a
   >right to an opinion? Their opinion is supposed to be OUR
   >opinion. Oh but I forgot, were just the idiots who elected them.

   I vote for my representatives because I think they have the ability to make
   appropriate decisions, and do what's best for the country, not what's most
   popular among the electorate.  Alas, far too members of congress have their
   own opinions, not too many.

I *run* for representative because I'm not satisfied with the choices
available from the major-party candidates, and I want to provide other
voters with a better option than they'd get otherwise.
It's an interesting experience - I'd recommend it to almost anybody,
at least if you live in a state where it's easy to get on the ballot 
as an independent or minor-party candidate.
You can't change the status quo by voting for a status-quo party,
though you sometimes can change things by joining and working within them.

On the off-chance that I get elected (:-)!) I certainly plan to vote
my conscience when the issues are clear enough, and to get a lot of
good advice from people I trust - if you don't like it, you can run yourself,
or vote for the DemoPublicans, where you know what you're getting :-)

Government is a more-than-full-time job - even if you're trying to do
the right thing, keeping up with the corrupt pols and the
good-intentioned bozos takes time, because you're way outnumbered.
Even with direct access to your representatives, there's not time to
keep up with everything - you've GOT to pick people whose opinions you
can trust, or at least people who will inform you of what they're doing.

Meanwhile, by participating in campaign debates, it's possible to
change the issues and improve the quality of the debate by bringing up
the important issues, and by speaking honestly when the other guys are
trying to say what seems most popular at the moment.
Electronic media are useful for more direct communication instead of
rabble-rousing oratory, but it's really not possible to get rid of
representative government.
-- 
				Pray for peace;      Bill
#Bill Stewart +1-908-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs AT&T Bell Labs 4M312 Holmdel NJ
# Book endorsed by H. Ross Perot (yes, really!):
#      Business Secrets of Attila The Hun
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