A tyranny by political party

This line from the movie "The Outlaw Josey Wales" pretty well summarizes what we get out of a party-controlled Congress. In this scene a confederate rebel group surrendered to the union and the senator makes it clear to their leader Fletcher that the deal wasn't what they originally agreed to. The senator tells him that they won and to the victor goes the spoils and this was Fletcher's response. I often find myself thinking these exact words when members of our Congress speak today.

A Tyranny of Party​

I am asserting that we are currently an empire ruled from the top down rather than a true republic ruled from the ground up. This begs a question: If we are an empire, then where is our emperor? It is our political parties! More specifically, a leadership council within each party. The purpose of party leadership in Congress is to suppress the will of the public and push garbage legislation for its patrons.

Bribe is such an ugly word, but that's exactly what it is and our legislators must face this inconvenient truth. Don't worry, if they forget I will be here to remind them at every opportunity that they betraying the people who voted for them. You can argue it's not legally bribery, and I don't care. Wealthy interests are paying money to your party and expecting a return on that investment. It's a fucking bribe no matter how you look at it and no matter how much you try to tell yourself it's just a campaign donation.

Eighty-nine percent of Americans oppose cutting Social Security benefits while Republican leadership cuts the revenue funding it. Somehow we just don't have enough money to fund it since we had to fund a $100 billion war that no one in the public wanted. Democrats, the so-called "party of the people" has managed to dodge literally anything that improves the financial health of Americans by pushing narratives around gender and ethnicity. Progress, but not if it upsets the folks paying the bribes.

Americans are becoming wiser to the nature of Congressional corruption.

How a bill becomes a bill​

In school we (hopefully) learned that we get laws by passing a bill through both houses of Congress and getting the president's signature. I remember wondering back then where the bills came from in the first place. A bill with dozens of pages doesn't write itself and certainly not overnight. Someone is writing them, but whom? The bills that Congress gets are not good. Absurdly long copyright durations have destroyed much of our culture. Just look at the pathetic animation of Bugs Bunny today and how bad it is compared to 1940s-1980s Bugs. A bill for things like an identity system to store and protect our personal information rather than letting private companies rape us never see the light of day.

The more interesting observation is that this happens regardless of which party is in control. It certainly suggests that the small group of individuals in the leadership council of each party are effectively controlling bill creation and introduction. This process happens outside of the view of the American public. We can use this information to get an idea of how things must work.

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columns 5
  block
    B["People we didn't elect"]
  end
  ar0<["Bills and $$ to parties"]>(right)
  block
    columns 1
    R["Republican Leadership"]
    D["Democrat Leadership"]
  end
  ar1<["Pressure on reps\n to pass bad bills"]>(right)
  block
  columns 1
  T["The rest of Congress\ndoes things"]
  end
    classDef red fill:#db4437, color:#fff, stroke:#333;
  class R red
  class D red
  class B red
  class ar0 red

The sections in red show where a bill gets introduced. It is almost always written by "People we didn't elect", then introduced by party leadership. Leadership then pressures other representatives to pass it through several nice and not-so-nice mechanisms available to them. The only exception I can think of is the Epstein Files release bill created by Congress itself. The need to investigate the rapists and pedophiles was somehow just not a priority for Congress in the last decade. I have no idea how this could have been overlooked for so long. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the wishes of rapists and pedophiles donating to our politicians.

The dark money boob​

Congress is addicted to dark money. It's easy to see this when you measure the effect of policy over time and who benefits from it. There are studies that talk about this at very high degrees of accuracy. I will not cite them here. I will instead list several problems that are caused by Congressional dependence on dark money:

• The embargo against Cuba: Wealthy oligarchs exploited the population of Cuba so badly that the population rebelled and threw them out of the country. These narcissistic oligarchs have been punishing them ever since by convincing US politicians to enforce a terrible embargo. The property that Cuba took is now theirs. The oligarchs are never getting it back. Next time be less tyrannical. We are the baddies here. I want this embargo ended and freedom for the people of Cuba at last. These whiny bitch oligarchs can go climb a tree. Things were bad when I had a rare opportunity to see the country in 2024.
• The Epstein Files: Yep, you keep hoping we'll just forget about those but it seems like everywhere you look they pop up again. There are the obvious themes of crime and punishment. Here are some less obvious ones:
  • National Security: This is the kind of thing that people get blackmailed over. I am nearly certain that top government officials have been blackmailed over it for years. I estimate that it resulted in the loss of nearly all government secrets.
  • An international sex ring: Yeah, this is still going on in the background I'm sure. I suspect you will find it hidden behind fashion shows, art galleries, and beauty pageants. Rich people places. Probably run by the same people who run their mail-order bride operations. We cannot allow this to continue and we need the info in those files. I suspect that it may expose some other most dangerous games of depravity in the process of discovery.
  • Probably started a war: I suspect that a country we have been allied to for generations used this against our president to support their genocide against the people of the middle east. It is unfortunate that they chose this path because it is a transgression against the people of the United States and the world that I cannot forgive. The Hare of Retribution demands justice and so it shall be. The United States must abstain from any votes in the United Nations involving Israel from this point forward.
• Poor military readiness: Our soldiers are great and always have been. Lack of competition among military contractors have produced a very expensive military that is unprepared for the modern battlefield. I guess making $40K drones didn't sound attractive to contractors when they can build $2M missiles to shoot them down instead. There is a reason that the boards of those companies are populated with retired officers and government officials.

Representation without representation​

This is the core issue. I didn't elect these guys. I do not elect a political party. I elect a representative. I did not elect a handful of people from other states from one party to arbitrarily decide what Congress gets to work on. Even if I preferred the same party, I still (likely) did not vote for the person leading it. That person who does not represent me has a ton of control over any legislator that I did vote for because they control the schedule.

It is unconstitutional. Every person should be fairly and equally represented by Congress and that is not happening now. We are in fact seeing some very bad effects from this system as Republican leadership tries to assert authoritarian control. As if the avatar wouldn't notice that they had no choice but to do so... This handful of people effectively control all of Congress preventing any action while the president runs amok. Our winner take all dual party system has excluded the people of both parties.

Time for an intervention​

We've got to get off the dark money boob for the sake of our country, and I think I have an answer. I propose that party leadership has no voice in Congress from either party regardless of which has the majority. I suggest instead that the schedule is approved by a secret vote of all representatives from both parties. It is mandatory and cannot be delayed with shenanigans. The purpose is two-fold: First is that it protects representatives from retaliation by their donors and party leaders, at least until a bill comes up for a vote. Second is that it gives all representatives a chance to be heard. The majority party will still get what they want most of the time, but it will not be through tyranny. They will still have to muster the votes within their own party, and party leadership will not be able to arbitrarily ram donor bills through.

Concentrated power is bad in any style of democracy including our Republic. Massive funding pours into parties through mechanisms like Act Blue and Win Red, and it corrupts. I would ideally prefer a system where campaign contributions can only by given by the people they represent. No contributions from companies and institutions are allowed because they cannot be members of our federal Republic. My district, my choice, my voice. Outsiders do not belong here.

I think we have proven beyond any reasonable doubt that the correct answer was "The Anti-Federalists" by this point. Look around you. There simply is no rational defense left for the federalist position. The Heritage Foundation and its governance plan is a COMPLETE FAILURE for the country by any objective measure. It has most of the same weaknesses inherent in monarchy, and sadly this has not improved over the centuries. The federalists have become even more inept over time. I don't know if you guys just inbred for too many generations or what the problem is, but it's time for The People to start running the show.

Management from the ground up​

Empires are managed from the top down; Democracies are managed from the bottom up. The shadow government leading the empire proved itself incompetent and failed. Their power in the world has diminished. The military industrial complex degeneracy has resulted in a very expensive military that cannot compete on the modern battlefield. The oligarchs steering the empire are undone and the faction attempting to seize government control is undone. The foolishness of Project 2025 and its complete failure is plainly obvious for everyone to see. It was thinly-disguised authoritarian takeover takeover attempt and it has been thwarted. The Hare of Retribution holds at their throats the gom jabbar demanding their unconditional surrender.

The people of the United States simply want to be good neighbors in the global community and our government has not been doing this. We intend to change this right now. We will be a Democracy by the People and we will recognize no other authority before us. The list below describes how I think things ought to be. It does not imply an existing legal path to get there right now. Fortunately you guys have a bunch of lawyers to calculate a legislative path.

Here are things Congress can do to strengthen our Republic against future attacks:

1. A Digital Identity Provider for the US Public: Same thing as your .gov system but for the US general public. Everyone would have an account when of legal age. It is owned and operated by a government agency (probably the same management as .gov). It's strongly bound to our government IDs and verified such that it can be used as an official ID. Our personal data is protected by our provider. Details specs will be coming soon in other documents. Gimme a few weeks.
2. The US abstains on all votes involving Israel in the UN: Dragging us into a war to further their genocidal causes is a betrayal that I cannot forgive. Let their fate be decided by the international community without our country blocking the effort. I realize this belongs in Executive land but it's here for the moment until I get that stuff written.
3. Donations appearing to directly or indirectly influence representatives are illegal: Please forgive me I am not a lawyer. I have a soul. This rabbit hole goes beyond bribery. An entity making donations that also has an interest in pending legislation IS appearing to influence the process illegally. The organization must convince a jury of The Public by a preponderance of the evidence that their activity is not influencing legislative activity. If they committed the infraction then they are banned from political participation of any kind for 10 years. If people want to donate to politics then they had best be squeaky clean.
4. Political Parties must relinquish all power: I initially wanted to rid the country of them but there is a better way.
   1. I want Congress to officially recognize a legally defined separation of campaign and governance activity.
   2. We recognize that political parties are NOT members of The Republic and that they can never be. American Democracy is reserved for the people and the people only because only people can be stakeholders in the Republic.
   3. Political party influence and activity must be restricted to campaigning only.
   4. Congress must recognize no powers granted to a political party whether in majority or not. For example, the speaker is elected from the majority party and we recognize only their individual authority as speaker. The party is not granted additional recognition.
   5. Political party pressure applied to governance must be declared illegal with criminal penalties. This includes but is not limited to threats to their future candidacy.
5. Limit the executive pardon power: I want the executive pardon power severely limited such that a president may pardon exactly one person during their term.
6. The Epstein Files: I want them fully released and the criminals within punished. I want their sex trafficking operations completely uncovered. I want them punished in accordance with the rule of law.
7. End the embargo against Cuba: Our country has punished Cuba for far too long over tyranny caused by US corporations. End this embargo. I'm not saying we should become communist or any such nonsense. Help them create a government that works in their best interests and difficult to corrupt. Don't just drop $100 million on their doorstep. Make strategic investments toward their market and labor for their benefit, not ours directly. Everyone will benefit more in the long run. If Exxon or anyone else insists on reparations I will bite their torso and give them a disease.
8. Project 2025: Better known as The Authoritarian Playbook. I will do a paper on it at some point. I want The Heritage Foundation declared a terrorist organization and I want the people associated with it declared terrorists. I want them sued for the immense damage they have done to the nation. Sue their donors directly if possible. They can defend their organization on the public record in the light of Congressional hearings. I will not tolerate organizations that undermine my Republic.
9. Support and defend the character of the US Government: We are experiencing mass negative propaganda targeted against various parts of the US Government. Taxation is a glaring example.
   1. Defend Our Laws: When our laws are attacked by private entities, I expect the US Government to defend itself against such attacks in media before the public. We cannot allow unaccountable private entities to attack our laws unchallenged. Tell The People why the law exists and what service it provides for us. We must ensure this info reaches millions of people. It is unacceptable to allow private entities to control the narrative in governance.
   2. A Public Media System: Owned and overseen by The Public instead of wealthy private interests.
      1. The people must have democratic control and ownership over content. PBS as it was cannot not work here.
      2. Our government broadcasts news and other information from its point of view.
      3. Directly challenge information broadcast on other networks.
      4. Encourages interaction from individuals and public participation.
      5. Run media experiments to improve communication technology on behalf of The Public.
      6. Sell excess airtime to the public for non-profit purposes we deem appropriate.
      7. Our government represents and zealously defends itself in media.
      8. Compete with private entities for market share with quality engaging content and break media market stagnation.
      9. Show us the good things government does for us. We need positive messages to offset the barrage of negative media.
      10. Bring back some golden oldies. Run Schoolhouse Rock shorts on Fox News, especially The Great American Melting Pot. I'm sure The Public would be overjoyed to help modify Interplanet Janet's bit to include the 10th planet. I almost forgot that since it's still protected under ludicrously long copyright terms we need Disney to assign the copyright to the public domain for free so that we don't have to immediately modify copyright legislation to get it there. I want Mr. Roger's Neighborhood too. We need good mental health for children and he is an ideal role model for that.
   3. Limits to commercial speech: Free speech is a right reserved for people in the constitution.
      1. Organizations do not have free speech rights: We recognize corporate personhood as a right to free speech and I disagree. A corporation has personhood but that does not make them a real person. They are still just a signed piece of paper filed with the State Department. As with other organizations, only the people within them have the right.
      2. Paid speech is not free speech. It is commerce.: Free speech is a foundation of our government. This site is an example of why it is important. I criticize my government rather thoroughly on these pages of my own free will I personally benefit in no way from it. Compare this to a for-profit entity like Fox News spewing propaganda for profit. Propaganda harms our nation and is the primary mechanism through which Project 2025 attacked The Republic. Their commercial activity can be regulated. If they truly want to say something without restriction, then they can do it in a block of time with no commercials or other sources of revenue. If it's important to the speaker on its own merits then the speaker doesn't need a paycheck to say it.
10. Gerrymandering Reform: Redistricting a few months before an election? Like seriously? What the fuck is wrong with you people? You should be kicked out of office in disgrace for even thinking about it because it is OBVIOUS ELECTION RIGGING. This isn't politics it is treason. Let's put a stop to this bullshit right now. I want gerrymandering reform that redistricts all states such that legislative districts be drawn fairly and without favor to any political party. Districts should be created in ways that streamline management and best represent the population of that area. Redistricting should be triggered by the census and little else. This needs to be imposed at federal level upon all states because actions in one state affect others and other states in The Republic suffer externalities when any one state can rig their elections.

These are the activities I think would most strengthen our Democracy. They are in no particular order but some are obviously easier than others. If you require my help I will never refuse a call to serve.