You Pledge Allegiance to the Whaaa?

We live in a time of pledges.  Sorority and fraternity pledges.  Pledges to charity fundraisers.  Pledges here, pledges there.  Throw a rock in any direction and you’ll hit a pledge of some sort.  Of course, the newest pledge on the scene  - the new pledge on the block, if you will - is the political pledge, and it’s all the rage for our legislators to sign them.  And sign them they are… in droves!  In some of these pledges, our government representatives commit to an ideological platform; in others, they commit to vote “yes” or “no” on a particular issue.  While it seems to me that the majority of the pledgors are on the conservative side of the aisle, I'm certain some lefties are signing them as well.  Regardless of the party or pledgor, all of these pledges are drafted by special interest groups.  Every.  Single.  One.  Of.  Them.

For what it's worth, I am not a special interest group.

Sadly, I am just a voting citizen who wants to know that I still matter, and that my voice will be heard.  I am aware that my elected representatives and I will not always come to the same conclusion, and believe it or not, I’m okay with that.  But I at least want to know that they are willing to hear me out if I have something to say.  So with this blog posting, I officially throw my pledge hat into the ring.  If you like it, feel free to send it to your federal, state or local representatives and ask for their signature.  I call it it the... 

Pledge to Do My Job

I, [Insert name here], commit to my constituents that I will do the following:

• Unless I was elected by a 100% margin without a single vote cast against me as a candidate, I pledge to remember – and to remind myself periodically, and if necessary, to hire someone to remind me repeatedly – that I represent a group of citizens with views as diverse as the day is long.  Whether I personally agree with these citizens or not, I recognize that, as their representative, it is my duty  - nay, obligation! - to listen their concerns, respect their perspective, solicit their viewpoints, gather the information necessary to make an informed decision (including, where necessary, engaging experts in the field to provide objective guidance), and to collate that with the concerns, perspectives and information gathered from my other constituents before making any decision, announcing any “final” position on a matter, or casting any vote.  I further pledge that in executing this duty, I will not supplant either the best interests or the prevailing viewpoint of my constituents with my own personal perspective or belief.  I recognize that I am but one individual within my district, and at all times I pledge to speak and act for those I represent, not only myself.  Even if I intend to run for national office (e.g. President of the United States), I expressly acknowledge that until such time that I win a national election, the people who reside outside of my district are not my constituents,  are already (presumably adequately) served by one or more other representatives within the legislative body, and are not the citizens on whose behalf I have been elected to serve.

• I pledge that I will diligently, efficiently and in good faith work to develop and pass legislation.  I recognize that I have been elected in order to serve as the voice and arm of the people, not to stand as a fixed and immovable object of obstruction.  In meeting this obligation, I pledge not to 1) erect false walls of objection to any piece of legislation or policy which rely on weak or non-existent factual foundations for support, 2) take absolute positions which do not allow me to negotiate in good faith, 3) call for “leadership” or “a grown up in the room” if I have no intention of personally and affirmatively answering the call on this particular issue, 4) highlight the failures of the opposing party or others with whom I disagree, unless I highlight my own past and current failures in the same regard with equal prominence, or 5) engage in inflammatory rhetoric which serves no legitimate legislative purpose.  Rather, I pledge to 1) gather the information necessary to make an informed decision, 2) listen to the concerns, perspectives and viewpoints of my constituents, 3) engage experts on the subject matter who can provide objective guidance, 4) analyze the legislation or policy which is up for debate, and 5) cast an informed and deliberative vote.  I will, at all times, engage in good faith negotiations, without using any tactics which would or could be considered to be undertaken in or indicative of bad faith bargaining.

• I pledge to prepare my own talking points for any interviews I grant or speeches I make, based exclusively on the views and opinions of my constituents and objectively provable facts.  When presented with talking points prepared by any special interest group or representatives of my political party, I will provide a full, unredacted copy of those talking points (along with a complete disclosure as to their source) to my constituents, either in paper form by mail to every household within my district, by providing a copy of the talking points to the local media and/or newspaper for publication, by posting the talking points to my website, or by any combination thereof.  Unless I independently arrive at the same talking points by the process described above, I agree not to speak, directly or indirectly, from talking points provided by special interest groups or representatives of my political party without full disclosure of the source of those talking points.

• I hereby confirm that I have not previously signed any pledges, and I pledge not to sign any pledges in the future, which would be directly or indirectly inconsistent with or contradictory to the commitments I have made to my constituents in this pledge. 

• In the event that I no longer wish to be bound by this pledge, I will personally, directly and publicly make the following statement:  “I, [Insert name], hereby advise the citizens who reside within my district – previously known as my “constituents” –  that I no longer represent all of you, but rather [choose one or more of the following options]: (a) wish to represent only the will and interests of certain special interest groups or a limited group of citizens, including but not limited to [insert names of special interest groups, or description of citizens sufficient for your constituents to identify or discern their political beliefs], (b) prefer to substitute my own personal judgment for that of the citizens within my district, (c) have decided to answer only to my political party’s national organization and therefore intend to vote the 'party line' from now on.  I remind you to consider this fact in the next election cycle when deciding which candidate deserves your vote.”  This statement is to be repeated in full in at least one television commercial scheduled to air during prime time on each of the primary television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox) on the night before the next election.

I acknowledge that failure to meet the obligations set forth in this pledge may result in the loss of confidence or votes of my constituents, and may rightly subject me to ridicule. 

Signed,

_______________________________

[Insert Name]

[Date]