The convergence of WikiLeaks and the Tea Party.

These two remarkable developments in the political landscape over the past two years are mere harbingers of the environment our government will run within for the foreseeable future.

They share much in common with each other, first and foremost is the distrust of government. This is a founding principle of both. The individual is the most important player in the relationship between who is governed and the who governs. Wikileaks seeks to expose the real conspiracy that exists within government. The Tea Party seeks to reduce the growth of government power over our lives.

The Tea Party should support the efforts made by Wikileaks. Wikileaks should view the Tea Party as candidate movement to extend its efforts into policy and structural change within the US Government. They each could benefit from the support of the other.

In effect, Wikileaks is the ultimate “David” from the concept of “An Army of Davids”.  It is this very small organization with very small resources that is dictating its agenda on the most powerful country in the world. It is a remarkable achievement.

In many ways the latest election in the United States was a ripple of a reflection of the same sentiment. There were some candidates that got elected outside of the mainstream party system. There were some that failed. But the presence of the Tea Party, and it’s smaller government mantra, made itself felt. This new agenda is being dictated on the U.S. government even before the new congressmen have been seated. Talk about casting a big shadow.

To me they are kindred spirits and should each laud the other. They can both benefit from the other movements efforts.

 

Detailed explanation of Wikileaks agenda: Julian Assange and the Computer Conspiracy; “To destroy this invisible government”

What are the Tea Parties founding principles: The Tea Party Movement Principles

Proposition 2 – Video Conferencing

The restriction on how many days per year a congressman may physically be in the District of Columbia would completely shut down the government if not for the rise of technology.  We now have the technology to be able to restrict the time spent in DC and keep government operating.

The capabilities are there.  If we provide every congressman with at least two or more networked and secure video conference rooms in their home district office, then this becomes a feasible reality.

Listed below is the necessary equipment and layout to successfully carry on governing remotely.

Network

The video network will have the capacity to connect with a full meeting of the House and Senate Plus 100% overflow.

• House: 435
• Senate: 100
• Overflow: 535
• Total: 1070 concurrent connections.

Each congressional district office will have two rooms for video conferencing.

Conference rooms layout and size

Room 1 – Small

• Capacity: 8 people.
• One 54” LCD display.
• Video conferencing equipment.

Room 2 – Large

• Capacity: 30 people
• Three 54” LCD displays.
• Video Conferencing equipment.

Web Interface

• There will be a web page where any citizen may log in and view the current debate for whatever meeting is taking place at that time.
• For non-security meetings a citizen will be able to view any meeting at any time.
  • Live: Any live meeting that is currently occurring will be viewable by the citizen.
  • Recorded: All meetings will be recorded and archived for viewing later.

Proposition 1: Time Limits – 60 days in DC per year. (period)

Senators and Representatives will be allowed to visit Washington DC for a maximum of 60 days per year.

This time allotment will include all standard business that is currently addressed in DC.:

• Regular legislation process
• Affairs of State
• International Conferences
• Inauguration Proceedings
• Any and all normal government business will be included in this rule

Exceptions:

• Presidential Funeral Procession
• Voting on Acts of War

Staff restrictions

Staff restrictions in DC will also be enforced.

Permanent DC Staff:

The Congressman’s permanent DC staff will be limited to five (5). Two members focused on business in Washington DC and 3 (three) members focused on welcoming and helping constituents visiting the DC area.

Primary Staff:

All other staff members are restricted to the same 60 days maximum. Their period must overlap with their Congressman’s by at least 90%. Their schedule must align with their Representative or Senator closely. This means that 90% of their days in DC must coincide with their congressman being present in DC as well. This is meant to prevent a spreading of coverage of the staff in DC.

The Heart of the Problem with Congress is Washington DC

The Congress of the United States of America does its work surrounded by a see of lobbyists.  All of them competing for the Congressman’s time and mindshare.  The competition is fierce and corrupting.

An elected legislator may go to DC with the best intentions, in fact most probably do, but over time the incessant lobbying with favors, promises and gifts of varying type wear down the resolve of all but the strongest.  The citizens of this country see this and understand it and therefore hold Congress in very low regard.  It was most glaringly put on display in 2009 during the Obamacare debate where several blatant vote buying schemes were hatched in broad daylight that helped sway Senators to vote for the atrocity of a bill.

What can be done to prevent issues like this, the lobbying, the corrupting of our elected officials.

Nothing?

I propose that there is something that can be done to mitigate the problem of the swamp of the District of Columbia.  To be specific, require all Congressman to spend 80% of their time in their home district.  Or more explicitly, limit their time in Washington DC to 60 days in a calendar year.

This would tie them closer to their constituents, and prevent much of the lobbyists control over the halls of congress.  It wouldn’t guarantee the end to corrupt dealing, but it would mitigate it.

How can this be done?

We are in a special time in the history of the world where we have the technology to achieve this.  Simply outfit every Congressman’s home office with teleconferencing equipment and allow regular business to be done from the local location.  Business gets done, meetings get done, legislation gets done, Congressmen stay home.

I also believe that there would be opportunities for cost savings in this setup.  Once the system is enabled, there would be lower expenditures for staff and lodging and travel and many other incidentals.

The time has come for Distributed Government.