Professional Documents
Culture Documents
com
August 2009
“If universal peace, civilization, and commerce are ever to be the happy lot of man, it cannot
be accomplished but by a revolution in the system of governments.” - Thomas Paine
“An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.” - Victor Hugo
TowneForCongress.com
“Our Open Office” Agenda
Introduction
Mission Statement
Principles
TowneForCongress.com
Mission Statement
(1) Spread my message of prosperity by
defending freedom and peace.
(2) Educate as well as learn from the public.
(3) Win the 15th District U.S. Congressional
seat in 2010.
(4) Truly represent the citizens of the district
by voting on their behalf.
(5) Create and drive new legislation in
agreement with the platform, my principles
and citizen input.
TowneForCongress.com
Principles
TowneForCongress.com
Government, or the rule of law, solely exists to
protect the liberty of the individual.
Photo courtesy BigMacSC99
“What is law? It is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense.”
- Frederic Bastiat, 1848, The Law
TowneForCongress.com
Government exists to protect liberty, not
to redistribute wealth, nor to grant
special privileges, nor to interfere with
the lives of individuals and their actions.
The government of a free country,
properly speaking, rests not in its elected
officials but in its laws.
TowneForCongress.com
Each individual is fundamentally
equal under the law with all other
individuals. The rule of law's
framework of liberty ensures the
greatest opportunity for
individuals to explore their
strengths and surmount
obstacles.
TowneForCongress.com
Individuals have the right to live their own lives how
they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere
with the equal rights of others.
TowneForCongress.com
The only legitimate use of force is in defense of
individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired
property — against aggression.
TowneForCongress.com
Geronimo's Apache tribe fought to
maintain their independence from
both the United States and Mexico.
Rights are not privileges, they are derived from the natural
state of being human.
TowneForCongress.com
The monetary unit must be incorruptible, not based on fraud.
"Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind, none has been
more effective than that which deludes them with paper money."
- Daniel Webster, 19th century American statesman
TowneForCongress.com
The government's monetary role is to mint money and maintain the
integrity of the monetary unit, not to commit fraud by debasement
or to substitute counterfeits of paper for the constitutionally-
specified forms of lawful money, coins of gold and silver.
TowneForCongress.com
Property should be owned by people, not government.
Photo courtesy Neozuki
“No person shall be... deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”
- The Constitution of the United States of America
“Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it
was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make
laws in the first place.”
- Frederic Bastiat, 1848, The Law
TowneForCongress.com
The free market is feared by many who do not understand it.
Those who do realize the free market is the most just, most
humane economic system, and remains the greatest engine
of prosperity and liberty the world has ever known.
TowneForCongress.com
Freedom is an indivisible whole and includes
both economic and personal liberty.
TowneForCongress.com
Government Accountability &
Transparency
“As your Representative, I will work inside of an Open Office that is clear as glass.”
- Jake Towne, 2010 Candidate for Pennsylvania's 15th District
TowneForCongress.com
Our Open Office
Besides our existing website and system, I will offer:
TowneForCongress.com
Our Open Office: Online Public
Feedback & Debate Forum (1/4)
“This revolutionary idea is based on the Town Halls and Roman Forums of old.
Together, let's remodel and restore our Republic for the 21st Century using NEW
ideas and tools.”
- Jake Towne, 2010 Candidate for Pennsylvania's 15th District
TowneForCongress.com
Our Open Office: Online Public
Feedback & Debate Forum (2/4)
Submit votes and comments on the house bills
coming up on the House calendar
Users can create forum topics & foster citizen
debates
Phone calls and separate emails/letters will be tallied
onto the forum pages by my office
The Forum will email news and personalized
notifications to receive based on your personal
preferences and interests
“I'm trying to free our minds. Here is one of the doors, but I can only show it to
you. You have to decide whether to walk through it.”
- Jake Towne, 2010 Candidate for Pennsylvania's 15th District
TowneForCongress.com
Our Open Office: Online Public
Feedback & Debate Forum (3/4)
Those who do not have computer access may:
Use the terminals at our district office
Dictate comments in manually by phone
Request their mailed letters to be publicized, and
our office will scan and post into the Forum
“Freedom of speech must be protected at all costs. Dissent must not only be
tolerated but welcomed in a free and open society.”
- Jake Towne, 2010 Candidate for Pennsylvania's 15th District
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like
sheep to the slaughter.”
- George Washington, President of the United States, 1789-1797
TowneForCongress.com
Our Open Office: Online Public
Feedback & Debate Forum (4/4)
TowneForCongress.com
Our Open Office: Monthly Reports
This written monthly report will offer:
“My monthly reports are aimed at delivering maximum transparency and maximum
accountability. What if my votes, actions and views do not agree with the public's?
I expect they won't at all times, but if I fail to provide adequate explanations and do
not obey the wishes of the people, then I will not be in office very long, now will I?”
- Jake Towne, 2010 Candidate for Pennsylvania's 15th District
TowneForCongress.com
Our Open Office: Online Bill
Submission Service (1/2)
Any resident can submit draft proposals for new legislation
“Look, there are around 650,000 citizens in our district. I am no more intelligent
than anyone else, but I do know that many of us are experts in certain fields or
have special interests of one kind or the other. This idea will bring the best ideas
out of our community, and give citizens a real voice in which to be heard.”
- Jake Towne, 2010 Candidate for Pennsylvania's 15th District
TowneForCongress.com
Our Open Office: Online Bill
Submission Service (2/2)
If the draft idea is accepted, I will work with the
Drafter to refine it, and submit it to the Forum for
review by the community before submitting it on the
House floor
Especially if this idea is popular, Drafters should
be aware that they will be partly responsible for
helping promote their bill.
“No matter how hard I work with my staff and Congress, I am only one person. I
estimate this idea could allow us to multiply my output as your Representative in
Congress by at least five-fold. We may even need to organize ourselves to sell
our ideas to citizens in other districts and organizations to get these bills passed,
instead of relying on often corrupt back-door DC deals.”
- Jake Towne, 2010 Candidate for Pennsylvania's 15th District
TowneForCongress.com
Our Open Office: On-Demand
Town Hall Discussions
Offer ability to sign up for Town Halls at the Forum
Town Halls are teleconferences at a preset day and
time that you receive at your phone number
Bi-Weekly Town Halls in 2 Formats
➢ Pure Q&A
TowneForCongress.com
Thank You!!
My sincere thanks to the team of campaign volunteers who took the time
to peer review this presentation and offer many improvements. This team
includes Erik Gumbrecht, Gene DeNardo, Aaron Emery, Dann McCreary,
and Brian Theiss, who agreed to be recognized. Many thanks to Derek
Wyatt for creating the “Towne 2010 - As Good As Gold” graphic!! Of
course, thanks to my family and friends for supporting me in this
endeavor to dedicating the next 18 months of my life to this mission.
Graphics Acknowledgements
Unless listed below, all photos are either mine or public domain.
The “Towne 2010 – As Good As Gold” logo was created by Derek
Wyatt
Statue of Liberty photo is courtesy “BigMacSC99” LINK LICENSE
TowneForCongress.com
Document Copyright
Copyright © Jake Towne, 2009. Any portion of this presentation that could be
copyrighted is owned by myself and I hereby released it to the public domain. I
grant full permission to use any of the ideas or material within. You may republish
this work. Attribution to myself is appreciated but not required.
Closing Remarks
* I am running as a citizen, not with either major party - What I offer to the citizens
of the 15th district, and many do belong to the two main parties, is a truly
independent voice and ear.
* I am not a career politician. If elected, I would plan to run again in 2012, but
following this I would most likely not run again. My aim is to serve as a temporary
statesman and representative and then leave government. I am more mindful than
most of the sad truth behind "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts
absolutely." As collateral for this assurance, if elected, I will not enlist in the
Congressional pension plan, which guarantees members up to 80% of their salary in
annual pension. I believe this is fiscally irresponsible and too lucrative. The current
salary for a seat in the U.S. Congress is $174,000. I view this as too lucrative given
the current purchasing power of the dollar, so obviously I would act to reduce
Congress's salary and mine - how can the people believe Congress will tighten the
purse-strings on government if Congress fails to start with itself? I support tying the
salaries of our Congress in some manner to household median incomes.
TowneForCongress.com