The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

Problems

Unless you’ve been on a long and blissful vacation somewhere far removed from civilization, you’re aware of our systemic national problems and failing democracy. There’s ample evidence that these problems have gotten to a point of catastrophic failure, just take a look at the list at right, it’s overwhelming. More and more people have become disenfranchised and in a state of disbelief with our corrupt and dysfunctional political systems. The good news is problems are just opportunities in reverse, and that means we have lots of opportunities...

Awakening

Thanks to painful experiences with the recent global contraction, people the world over are awakening to the realization that change from the bottom up is needed and the “internet”, a powerful communication system, can deliver positive change and new ways to organize and manage politics, elections and the resulting government we all live with. David Cameron said in his Feb 2010 TED talk, that the internet brings the possibility of a post bureaucratic age. Further he says, the internet and information age brings the power to organize society directly to people. As Austin Capobianco puts it: “Democracy 2.0 is the inevitable movement that will put control of society in the hands of itself.” At the same time dozens of internet sites have sprung up in the hopes of rallying support for movements against money politics and corruption (which is problem #1) as brilliantly detailed by Laurence Lessig in his Feb 2013 TED talk.

Reality vs. Future

The political reality today is a system that no longer serves “we the people” but caters to “we with money” aka, the wealthiest of the 1% and large multinational corporations. The political circus and resulting corruption this money creates is not the way to manage a society whose national anthem proudly proclaims we are “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. I refuse to accept that it can’t get better; it’s time to “hit the reset button”. I see a future with honorable leaders beholden to their citizen electorate, where a candidates stance on issues earns more votes than campaign cash, true equal opportunity and a level playing field for all. I see the internet enabling these changes with an entirely new type of software platform: a political communication and management system connecting citizens and politicians, simple and easy to use, that cannot be subverted by big money and corruption, yielding unprecedented benefits for society.

Mass Appeal is Key

Direct democracy and energized citizen participation is INEVITABLE but how will this revolution be delivered and popularized? What instrument or mechanism will we use to join together to create and manage better government? To achieve its desired outcome, a movement must gain acceptance by a large enough cross section of the population to create unmistakable force and momentum. If to become successful and have viral and exponential participation, it must have an irresistible attraction ie., “star” power, it must solve problems and do powerful things, yet be simple to understand. It must be ideology and party independent. It must give more in benefits than it takes away in participatory time from busy lives. It must not be just another method of  “political activism” rather it must completely re-invent how we participate in the management of our country.

Connect the Dots

In 2010 I envisioned this entire system, a website platform, that creates a new political reality and solves many of the problems mentioned here. It utilizes powerful information technology and tools thus giving people DIRECT control and POWER over the political process. This website is a “one-stop-shop” for everything related to politics that a person might need. Rather than many sites singular in function (like sending emails to politicians demanding change, or signing pledges to protest this or that, or joining with a group to support meaningful new legislation) the site will have multiple and ongoing functions under one roof. The unifying and simplifying power is quite revolutionary. The issues with our democracy are not too far gone and complex for an ingenious, simple solution to fix. For example look at how iTunes revolutionized digital music management, how MySpace and Facebook revolutionized social interaction and how Google simplified search and so much more. Likewise, my “New Political System” revolutionizes the management of democracy for leaders, candidates and citizens.

Core Concepts

1. •Money politics is the root of the dysfunction in our country as it disconnects citizens from policy consideration for purchasers of influence. The huge danger with money politics is that as politicians are forced to pander to raise increasing amounts to gain office they become more disconnected from governing for the “good of the country” and instead are rewarded by creating chaos which in turn gives them more leverage to raise more cash. This “evil cycle” is accelerating out of control and ruining the country. “New Political System” creates a new paradigm whereby money is decoupled from votes.
   

2. •A realization that government and leaders DO NOT have the ability to self-correct. Once addicted to money and power they’ll stay that way until an OUTSIDE FORCE redirects them to change. This “outside force” is the immense power created by a unified, organized and massive (internet-connected) group of people. My plan utilizes this force along with ‘good old’ capitalism to direct political value away from cash towards voters without the need for constitutional upheaval.
   

3. •The creation of an intuitive software “storehouse” for citizens to manage political thoughts and provide a complete “toolshed” of instruments and analytics to allow never-before-seen direct practical participation in democracy.
   

4. •Provide free webspace for candidates and leaders with direct-to-citizen communication and analytical tools to create and craft a governing platform (in place of mindless TV ads, meaningless rhetoric and political circus) thus providing them access to massive numbers of passionate citizens ready to pledge votes and support based on their stance on ISSUES. This delivers votes at minimal cost, further reducing money in politics.
   

Tools to Manage Your Political Life

Imagine a system of software tools whereby you can completely record, manage and transform your political thoughts into action. It’s a “killer app”, it’s democracy’s “missing link”: directly connecting people and leadership, enabling effortless care-taking of your political responsibilities while eliminating the time loss and hassle of choosing who and what to vote for. Specifically:

1. •Candidates, leaders and voters can to come together using a new SIMPLE, DIRECT and BI-DIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATION system to clearly synchronize positions on important issues. Imagine being able to communicate with all your representatives with just a few clicks.
   

2. •Automatic compilation, tabulation and intuitive presentation of the above communication in order to gain clear and concise meaning.
   

3. •Candidates and leaders earn “pledged” votes at minimal to no cost because as they share their stance on ISSUES they earn votes in return. If they can count on your vote come election time – based on honestly earning it, then they do not need corrupting campaign cash to buy ads in the hopes of getting votes. Thus money politics has been derailed.
   

4. •Access to a universally verifiable source of facts, information, history and news to educate yourself on the ISSUES. The MSM has failed us. Citizen participation will be successful only if participants can educate themselves with true facts about the issues. An intelligent movement to help educate citizen voters is long overdue.
   

5. •Everyone who participates has the ability to contribute, create and take part in polls.
   

6. •Those who want to participate in direct democracy will have the ability to draft legislation.
   

7. •A voter information tool to test, score and rank candidates and leaders allowing intelligent selection of our leadership.
   

8. •Automatic alignment with candidates, leaders and proposals based on analytical ISSUES-based matching of your profile. Imagine... No more wondering how to vote. Huge time and frustration savings! People might even enjoy politics again!
   

9. •A reward system to generate viral and residual participation and many, many more tools.
   

Summary and Call to Action

Once developed, this smart web-based system of software tools and technology will create a powerful network of people making market-based, intelligent political change. Amazingly, just by participating in a remarkable (and free) system to manage your political life you will simultaneously be transforming politics and government for the better. That’s a big win-win.

It is time for a new chapter in the history of our republic – it is time to reverse the damage of corruption that took hold from the start. What can you do? Please like us on FB, follow on Twitter and connect on LinkedIn. Please email me if you’d like to help, or be involved, or would just like to submit your email address for future news. New Political System is brilliant disruptive technology.

If you are an experienced programmer who is passionate about our failing democracy and you want to help change USA and the world, we’re looking to connect with you. If you are an equally passionate and experienced angel investor, we are looking for the seeds to build the core of our platform in a lean mean startup, launching into a profitable revenue model with potent ROI.

The time to join the band is now when it’s forming, not after the fact. Who wants to shake up the world?

An Introduction to