by Ron McBride
December 29, 2006

We The People expect political organizations to have fewer staff and for each official to show more individual responsibility. We expect less self-promotion and more attention to issues. And we expect much more.

A recent Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) questionnaire was sent to Democrats to solicit their views about which issues Congress should focus on. This questionnaire did not include an item about the Iraq war, which is, in many people's opinion, the thing that drove the Democratic victory in this election.

We The People could ask why. And then we can do something about it.

The elected officials in Washington D.C. will listen to We the People only if we make our voices heard, only if we make it clear what we expect them to do.

We need to ask them if we are moving forward? Are we? Will we soon? Ever?

I am often asked who is driving the movement that is presently revolutionizing our government. The answer is "We the people of the largest most powerful nation in history".

That includes me, that includes you! There are no secret organizations or committees spearheading the revolution; it is simply happening. We, the messengers, are only reporting it, and linking to existing political information on the Internet.

Examples of "We the People" in action are: the coordination of bloggers in presenting the views of the people to the public at large, the mass emailings to legislators, the phone calls made to our officials, the crowds demonstrating across the country.

In light of new realities, it's probably time to question whether there may be more direct approaches to achieving momentum, a way that is responsive to the myriad external factors that have developed in this era of digital politics.

We The People demand a more responsive government, one that responds not only to our needs but to our aspirations, and one that uses technology to provide quality government not quantity because bigger government does not always mean more effective government. We must be more aggressive in demanding that our elected officials be effective in pursuing our goals.

Any business person knows that if you hire someone and then let them do what ever they want, ignoring the wishes of the employer, without measurement of their abilities to do the job, without a satisfaction/retention perspective, disaster is on the way. It is inevitable that we will soon require measurability of our elected officials and government.

For our government to change, it will take the total effort of "We the People." It is imperative that you understand that you are an important part of "We the People" and that we need your input.

Now back to what set me off on this tirade, the Iraq War……

Most of us come from a background of hard working, tax-paying Americans who don't like big government and don't particularly like Washington. When we elect a government that we feel reflects ourselves, we get a satisfied smile and then set back and let them handle the details.

We can no longer afford to do this. The questionnaire sent out by the DCCC is just one case where we have to get involved. Not even mentioning the Iraq War is inexcusable, it should be one of the three main issues that the Democratic controlled congress provides leadership on. The other two being electoral reform, and health care.

Democrats are walking into a trap. Karl Rove and his ilk, are preparing a strategy to keep control of the Executive Office in 2008 and regain control of congress and what better way than to point to the Democratic controlled Congress and say that they had control for two years and did nothing? Not only is this possible, it will happen.

Dissatisfaction with President Bush's handling of Iraq has climbed to an all-time high of 71 percent, according to the AP-Ipsos survey, which was taken as a bipartisan commission was releasing its recommendations this past week. Just 27 percent of Americans approved of Bush's handling of Iraq, down from his previous low of 31 percent in November.

But George W. Bush won't be running in 2008. A new Republican face will be on your screens, and he/she won't have the baggage of the failures in Iraq. Those will be laid at the feet of Democrats who were in control during the two years leading up to the election.

We The People are not necessarily demanding withdrawing all U.S. troops right away, the poll indicated. The survey found strong support for a two-year timetable, if that's what it takes to get U.S. troops out. Seventy-one percent said they would favor a two-year. When people were asked instead about a six-month timeline for withdrawal that number dropped to 60 percent.

Politicians read polls, and if they don't acknowledge this they are not doing their jobs, as clearly the DCCC is not.