"Contract From America" Grassroots effort to allow citizens to have a say in US policy

I received this in an email today from the Tea Party Patriots website:

"We the People" to Assert the Power to Guide Legislative Direction
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2009
Contact: Ryan Hecker or Greg Holloway


In an initiative that harkens to the core principles of the Declaration of Independence, the Tea Party Patriots and other grassroots activists have established a project which will enable the American people to establish legislative priorities for their representatives. This new project, called "Contract from America," offers the public the opportunity to make specific legislative suggestions in thirteen areas of public policy, ranging from health care to ethics reform, energy and environmental issues.

In true grassroots style, Ryan Hecker, from Houston, Texas, conceptualized and created the Contract from America, and brought it to the Tea Party Patriots. In discussing the project, he spoke of the need for more public involvement in the determination of America's public policies. "Over the past decades, the majority of ideas and policies have originated in the backrooms of lobbyists and legislators in Washington DC. New legislation has often originated from special interests. These ideas and policies have proven to be tired and ineffective. I know the American people have better ideas for our government. Contract from America is their opportunity."

Contractfromamerica.com was launched immediately prior to the Stand up for Liberty! rallies held in Texas and Ohio over the Labor Day Weekend, and was announced to the nation at the 9-12 March on Washington.

As ideas are offered online by grassroots visitors, individuals will be able to vote on ideas or suggest alternatives in each category. Editors selected from among tea party activists from around the country will choose the top three ideas in each policy area. A vote of the people will select the ideas to be presented to elected officials as the choices of the people.

Hecker noted further, "This website provides Americans with the opportunity to offer their innovative solutions to our nation's pressing problems and to vote and comment on the ideas of others. We believe that the result of this grassroots-generated marketplace of ideas will be a document that not only represents the will of the American people, but promotes unique ideas that will breathe new life and new trust into American government. We will have a Contract From America for which we are all responsible and in which we all feel a sense of ownership."

(The above is a copy/paste of the email. The only thing I changed was removing the phone numbers listed for Mr. Hecker and Mr. Holloway.)

This was the first I'd heard of it so I went and checked it out and it actually sounds like a pretty good idea. The goal is to let the people propose and vote on policy changes for three months. After the three months is up the most popular proposals from each category will be debated in an open meeting with the Contract from America panel, all of whom are listed on the website. After the meeting/debate the final proposals will be taken to the government.

I'm not trying to get anyone to go register at the website or submit ideas to it, nor do I necessarily support all of the ideas already put forth there, but I thought that I would bring it to light here as an example of what people are still out there doing in an effort to change the direction of our country. It seems that almost daily here someone is trying to say that no one who supports the tea parties or has gone to them actually is trying to change anything, and this is further proof that those claims are unfounded. I think it also effectively disproves all the claims that the tea parties were nothing but a bunch of people who just hate Obama.

It sounds like an interesting idea. I will have to go check it out.

That was my thought on it. If nothing else, it's a very interesting idea and a pretty good way to let Congress know exactly what people want. Of course that doesn't mean they'll listen, but they won't be able to say they don't know.