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A message from Lawrence Lessig [video]

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Re: A message from Lawrence Lessig [video]

#11

Post by startupfounder »

30%-70% of our government representative's time is spent calling the 0.05% (150k people) of US citizens to raise money to get re-elected.

Our Republic is a Representative Democracy (not a true democracy) where there are 2 election cycles, the "Funders" and the voters. As a representative you can't get your name on the ballot in the voting cycle unless you pass the "Funders" cycle.

This is a closed source program where one has to "lean to the green", towards the 0.05% of people who have the money, to play.

NH is the KEY! Isolate 50,000 people in New Hampshire who say, "What will you do to end the system of corruption in Washington?" 50,000 people will swing the vote.

How can technology help isolate those 50k people? What apps can we build? What networks can we build?

Re: A message from Lawrence Lessig [video]

#12

Post by dublinben »

startupfounder wrote: post #11

30%-70% of our government representative's time is spent calling the 0.05% (150k people) of US citizens to raise money to get re-elected. Our Republic is a Representative Democracy (not a true democracy) where there are 2 election cycles, the "Funders" and the voters. As a representative you can't get your name on the ballot in the voting cycle unless you pass the "Funders" cycle. This is a closed source program wher…

How are 50,000 people in New Hampshire going to change anything? That state has two representatives in the House of Representatives. What are two people in a corrupt legislature supposed to do?

Re: A message from Lawrence Lessig [video]

#13

Post by startupfounder »

dublinben wrote: post #12
startupfounder wrote: post #11

30%-70% of our government representative's time is spent calling the 0.05% (150k people) of US citizens to raise money to get re-elected. Our Republic is a Representative Democracy (not a true democracy) where there are 2 election cycles, the "Funders" and the voters. As a representative you can't get your name on the ballot in the voting cycle unless you pass the "Funders" cycle. This is a closed source program wher…

How are 50,000 people in New Hampshire going to change anything? That state has two representatives in the House of Representatives. What are two people in a corrupt legislature supposed to do?

What is the first stop in the presidential primary?

New Hampshire. Specifically Dixville Notch, NH[0]

It has massive media coverage because it is the first stop for both parties[1]

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixville_Notch,_New_Hampshire [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_primary

Re: A message from Lawrence Lessig [video]

#14

Post by colinwinter »

THANKS for sharing this. Wouldn't have discovered it otherwise and definitely a positive refresher with new points beyond his TED talk.

For anyone still sitting-on/queuing/water-latering Lessig's main TED talk on money in politics, as a vidder I created a remix of it to help improve engagement and intensity, using soundtracks by Zack Hemsey and a few video clips from other sources for support:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB-vGYR8S58 I never really shared it beyond the organizers behind Lessig so I hope someone more useful than the avg youtuber can benefit from it here...

Re: A message from Lawrence Lessig [video]

#15

Post by adamfeldman »

So, is the question how can technology greatly reduce the costs of campaigning? Would this allow for campaign finance reform where more restrictions are placed on candidates in return for funds and publicly funded technology tools to enable far smarter campaigns (like what Obama's re-election team did with voter turnout)? Could technology change the costs of voter outreach to a point where the funders become irrelevant?

Re: A message from Lawrence Lessig [video]

#16

Post by protomyth »

IvyMike wrote: post #7

It's always interesting me to take the passion and fury of online discussions about politics and freedom and to reconcile that with the comparatively paltry amount of money donated to political organizations by people in silicon valley. I think there's this feeling in Silicon Valley that "I'm changing the world through code" or "I believe the best ideas should win". And I wish that were the case. But in the meanwhile…

"meanwhile the Koch Brothers and hollywood quietly funnel bajillions of dollars into superpacs and get all the politicians in their pockets."

Here's the problem. You probably think the Koch Brothers is one of the biggest spenders. The joke of it is that they aren't. Their PAC network isn't in the top 10, but they are good targets for certain networks (in the same way Soros is for other networks). Heck, some of the stuff Koch is for horrify Republicans.

Hollywood, as a whole, is much more effective with money, but money is not their only weapon. The glamour of Hollywood and mingling with celebrities has always attracted politicians. Look at the celebrities testifying in front of Congressional Committees. Does anyone honestly believe they are the most qualified to testify? No, but the can surely attract the attention of politicians so it makes up for the lack of expertise and is one hell of a money equalizer.

The media is not a neutral observer and their pointing to "enemies" is a distraction for themselves and their friends. Go find the actual contributions and PAC spending to see what is real. Big Tech needs to deal with reality and the actual system.

Re: A message from Lawrence Lessig [video]

#17

Post by mayneack »

dublinben wrote: post #12
startupfounder wrote: post #11

30%-70% of our government representative's time is spent calling the 0.05% (150k people) of US citizens to raise money to get re-elected. Our Republic is a Representative Democracy (not a true democracy) where there are 2 election cycles, the "Funders" and the voters. As a representative you can't get your name on the ballot in the voting cycle unless you pass the "Funders" cycle. This is a closed source program wher…

How are 50,000 people in New Hampshire going to change anything? That state has two representatives in the House of Representatives. What are two people in a corrupt legislature supposed to do?

One of the reasons that politicians can "get away" with the current campaign finance model is that on a national stage it almost never gets talked about and is never part of "the conversation". If something is important in New Hampshire, then it has to be part of "the conversation" at least once every 4 years.

Re: A message from Lawrence Lessig [video]

#18

Post by aaren »

arghbleargh wrote: post #6

For the benefit of those who can't/don't want to watch the video, can someone summarize what Lessig's "cause" is? EDIT: More specifically, I am wondering why he's calling for the help of "technically enabled" people. What is the relevance of technology here?

The technology bit starts at 34:15. I'm paraphrasing here...

I'm here to recruit you. To help turn us from cows to ants, to build awareness, to save this republic.

This movement has enormous needs which you [tech] uniquely can provide. This movement will only succeed if we can find way to knit people together in a different model than tv / advertising model of politics today. This needs to be built and people with your skills can do this.

If you think you can help then email SCALE@lessig.org

So he has an open ended problem, not a spec, that he believes technology can play a large role in solving.

He mentions Aaron Swartz as inspiration multiple times through the talk. I think he wants more people with Aaron's technical skills to contribute to the movement to politically empower the wider population.

Re: A message from Lawrence Lessig [video]

#19

Post by spoiledtechie »

gonehome wrote: post #4

If you haven't seen Lawrence Lessig's other talk about campaign financing creating a second dependency within congress on their funders in addition to the people, it's worth watching. www.ted.com/talks/lawrence_lessig_we_the_people_and_the_republic_we_must_reclaim.html

I believe his Google Talk is FAR BETTER.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik1AK56FtVc&noredirect=1

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