Discuss how we can hasten progress towards enlarging representation. There are two primary components to this: 1) educating others in order to gain the necessary public support; and, 2) ensuring implementation via a constitutional amendment or other legal means.
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This forum is only for discussion related to achieving the vision of a much larger House. All other discussion will be moved or deleted. No incivility or partisan advocacy allowed.
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Jims65
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:30 pm
First Name: Jim

Broaden our base

Post by Jims65 »

I have been a watcher of TTO for almost a year now and the one thing I noticed is how few participants there are on the site. That's disturbing because I believe better representation through smaller districts will bring some profound changes to our political process. Decreasing the size of congressional districts is more than a nice concept to be discussed, it needs to be the tool for taking control of the federal government.

As a former county party chairman I have seen first hand the apathy and the disgruntlement with political parties. I have heard that less than 20% of voters are affiliated with a political party, and I believe that is true, yet political parties dominate our views on issues. Better representation would end the party stranglehold and rejuvenate a more positive view of our government and its representatives.

So, how do we widen the base? I'm sure there are many ways to start. Here are three ideas that I feel are ideally suited to where TTO is presently.

:arrow: Develop a series of short You-Tube videos for email circulation. Keep them at 2 minutes each on just a single point of TTO. For instance: “Why doesn’t your Congressman listen? How can he, when the average Congressman represents nearly ¾ a million people! Smaller district sizes would….”

Or, “Are you sick and tired of choosing your congressman from the better of two evils? Then consider what it would be like if..”

These may be simplistic examples but I think you get the point. If they were short and interesting they could/would be circulated from person to person through emails. Hundreds of thousands would begin to hear the message.

:arrow: Build Power Point Presentations. Each would be on a particular idea of TTO. Put them on a DVD with printable pamphlets and an outline. Make them available for distribution through your website sales page for a small cost. That way, those interested in giving talks to their local party or service club, or organizing a Thirty-thousand Meet-up could have some ready made material for presentation. Service clubs and political parties are always looking for speakers. Since TTO is non-partisan it would be an attractive opportunity for grassroots presentations.

:arrow: Build a monthly electronic newsletter. Each issue could contain information on current activities associated around better representation. Or possibly containing posted blogs from the website or using current events to show how better legislation could be produced as a result of better representation. Topics are limitless. The point being an electronic newsletter keeps TTO in the spotlight of its subscribers and would attract new subscribers as they visit the website.

I am sure there are many ideas out there, but the point is to keep the current group engaged and interested while growing the base. The blog site is a great source of information for those of us not so astute.
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JEQuidam
Posts: 221
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:45 pm
First Name: Jeff
Stance: Pro-Enlargement
Location: Dunwoody, Georgia
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Re: Broaden our base

Post by JEQuidam »

Jims65 wrote:Here are three ideas that I feel are ideally suited to where TTO is presently.
Those are excellent suggestions.

Creating videos (for YouTube distribution) has long been a favorite of mine. I have given a lot of thought to what the content of those videos should be. Unfortunately, I lack both the time and skill to produce effective videos. We need an experienced volunteer for that.

You are correct that "Decreasing the size of congressional districts is ... the tool for taking control of the federal government." This effort does need much better awareness development, but we are severely limited by time and money. In the meantime, I encourage supporters to continue to carry the message to their friends and associates, and in any political forums. Encourage people to read "Taking Back Our Republic". Emphasize that this is a non-partisan cause.
NevadaEric
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Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:17 am
First Name: Eric
Stance: Pro-Enlargement

Re: Broaden our base

Post by NevadaEric »

I had come to some of these same conclusions on my own. In late Nov. 2011, I joined the local occupy group. Since then I've contacted other groups in Nevada and am conveying this representation problem to them. I've sent a proposed Amendment to the State Legislators with only two replies. Also I've contacted my Federal Reps. This representation issue does not seem to win favor or even a real response.

But I shall not quite. I'll be contacting more occupy groups to let them know of this vital issue. The willful theft of representation could be expressed in this way, since most people are concerned mostly with money or a lack of. While I've met some in Reno and some in Las Vegas, the numbers are still small. The older ones in Carson City do not know enough history or dismiss talk as esoteric. So education is needed.

As with occupy groups and people in general, if they don't see it, they can't smell it and kick the tires. I'll be doing the best I can from here. Soon I'll be going into the Sacramento/Oakland areas to make myself visible.

Don't squander this year and the occupy people, since this is a non-partisan issue and what I think is a source of our discontent.
banleystuck
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:13 am
First Name: Stanley
Stance: Pro-Enlargement

Re: Broaden our base

Post by banleystuck »

Right,
I completely agree, that this issue needs much greater recognition than it receives.

I think this forum is great for sharing ideas, but if you want to really get some actions done it will require coordination of those who are already aware and committed to resolving this issue. I recommend meetings online, via skype. Free and much more effective. Frequency, monthly, and more often as needed. Perhaps this could be promoted by a newsletter.

Quidam, can TTO send out emails to its members? If so, I would volunteer to contribute to a monthly newsletter. I am sure I could come up with something interesting, at least once a month!

Anyways, right now the best place to meet people is on the facebook page. These forums are for discussion and content. Don't be surprised if they are not updated that often. The facebook page is more frequently commented on because everyone there can comment.
agcayacom
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:13 pm
First Name: Arthur
Stance: Pro-Enlargement

Re: Broaden our base

Post by agcayacom »

Let's have a non-partisan voters union.
The Occupy movement, while inspiring to this point, needs to redirect their energy towards the topic we're discussing. Many of them are so disgusted by the current political landscape that they refuse to allow for change. We have to believe that change is possible, because it is our only hope, but we don't require amendments or laws. We simply need to organize.
d3teur
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 11:54 am
First Name: Martilias
Stance: Pro-Enlargement

Re: Broaden our base

Post by d3teur »

I think we need a viral campaign, to just get the idea out there.

I think old fashioned pamphlets and stickers can do a lot. You know those oval stickers on cars that have some number on them?

well, how about this?

Image

In case the link dies, its an oval with the text "435?" in it. We have to get the question into peoples heads. The people that follow politics know there are 435, but no one ever questions it.

so, we put 435 with a question mark out there. On cars. In cities.

or a similar thing with "30K" on it. I might just draft a kickstarter to get funds to buy these stickers.
803sccdantes
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 12:40 am
First Name: Richard

Re: Broaden our base

Post by 803sccdantes »

d3teur wrote:I think we need a viral campaign, to just get the idea out there.

I think old fashioned pamphlets and stickers can do a lot. You know those oval stickers on cars that have some number on them?

well, how about this?

Image

In case the link dies, its an oval with the text "435?" in it. We have to get the question into peoples heads. The people that follow politics know there are 435, but no one ever questions it.

so, we put 435 with a question mark out there. On cars. In cities.

or a similar thing with "30K" on it. I might just draft a kickstarter to get funds to buy these stickers.
I like the 435? idea. It'd also be helpful to have a link or reference to the website so people can look it up themselves after seeing it and wondering what the heck it meant.
djzb101
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 10:16 am
First Name: David
Stance: Pro-Enlargement

Re: Broaden our base

Post by djzb101 »

Hi,

I am kind of new on this site cause I just found it. I do support a further increase in the number of representatives. Have you heard of petitions.whitehouse.gov. It allows a person to create a petition which people can electronically sign and have someone in the government consider it for review. Another good site is change.org which also allows you to create petitions which people can sign. Have you guys considered this option? With enough "e-signatures" this could promote some change in government.

Dave
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JEQuidam
Posts: 221
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:45 pm
First Name: Jeff
Stance: Pro-Enlargement
Location: Dunwoody, Georgia
Contact:

Re: Broaden our base

Post by JEQuidam »

djzb101 wrote:Have you heard of petitions.whitehouse.gov.
Dave, supporters have posted petitions at Whitehouse.gov - for example this one, there may be more. (Their site has apparently been turned off during this government "shutdown".) Also, see the posting in this forum about another petition.

I believe that, in the long rung, the best petition will be TTO's Facebook page. Thirty-Thousand.org is a non-partisan organization exclusively focused on representational enlargement.

Also, please encourage everyone to read TTO's pamphlet, "Taking Back Our Republic", which can be downloaded from this page.
d3teur
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 11:54 am
First Name: Martilias
Stance: Pro-Enlargement

Re: Broaden our base

Post by d3teur »

Okay, this one has a lot of points:
803sccdantes wrote:
d3teur wrote:I think we need a viral campaign, to just get the idea out there.

I like the 435? idea. It'd also be helpful to have a link or reference to the website so people can look it up themselves after seeing it and wondering what the heck it meant.
A link would be awesome to fit on a sticker - however, thirty-thousand.org is too big. I checked out 30k.us , it is up for bid on godaddy at $1200.00. Does anyone have this kind of money? The final sticker design would be:

435?
30k.us

TED Talks - have you guys seen these? Does anyone feel they have the authority on the matter to do a 30 min presentation on the topic?

Talk shows - with the government shutdown occurring you'd figure these talk show hosts, especially the liberal ones, would be willing to research this topic. I've emailed Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow, Morning Joe, and even The Daily Show. We need to email these people. I will try to aggregate some contacts, but their facebook pages are a good place to start. Maybe even the conservative talk shows would spread the word too. Again, if this is understood as increased representation, its a nonpartisan issue.
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