TABLE OF CONTENTS
A proposed simple yet transformational change for Congress and constituents, presented in a FAQ format.
The POLITICAL ADVISORY PANEL OF AMERICA (PAPA) is a constitutionally aligned proposal to enable citizens to
transform Congress into the legislative body the Constitution’s framers Intended it to be – representatives of the people, performing as fiduciaries for the people.
PLEASE EXAMINE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS (TOC) BELOW. IT CONTAINS SUMMARIES OF EACH PAGE ON THIS WEB SITE. USE THE EMBEDDED LINKS IN THE TOC OR THE TABS AT THE TOP OF EVERY PAGE TO NAVIGATE TO PAGES THAT ARE OF INTEREST TO YOU.
(Note: The default setting on this website for links is Bold underlined text, such as this non-working example.)
INTRODUCTION
What Will PAPA Do?
How Is PAPA Different?
What Will PAPA Do?
PAPA is an acronym for the ‘Political Advisory Panel of America’. PAPA is an organizational, communications, and evaluation solution for BOTH legislators and voters, helping both develop a common purpose and trust.
Click here to learn how today's citizens are frustrated with, and disappointed in, members of Congress. These feelings further lead many constituents to feel marginalized, abandoned, and divided. Also read how Abraham Lincoln addressed the great division in our country during his time as President.
See how PAPA will provide a support structure for citizens and a virtual continuous town hall for legislators, plus generate a means to measure legislators’ responses. PAPA will also introduce approval tools based on TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY to help identify legislators who ARE and who ARE NOT supporting their constituents.
PAPA will provide citizen oversight for legislators, similar to Congress providing oversight for the Executive Branch.
This website is intended to create a sea change of public opinion in order to restore what is good in our constitutional government. When Lincoln was running for president, he stated “Public sentiment is everything”. Opinions not only influenced a country’s stance on slavery in Lincoln’s day, our input can shape legislation today!
Is PAPA Necessary?
How Is PAPA Different?
What Will PAPA Do?
The Latin root for congress means to walk along side or be in-step with one another. Today millions of citizens believe members of Congress no longer align with them. Citizens no longer approve of Congress’ performance, and voters have felt this way for a LONG TIME! This is evidence that the PAPA solution IS necessary!
Click here to review poll results on Congress’ approval ratings. See how PAPA will take advantage of modern communication technologies to deliver transparency tools for both Congress and constituents to help improve the performance of the other.
This section highlights how the Political Advisory Panel of America will strengthen targeted processes to elevate input from constituents over special interests - with the objective to make Congress perform more in a fiduciary capacity for voters. PAPA will provide legislators the true reason and will of their communities, enabling them to properly deliberate the public good and help them retain this responsibility and not delegate it to a so-called experts in regulatory agencies removed from public control.
PAPA is also necessary to provide legislators a wide reaching means to raise votes for reelection when political parties threaten to withhold campaign funding for not towing the party line.
How Is PAPA Different?
How Is PAPA Different?
How Is PAPA Different?
The Constitution relies on legislators to be the link between citizens and their government. But that link has become BROKEN. And just as nature will fill a void, biased secondary interfaces have moved-in to replace the broken link between elected officials and their constituents. See this section to read:
a) How PAPA will bypass these interfaces and provide legislators' views on congressional business directly to the people, and
b) How PAPA will provide constituent input directly to legislators.
It is time for CITIZENS to instigate a giant leap forward from the horse and buggy days of representation, into the electronic age of representation. PAPA will deliver transparency tools current advisory methods have chosen NOT to include. These tools will generate citizen participation, AND assist citizens making informed decisions during general elections.
PAPA will improve the quality of legislation simply by providing legislators easy and measurable access to constituents - a tremendous body of resources. The result will be a body of legislators more aligned with and accountable to their constituents - NOT to lobbyists, special interest groups, or financial supporters.
Democracy is NOT a spectator sport. CITIZENS must play their part and perform their role in a functional constitutional republic.
CAN THE PAST CHANGE THE FUTURE?
Lessons From History
Transitioning Into The Future
Transitioning Into The Future
Today, it appears legislators expend more energy communicating with non-constituents than with constituents. This section highlights how citizens have become misinformed and indifferent, believing they can bestow more benefits upon themselves by voting for representatives who promise them the most benefits. Read founder John Adams' thoughts on the role of elected legislators and how President Ronald Reagan's application of the proverb 'Trust, but verify' may be more appropriate today for U.S. citizens to apply to their elected officials.
PAPA will give constituents the tools not only to better advise their legislators, but also to evaluate them in order to verify they are worthy of re-election.
Transitioning Into The Future
Transitioning Into The Future
Transitioning Into The Future
Citizens need to perform their civic responsibilities in their government. This section reviews how, as an online solution, PAPA will reinvigorate and refresh the required dialog to help BOTH citizens and legislators better execute their roles in government. U.S. legislative processes require a modern update to return our government to a "GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE" (President Abraham Lincoln).
Just as Congress and Presidents have formed committees, departments, and agencies to help execute their legislative and executive branch responsibilities; and just as Congress performs an oversight role for the executive branch, so too must the Political Advisory Panel of America be formed to help citizens better perform their civic responsibility and perform an oversight role for Congress.
A BETTER WAY FOR LEGISLATORS & CONSTITUENTS TO COMMUNICATE
Missing Pieces
Fulfilling Needs
Fulfilling Needs
Ask yourself these questions about the state of today’s two-way communications between Congress and constituents, about Congress’ accountability to constituents, about the organization of citizens, and about your personal ability to evaluate your members of Congress. The questions included in this section may illuminate for you, the need for PAPA.
Fulfilling Needs
Fulfilling Needs
Fulfilling Needs
This brief section reminds us of high level needs for which BOTH legislatures and voters require resolution to optimize their performance in executing their constitutional roles in government. PAPA will assist fulfilling these constitutional needs. The next section lists some of the specific needs that the Political Advisory Panel of America will address.
WHAT NEEDS MUST PAPA SATISFY?
Voters' Needs
Legislators' Needs
Legislators' Needs
This section demonstrates how two of PAPA’s transparency tools, “Advisory Voting” and “Advisory Voting Metrics”, will help Congress become more accountable to its constituency, NOT remain beholden to lobbyists or special interest groups. PAPA also permits voters to help legislators navigate around roadblocks put up by political parties.
A
This section demonstrates how two of PAPA’s transparency tools, “Advisory Voting” and “Advisory Voting Metrics”, will help Congress become more accountable to its constituency, NOT remain beholden to lobbyists or special interest groups. PAPA also permits voters to help legislators navigate around roadblocks put up by political parties.
Another of PAPA’s tools, “Accountability Scorecards” for legislators, will help voters evaluate the performance of INDIVIDUAL legislators, not their political party. In this way, “Accountability Scorecards” become a means to help drain the political swamp.
Legislators' Needs
Legislators' Needs
Legislators' Needs
PAPA will help legislators better communicate with their constituents. This section reviews not only how “Advisory Voting” and “Advisory Voting Metrics” can help legislators more quickly generate bills for the President’s signature, but also how PAPA’s “Registration” process ensures legislators that the Advisory Votes they receive are fro
PAPA will help legislators better communicate with their constituents. This section reviews not only how “Advisory Voting” and “Advisory Voting Metrics” can help legislators more quickly generate bills for the President’s signature, but also how PAPA’s “Registration” process ensures legislators that the Advisory Votes they receive are from citizens registered to vote and residing in their district and/or state.
The Political Advisory Panel of America’s ‘transparency tools’ will help legislators demonstrate their accountability and value to their constituents. And “Advisory Voting” will arm legislators with the best ‘ammunition’ they need to fight their way through political roadblocks – ‘VOTES’!
WHAT'S BEHIND PAPA'S SOLUTIONS, BENEFITS, & TITLE?
Is PAPA The Solution?
Elections are about INDIVIDUALS. Elections are NOT about political parties. President George Washington warned of the perils of political parties, and most if not all of his warnings have come true! Today, political parties do NOT demonstrate the ability to make America more united! Read this section to understand how PAPA provides transparency to once again connect the people directly with their legislators - without the need for political parties as intermediaries. PAPA will introduce metrics to hold legislators accountable.
The Political Advisory Panel of America will be a powerful new method to build voter participation and constituent trust in their legislators.
What Benefits Will PAPA Deliver?
This section lists many benefits that PAPA will deliver. The overarching objective for PAPA is to help citizens and legislators better perform their roles in government.
The Political Advisory Panel of America will unite citizens’ voices peacefully, constructively, and fairly. The peoples’ voice will balance input from special interest groups and political parties.
Through centralized "Advisory Voting” PAPA will deliver “Advisory Voting Metrics” to better advise legislators. Along with these metrics, “Accountability Scorecards” will help constituents appraise their representatives and senators. Follow links in this section to each of these tools.
What's Behind The Acronym PAPA?
Take a look at an analogy for the intentions of the Political Advisory Panel of America. Also read how Thomas Jefferson foresaw in 1787 (prior to the Constitution being ratified) the need for citizens to have oversight of Congress. After all, citizens elect representatives to Congress. Therefore authority emanates from the voters. Voters are the overseer of Congress.
James Madison agreed when he stated prior to becoming president that "We may define a republic to be... a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people…”.
The Political Advisory Panel of America will help legislators act more as fiduciaries for their constituents, rather than as a pack of wolves as feared by President Jefferson.
JOINT RESOLUTION FOR A POLITICAL ADVISORY PANEL OF AMERICA
Read an American Resolution – a proposal for Congress’ consideration to pass and fund the Political Advisory Panel of America (PAPA). This proposed joint resolution includes the basic reasons why such a virtual oversight panel for Congress composed of voting citizens is required, especially in today’s political climate. PAPA will be an institution with no political party affiliation; an institution through which all registered voting citizens can serve for many decades and through many administrations to come.
While there is no requirement to establish PAPA through congressional approval, and while this method of first seeking congressional approval may encounter the most initial resistance, it appears to be the most logical way to re-institute collaboration between legislators and their constituents.
WILL ENTICEMENTS AND BENEFITS LURE VOTERS TO ADAPT?
Tools To Coax Change
More Tools To Grow Use
More Tools To Grow Use
This section introduces two new tools that will result from consolidating constituent input through “Advisory Voting” – tools that will entice voters to use PAPA to advise their elected legislators. Follow embedded links in this section to these two tools - “Advisory Voting Metrics” and “Accountability Scorecards”.
More Tools To Grow Use
More Tools To Grow Use
More Tools To Grow Use
This section reviews how modern methods, together with the transparency built into the Political Advisory Panel of America, will lay the foundation for attracting more citizens to use PAPA over other means of advising members of Congress. “Voter Guides”, introduced in this section, will shed light on who legislators are representing – their constituents or someone else.
PAPA'S OPERATIONAL ELEMENTS - BACKGROUND NOTES
PAPA’S OPERATIONAL ELEMENTS - REGISTRATION
Register For Greater Participation
This is another “operational element” section that dives into additional details behind the operations within the Political Advisory Panel of America (PAPA).
The Registration section explains how, in order to participate in ALL of PAPA’s functionality (and to receive all of its benefits), interested citizens must first “Register”. During the registration process, individuals provide proof of their identity, citizenship, eligibility to vote, location of their residence, and the expiration dates on each of these documents. By doing so, PAPA can assure legislators that the “Advisory Votes” they receive are indeed from U.S. citizens currently registered to vote and residing in their district and/or state.
This information, along with additional security data collected during registration, also assures voting citizens that “Advisory Votes” will not be fraudulently submitted under their name by other individuals.
These data, along with other security measures, will also help assure legitimacy of the system - assuring only one active Advisory Vote is submitted per individual, per bill; and only to each of their elected officials.
PAPA'S OPERATIONAL ELEMENTS - ADVISORY VOTING
Confidentiality
Read on this page how PAPA can improve constituent communications with legislators while maintaining constituent's privacy with the public .
ADVISORY VOTING METRICS -- PAPA'S 'PADDLE'
Advisory Voting (AV) Metrics
Advisory Voting (AV) Metrics
Advisory Voting (AV) Metrics
AV Metrics are the first step in a two-step performance evaluation of the relationship between legislators and their constituents. General AV Metrics will be displayed for non-registered visitors to the PAPA website, and detailed metrics will be provided for “Verified and Registered” (VAR) participants. Detailed Advisory Voting Metrics will hold members of Congress accountable to their constituents. Read how general AV Metrics can serve as instant public polls of voter sentiment for each bill.
Example: General AV Metrics
Advisory Voting (AV) Metrics
Advisory Voting (AV) Metrics
For non-registered visitors to the Political Advisory Panel of America (PAPA) website, only “General Advisory Voting Metrics” will be available for view. General metrics will display the cumulative number of yea and nay “Advisory Votes” received by the entire House or the entire Senate for a particular bill. Examine an example on this page. While VAR participants can also review these general metrics, VAR participants will also have access to more detailed metrics. See next section.
Example: Detailed AV Metrics
Advisory Voting (AV) Metrics
Example: Detailed AV Metrics
For “Verified and Registered” (VAR) participants of PAPA, “Detailed Advisory Voting Metrics” will also be displayed. Detailed metrics display the total number of yea and nay Advisory Votes for a specific bill received by an INDIVIDUAL representative in the House, or an INDIVIDUAL senator in the Senate. These details are available to members of Congress AND their constituents who cast an Advisory Vote for that bill.
ACCOUNTABILITY SCORECARDS & VOTER GUIDES - PAPA'S 'BIG STICK'
Are Legislators Beholden To Constituents?
“Accountability Scorecards” provide the second step of a two-step performance evaluation of the relationship between legislators and their constituents. These scorecards will identify which legislators voted in agreement and which voted in disagreement with the majority of their constituents’ Advisory Votes received through PAPA. Accountability Scorecards enable ‘Big Stick Diplomacy’ to be yielded domestically by constituents – providing data as a measure of force when executing the constituents’ side of 'legislative negotiations’ during general elections.
General Scorecards for Public View - Example
General “Accountability Scorecards” are the only scorecards available for view by those who do not register at the PAPA website. See an example at this link, near the middle of the page. General scorecards display the total number of legislators in each chamber of Congress that voted with and against the majority opinion received through PAPA for each bill. For reference, these general scorecards additionally generate the number of Advisory Votes received as a percentage of active voters*. For House bills, a range of participation by congressional district is also provided.
*Active Voters = Number of voters who cast ballots in the last general election.
Detailed Scorecards for VAR Participants - Example
Detailed “Accountability Scorecards” are available to those who register at the PAPA website AND cast an Advisory Vote for the bill addressed by the scorecard. See an example here. They display data on individual legislators for a specific bill – the number of yea and the number of nay “Advisory Votes” received. Moreover, these scorecards then compare the majority “Advisory Vote” to the INDIVIDUAL legislator’s vote cast in their chamber of Congress. And to help constituents evaluate Advisory Voter 'turnout’ for each bill, the scorecard also compares the total “Advisory Vote” count to a) the number of active voters* in that legislator’s district or state, AND b) the average Advisory Voter turnout per bill the legislator received through PAPA for all other business over the last two years.
Voter Guides
Read how “Voter Guides” will be generated each year a general election is held, summarizing each incumbent's voting record. See an example here. These guides are historical summaries of each legislator’s “Accountability Scorecards”, detailing the number of bills for which he or she voted in agreement with, and in opposition to, their constituents’ majority “Advisory Votes”. For those times a legislator voted in opposition to their majority input received through PAPA, the Voter Guides will also generate an average for the percentage of Advisory Voters the legislator ‘ignored’ by opposing their majority. Guides summarizing ALL BILLS are available to ALL VAR participants, regardless for which bills they cast Advisory Votes - or if they cast any Advisory Votes.
WHAT NOW?
PAPA Is Under Development
President Abraham Lincoln stated “We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” The Political Advisory Panel of America goes a long way towards supporting President Lincoln’s position on draining the political 'swamp' in the legislative branch. In this section review how PAPA goes beyond providing a more powerful method of advising legislators than traditional advisory methods. PAPA’s ability to compare constituent advice to legislators' votes will be a beacon of transparency – helping citizens determine if their legislators are beholden to their constituents – or to someone else.
Moving Forward
Ask yourself the questions displayed in the middle of this page. If you answer yes to ANY of them, you’ll want to support the establishment of the Political Advisory Panel of America. Help combine American individualism with the American spirit of volunteerism to build the Political Advisory Panel of America. Help make citizens, not the government, the starting point of solutions. Join the effort to constitutionally realign our government with its people - alert your congressmen to this website and ask for his or her support in building the Political Advisory Panel Of America!
Click here to email developers your thoughts, concerns, and ideas for the Political Advisory Panel of America.