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Comment by gt_ | Hacker News Reader

I wonder what the average American citizen could do that would help to get such legislation passed. Any ideas?

Monitor and lobby congressional reps, and vote or campaign against them in the primaries if they don't behave. They count calls, and for the most part, not many people contact them. You may find a little effort here is quite rewarding.

Talk to your local state representatives. They're often far more accessible than your congressperson or senator.

We can start by voting against every incumbent on the ballot this fall. Congress continues to act against the public good, except for a few (mostly) Democrats, and they all deserve to be fired.

Take it a step farther and vote against anyone with a (D) or (R) next to their name on the ballot.

This will not work. You can not expect to achieve your ends by acting in random fashion. You're going to actually have to do the hard work of figuring out who's good on this issue and who's not.

Everyone needs to run for office and vote for themselves. Failing that, find out who is running that most faithfully represents your interests, and vote for them.

The current federal government is so far out of step with the populace that a blanket anti-incumbent rule doesn't seem all that bad. The only real question is whether to vote against them in the general election, or just the primaries.

There is a very real possibility that someone else on the ballot is actually worse than the incumbent, which barely seems possible, yet here we are.

Furthermore, you can have an outsized impact by letting your congressperson know why you're voting for / against them. Better yet, form a group with like-minded colleagues and speak as a group.

A vote "against" without communicating intent doesn't drive recourse in the way you would like.

"X is the most important issue to me this election cycle, and will determine whether I vote for you and donate to your campaign" is clearer and more powerful.

Its not that difficult - just be sure to vote in every primary and always oppose whichever candidate has the support of the RNC and/or the DNC, which are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Wall Street.

I like the sentiment, but the current campaign infrastructure makes the labels a bit misleading. There will be some valuable candidates with a (D) next to their name. My recommendations are as follows:

1. Refer to https://www.justicedemocrats.com for a voting guide.

2. Register and participate in local DSA. Sign up here: https://www.dsausa.org

Replace the system with another.. system.

Voting for a third party is the most effective strategy for keeping incumbents in power.

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