I originally produced the above video for Citizens Against Plutocracy, explaining my candidate contract concept, and it has been adopted and integrated by that organization as a featured component of their comprehensive strategy for putting in place a “people’s Congress” via the coming election. They call it the CFAR National Electoral Strategy. CFAR stands for Contract For American Renewal.
This particular video reaches out to everyone who is running as a populist-progressive in the November 2018 election, an attempt to persuade them that the candidate contracts represent a powerful, decisive method for defeating centrist neoliberal establishment opponents and winning the election.
The text of the video follows.
Hi there!
Are you a people’s candidate? A populist or progressive candidate for Congress in the coming election who is serious about winning?
Then you’ve come to the right place!
Citizens Against Plutocracy is an organization dedicated to restoring representative democracy to America and taking our country back from the ruling elite and big corporations.
We are promoting nationally a comprehensive, game-changing electoral strategy which will set a new high standard for integrity, transparency, honesty, and accountability in electoral politics!
The election cycle has become a three-ring circus.
In ring one are the two major parties, in the second ring the media, and in the center ring the politicians themselves, who now as part of standard operating procedure lie to and mislead the voting public. They put on a spectacular show but it’s a dazzling fraud.
The American people are the victims of this hoax.
We intend to put a stop to this thoroughly destructive charade, this mockery of our citizen-based form of self-government. We’ll do this by replacing those corrupt politicians, who have become both the perpetrators and the beneficiaries of our fake democracy.
The American people know and widely agree on what they want. Those now in office, installed by the corrupted major parties exclusively serving the interests of a ruling class — a plutocracy of wealthy and powerful individuals and corporate entities — will never deliver what the American people desire and deserve. This is now a matter of record, completely beyond dispute.
Our government exclusively serves a tiny clique — literally the .1% — of incomprehensibly rich and powerful aristocrats.
You candidates running for federal office in November 2018, who are on the side of the vast majority of citizens — we call you populist candidates because you reflect the popular will — who are willing to guarantee faithful service to your future constituents, represent the voting public honestly and transparently, bring to elected office unwavering integrity and commitment on key issues . . . YOU ARE THE FOLKS WE’RE HERE TO HELP.
We’ve identified 11 initiatives which are supported by 62% – 80% of Americans across the political spectrum, and if you agree with the vast consensus of the voting public on these causes, you easily meet the new high standards we’ve established with our electoral strategy. YOU are the ‘good guys’ in this ugly contest of political will — the electoral cage fight — and YOU are the ones we intend to send to Washington DC in November 2018.
Let me now give you our list of what the vast majority of everyday citizens want done, and see if you agree on most, if not all of the following.
Reputable and highly reliable polls say . . .
63% of Americans want a federal minimum wage of $15.00 per hour.
75% of voters want fair trade agreements protecting jobs, workers, the environment.
76% of voters want a cut back on military spending.
76% of voters want the U.S. completely out of Afghanistan.
79% of voters want no reductions in Social Security, 70% support expanding it.
79% of voters want no reductions in Medicare.
80% of voters oppose the “Citizens United” U.S. Supreme Court decision.
68% of voters think taxes on the wealthy should be increased, and corporations should be required to pay their fair share.
71% of voters support massive infrastructure renewal.
65% of voters want laws to combat climate change.
62% of voters want tuition free public colleges and universities.
If these represent what you’d like to get done when you get elected, then YOU ARE BY DEFINITION a populist candidate. YOU have the strength of the numbers behind you. YOU have the American people behind you.
Now all you have to do is convince the voters that you’re for real, and that your opponents are not.
Sounds like it should be easy . . . but as we all know, it’s not. If you don’t have huge piles of money in your campaign coffers and the nitro-methane burning engines of either major party propelling your campaign, it’s nearly impossible.
That’s precisely where our strategy comes in!
That’s where our strategy will make a grand entrance on the political stage, break down the media barriers, put you dead center in the voting public’s eye, and give you the spotlight and a platform to effectively reach the voters. YOU will finally have that voice you need, and that new voice will resonate over the din of cheap campaign rhetoric coming from your opponents. Citizens will finally get some straight talk — not the usual mumbo jumbo — and know with certainty that YOU are on their side and will work for them.
You see . . . if you agreed with most of the items I just mentioned, you’ve passed our test with flying colors.
But . . . and this is a very big decisive ’BUT’ . . .
YOUR OPPONENTS FAIL SPECTACULARLY.
Especially the incumbents! Despite what they say, despite their vague but pleasant sounding rhetoric, their vaporous campaign slogans and sound bites, despite all the PR and hype they pump out using enormous sums of cash from their deep-pocketed ruling elite benefactors, we will show unambiguously and decisively that THEY ARE FULL OF HOT AIR and NOT ON THE SIDE OF THE EVERYDAY CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY!
Think about it . . .
If so many everyday citizens want these things done, why does none of it ever make it through Congress? Why if anything does make it through the legislative labyrinth, the very opposite happens? How do all of these very popular ideas get compromised, chipped away, whittled down, eventually replaced by legislation which shafts the 99% of our once great nation?
That’s easy!
Because the current batch of elected officials don’t work for the people. They work for their rich and powerful patrons, the transnational corporations, Wall Street, hedge funds, investment banks, the ruling elite who are stripping our country of its resources, looting all of us of our wealth and any hope of a better life . . . and destroying the American dream.
How do they get away with this?
That’s also easy.
The American public either isn’t paying attention, or when they are, through ruthless and self-serving lies, voters are constantly misled, kept confused, overwhelmed, immersed in fear, rendered hopeless.
AND THAT HAS GOT TO STOP! THAT WILL STOP!
No more lies. No more games. We’re drawing a big, wide line in the sand. Voters will see in clear, stark terms who’s on their side and who isn’t.
Which brings us now to the strategy. The CFAR National Electoral Strategy.
We have created a powerful mechanism for demonstrating to the voting public that YOU, the populist candidate, are the real deal, and your mainstream centrist neoliberal opponents are a FRAUD.
This is a completely original, unprecedented, outside-the-box creation. So don’t bother Googling it. You won’t find it anywhere except at this website. At least for now. We don’t have any doubt that this will quickly become the new standard in this coming election cycle for replacing ‘bad guy’ neoliberal pay-for-play politicos, with ‘good guy’ populist progressives . . . like YOU!
What we’ve come up with is called the CFAR . . . Contract For American Renewal.
Yes . . . it’s a contract.
But before that C-word generates a lot of misgivings and misunderstandings, let me make two very critical points.
PLEASE pay very close attention.
1) The contract is not really about you.
2) The contract is about defeating your opponents and winning the election.
So . . . as I explain how it works, keep these two very simple but vitally important thoughts right there in the front of your mind. Otherwise you may misunderstand what a powerful and decisive methodology we’re offering you. So I’ll repeat:
1) The contract is not really about you.
2) The contract is about defeating your opponents and winning the election.
Yes, you’ll sign a contract. But bear in mind, the things on the contract are the very things you already stand for. They list the things you already plan on doing when you get elected. You saw what huge majorities of everyday citizens want. These are the things that any true populist-progressive candidate also wants. They reflect the popular will of the American public.
Moreover, YOU’LL CUSTOMIZE AND CREATE THE CONTRACT THAT YOU’RE COMFORTABLE WITH, listing just the items that are central to your campaign and pivotal in getting you elected. We provide a template listing 11 items, based on the above polls. But you decide which ones work for you in your particular campaign. We are not dictating terms to you. You’re in charge here. There may even be other populist-progressive items which are specific to your district and your future constituents. We understand that. The contract is flexible. We trust your judgment and know that as a populist-progressive candidate, you’ll do what’s in the best interests of your constituents.
The important thing is . . . THAT YOU USE THE CONTRACT!
Why?
Because it delivers a clear, unambiguous message to voters: You are on their side. Your opponents are not. You are the ‘good guy’ working for them. Your opponents are the ‘bad guys’ who’ll say anything to get elected and deliver nothing for the people.
THAT’S why we’re pushing this strategy. Because for once, truth and honesty will defeat money and propaganda, and we’ll get a Congress that works for everyone, not just the rich and powerful. It’s been a long time coming!
Why are we so confident this is going to work and reshape electoral politics?
I’ll tell you why.
In the first place, voters want certainty. They’re sick of smoke and mirrors, they’re fed up with hollow campaign promises.
THIS CONTRACT TAKES THE GUESSWORK OUT OF VOTING. Voters will see what you’ve put in your contract. They’ll know with CERTAINTY, exactly what you’ll be doing for them from day one when you arrive in Washington DC.
But keep in mind, the contract — while decisive and powerful in getting you elected — only locks you in on those items in the contract. Is this restrictive? Is this controlling? How can it be? These are the things you yourself have chosen for the contract, the things you’d be doing anyway, with or without the contract. Would you hesitate to sign a contract requiring you to breathe? We assume unless you’re a fish, you intend to breathe anyway.
Second, we’re pushing this nationally. You’ll be part of a populist juggernaut, organized across the entire nation to take on the assault by the rich and powerful on our democracy. WE’RE DEAD SERIOUS ABOUT THIS! We’re aiming to have a candidate in every single district with a contract in hand, ready to take on the establishment candidates. All 435 districts! It’s not going to do much good if you and only a handful of others get elected.
WE’RE GOING FOR BROKE!
The thing to recognize is this: We’ve got history on our side. This is the second time we’ll be saving America from the tyranny of autocratic rule. We did it once. Time has come for a SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION, putting power into the hands of everyday citizens, the folks who built this country and kept it strong until the banksters and corporate raiders swooped in like vultures and stole our democracy.
So the question you need to ask yourself is this: Are YOU with us? Are YOU ready for the fight of your life?
Are YOU ready to win this coming election and do your part in saving our democracy?
We have just you need to get started. And since we’re sure you have lots of questions, guess what? We’ve got lots of answers and many more ideas that I couldn’t touch on in this video.
WE’RE HERE FOR YOU!
Just click on this link and get started putting together a winning campaign.
For more information on the CFAR National Electoral Strategy, please click HERE.
You can download the CFAR (Contract For American Renewal) template in the format of your choice using the following links, then get to work customizing it for your campaign, reflecting the constituent values and priorities of your particular district. Or you may choose to adopt the entire contract as it is:
House of Representatives – Word
House of Representatives – PDF
House of Representatives – Text
Senate – Word
Senate – PDF
Senate – Text
