A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, AND FOR THE PEOPLE - or A
GOVERNMENT OF THE LEGISLATURE, BY THE "BIG MULES" IN THE HALLWAYS AND
THE BALCONY OF OUR LEGISLATURE, AND FOR THEIR OWN SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS -
which would you prefer?
I believe most Alabamians would rather have the first, realize they have
the latter, and think that either they are powerless to do anything about it,
don't have any idea what to do about it, or are too apathetic to even try to do
anything about it. May God have mercy on Alabama if apathy is not eliminated.
To any who think they have no power: Individually, or in small numbers
you are correct. Your influence goes not much further than voting for two
people to represent you in a legislature of 140 members. But, if you will unite
with enough others in activities to reach a common goal, every person added to
your group increases your potential for obtaining that goal.
A politician's power lies in the number of voters they can influence to
vote for them.
The results of the vote on Amendment One a few months ago has shaken the
confidence of many of our legislators, who are now putting on a show of bravado
by continuing business as usual, rather than adopting the reform and
accountability proposals favored by most of the voters.
The vote against Amendment One, they hope, was only a vote against
self-imposed taxation, and not a vote against their positions of power - but
they are not sure, and that makes them susceptible to being influenced by
pressure from their constituents probably more than at any time in the past.
This rare opportunity gives the common voters more power than usual.
But, it is a wasted opportunity to change government for the better
unless those voters unite in a common effort, and apply sufficient pressure on
the legislators to make them feel they must give their constituents what they
are asking for, if they hope to remain in office.
What one thing would you do to make our state government better, if you
had the ability to do it? The more people you ask that question of, the more
different answers you will get. So which goal should be chosen?
It should be one that can apply to all, rather being liberal or
conservative in nature. It should be attainable. It should be one that will go
further to improve state government than any other. It should be one that would
lead to taking control away from the special interest groups, and putting
government under the influence of "WE, THE PEOPLE". It should be one
that will open the door for further changes that would give us a government we
could have confidence in. It should
be one that would provide the means of revitalizing our government for the
betterment of future generations. Sadly, it should be one that our legislators
will never enact of their own volition, because all of the above improvements
would reduce their power.
In my humble opinion, the only reform capable of all this, and more - the
one that is the key to obtaining any other reform or accountability
measure - is
the constitutional right and authority for Alabamians to have
a viable Petition
and Referendum Process at their disposal to use, if needed, whenever the
legislature does not act in the best interests of Alabama as a whole.
Two bills have been introduced to change the constitution so as to
provide such a right to our citizens [HB88 and HB579], which are currently under
consideration in the House of Representatives Constitution and Elections
Committee, where they may languish and die, unless the 15 members feel
sufficient pressure from their constituents to not let that happen.
What can you do to help create that pressure?
From an acorn does a might oak grow.
Commit yourself to contacting a chosen number of others and explaining
what is at stake here for them. Ask
each of them to do the same, and on and on all across the state [a pyramid
scheme for the sake of Democracy].
Contact
everyone you can in the media and ask them join the effort to inform the public
at large of this opportunity and the huge stakes involved.
Find out who the 15 members of this committee are, and where their
districts are, and make a special effort to have the voters in those districts
contacted NOW, BEFORE THESE BILLS DIE, because those voters are the ones who can
influence the committee members who represent them.
At this stage, it is pressure from those voters that will have the
biggest influence on the outcome. Later, but BEFORE THE END OF THE CURRENT
LEGISLATIVE SESSION WHICH IS NOW HALF OVER, if a bill [a hybrid from the two
bills] survives committee action and is presented to the full House of
Representatives and then the Senate, the pressure must be exerted by voters from
the entire state.
To obtain the information needed to do this, visit The Official Website
Of The Alabama Legislature at
http://www.legislature.state.al.us/ where you will
find links to ALISON [Alabama Legislative Information System Online] in the
second paragraph at "Legislation, Code and Constitution", as well as
links to district maps, members, and other information you may find useful.
Keep in mind that the time is short, and the larger the number of voters
that can be informed and motivated to act, the better are the chances to finally
do something other than complain about our state government.