We heard a lot about ‘pay to play’ during the campaign.

Only then it was a bad thing and it was clearly what you would get if you voted for Hillary.  This claim was pumped up by the leaks and fake news that we now know was fueled by Russia.  And by her opponent – who is now president.

Personally profiting from your office – that used to be a bad thing.

But now?  If you watch from afar, access and influence are for sale.

So maybe we follow their lead on this one as well….

What if we set up a bunch of PACS and raised funds to buyback our congress?

How much could it cost?

We talk about campaign finance reform, yet those in power don’t seem to be interested in fixing anything.  And if they profit from the current system, why should they?

Tax ‘reform’ is on its way.  Eliminating the estate tax so that the top 0.1% can pass their wealth onto their children without paying any taxes is on the table.  ACA repeal tried to remove the tax that has the top 1% paying into Medicare for the 1st time – and if repeal doesn’t work, look for ‘reform’ to remove that pesky tax.

Clearly the top 1% contribute more to political campaigns.  They can afford to do so, because they have discretionary money to spend.  And the ROI for them is good because they can donate enough to gain influence and access.

But what if the bottom 99% pooled their money to buy their own congressional seat or senate seat.  What if we create a PAC for every congressional seat and raise money to fund whoever agrees to follow our policies and provide access to us?

Congress is supposed to work for We, the People – but they currently seem to work for their donors.  So what if We, the People became their donors?

We could hold Town halls they would have to show up for and listen to us, because we would run them.  They would have to take meetings with us to listen to what we care about.  They would have to consider our agenda.  Because if they don’t, we will buy someone who will run against them.

This type of PAC would aggregate money from most of us into a place that could spend enough to potentially thwart any opponent.  And since the PAC would be comprised of voters from their own district – that PAC could do something the top 1% could not do.  They could deliver votes that align with the candidate they fund.

We, the People, could buy back our government one seat at a time…….

Could it work?  Should we try it?

Because it isn’t clear that they are listening and We, the People need someone on the inside to work for us more than ever.

Perhaps this is worth a pilot.  Pick a district. Set up a PAC,  Get the word out on its purpose.  Raise funds.  And then go to the incumbent and make them an offer.  Just like all the other PACS – support our positions or we run against you…..

What difference would it / could it make?

Just a thought….