Instead of Asking for Their Vote, I will ask for Their Ideas

   Let the voters be my lobbyists.
   Too often, our legislation is created by lobbyists. The lobbyist needs something, so he approaches the legislator, and the legislator agrees to legislate. Often, the legislator notes the lobbyist is his constituent. Well, I will turn things around. Instead of the lobbyists being my constituents, my constituents will be my lobbyists. It is to them I will turn to for legislative ideas.
   One of the planks of my party's platform is campaign finance limits, so I will set a limit on how much money I will accept from any one person or entity, (supposing I get any campaign contributions, for it may be I will not solicit them).
  But, what if someone wanting legislation does come calling, wanting to donate? I toy with the idea that from that point on, I will not have a discussion with them about any legislation they may want unless that discussion is one the public can listen in on. I'm not sure how I can go about achieving this, but maybe Facebook live.
   We hear how Utah has fallen in voter turnout, and involvement. I hear the state was once number one in some such measurement. I don't know if that is true, but I know we have fallen drastically. Maybe it would help if the voters were involved more in the process. Ask the voters for ideas. Ask them how they would change the world, if it were their world to change. Ask them how they would solve immigration and guns and shootings and whatever. Ask them how they would make prisons better, and solve homelessness.
  And, take their ideas to Capitol Hill.
   I plan to gather their ideas by going door to door.  I don't know whether I could  hit all the doors in this district even if started to tomorrow and didn't miss a day from here till November. I don't know if I could hit all the doors even if I just knocked on just the ones with registered voters, but I think to hit them all, whether they are registered to vote, or not. Even the ones who are not voters are my constituents, and they may have suggestions on public issues.
  And, instead of asking for their vote, I will ask for their ideas.
  Government of the people, by the people, for the people. I will try to be the legislator who embodies this principle.
  Politicians often ask their constituents to prioritize the issues: Education, pollution, immigration, etc. The politician doesn't even need to reveal his own position when he does such a survey, but it makes him appear to be asking for public input. I think I can do better. Instead of just asking what issues are important, I can ask what the solutions are to those problems.
  Who knows, maybe by the time my campaign is over, I will have, "The 20 Best Solutions Submitted by My 'Lobbyists.'" And, I will take these legislative proposals up to Capitol Hill.