Citizen Representatives - A Lobbyist for the People???

What is Citizen Representatives (CitReps)? The central idea comes from JJ Dewey’s book Fixing America-Molecular Politics. The one sentence summary of the idea is “A Lobbyist for the People.” I personally think that “lobbyist” is a four-letter word that happens to have eight letters so I’ll elaborate a little and try to take the dirtiness out of the word.

We currently elect representatives to the House every two years and senators to the Senate every six. We work and vote to get them elected and then when they do, we cross our fingers and hope for the best. With few, rare exceptions, we’re almost always disappointed. These representatives talk tough about “draining the swamp” but then when they arrive in D.C. they are quickly caught up in the thoughtforms there and are soon just like the rest.

CitReps seeks to change that. There are currently 435 congressional districts and 50 states with two senators each for a total of 535 representatives and senators. For purposes of example, think about the congressional district where you live. You and other citizens in that district would come together to elect that person. You would register become a Citizen Representative and collectively elect the actual representative to Congress. The agreement is that you and others work to get them elected but they have to vote 100% of the time with the majority of the CitReps in his or her district.