On August 1, the American Union published the Blueprint for a Better America legislative package.

DOVER, NH, USA, August 5, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The American Union (AU) released their 2022 legislative proposal this week to members of Congress and their opponents in the November election. The unified set of demands across all 470 districts represents a revolution in participatory democracy; a good faith offer by the union of voters to reelect incumbents of both parties in exchange for the immediate passage of a crowdsourced legislative package.

“Voters are tired of Congress breaking their promises, which is why we’re demanding specific action before the midterms in exchange for our votes,” said Brian Winters, a former state legislator and founder of the American Union. “Conventional wisdom suggests that major legislation is undesirable in an election year, but a genuine political reform must be capable of breaking through artificial obstacles.”

The 217-page legislative package, the Blueprint for a Better America, was informed by national survey data and developed through a consensus-driven legislative process. It contains more than fifty policies under three planks; end poverty, end mass incarceration, and end the endless wars. The legislation would meet one of President Biden's campaign promises, the establishment of a public option for health insurance, which, along with 18 weeks of paid family leave and $1,300 per month universal basic income, is part of the 'end poverty' plank. Mass incarceration is addressed through robust police and prison reforms, including halting the federal war on drugs. The legislation also reduces the defense budget by one-third over five years, closes some foreign military bases, and repeals decades-old authorizations for the endless wars.

The demands included a timetable for action, with members of Congress allowed five weeks to propose amendments, which the Phoenix Congress, a legislative subcommittee of American Union organizers, will consider. On September 24, a compromise package will be published, a take-it-or-leave-it offer for all Congressional candidates. To better inform the American public of the details of the final proposal, the American Union announced plans to livestream 21 public hearings, concluding October 14, to explain all the specific policy details of the three planks to the American people.

Winters called for individuals and organizations who support a majority of the fifty policies to put their differences aside over remaining points of contention. “The framers all found things to dislike in the Constitution,” he pointed out, “but they were willing to compromise because America was worth saving. 253 years later, it still is.” The legislative package draws inspiration from the five duties enumerated in the preamble to the Constitution.

According to the timetable, the American Union will hold a public vote on the legislation via Twitter on October 15, where individuals can publicly pledge support for immediate enactment of the package by sharing the hashtags #VoteAU or #fastforpeace. For members of Congress and their challengers, a failure to express unqualified support using the hashtags would be recorded as a vote in opposition. Citizens willing to collectively bargain with their November ballots can commit to voting together for the Republican or Democratic candidates who receive the union’s endorsement. As true swing voters, the American Union would have an oversized impact on the midterms. By leveraging just 3.5% of the electorate, members could decide dozens of close House and Senate races around the country and ultimately determine the balance of power in Washington.

The endorsement procedure, laid out in an open letter to all the candidates for Congress, is a data-driven process. In the 470 Congressional races on the November ballot, incumbents would have the right of first refusal; those indicating acceptance of the legislative package to end poverty, end mass incarceration, and the endless wars are guaranteed the AU endorsement, provided that the legislation advances through Congress by October 26. Otherwise, their major party opponent who registered support on October 15, with the corresponding commitment to support the endorsed candidate, would receive it.

Should both candidates decline to compete for the AU endorsement, Winters explained, it will be awarded in a way to best demonstrate the political power of the American Union, up to and including a random distribution based on the Powerball drawing of October 31. “This is not about being spoilers, it’s about being deciders,” he said. “We want to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the election, and give members of Congress the opportunity to usher in an era of peace and prosperity for the American people. We’re at a turning point in history where we can untangle the nation’s biggest problems, if the American people have the courage to stop playing lesser-of-two-evils politics.”

The Blueprint for a Better America was developed with the goal of addressing poverty, racism, and militarism — the three evils of society identified by Martin Luther King Jr. To further emphasize the principled nature of the effort, the American Union has called for a national day of fasting on October 15, as a fast of moral pressure to inspire Congress to act.

Brian Winters
American Union
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