A government need not be democratic to be representative. In fact, it is the height of irony, that democracy is often the system of government that is least representative due to influence from special interests. The electoral process may be representative in intention, but it is corrupted by special interests in practice. In fact most democracies outside the wealthy industrialized nations have often failed and become dictatorships, case in point, Venezuela. A demagogue sways the rule of the illiterate mob to Change the constitution to gve himself limitless powers, staff his cabinet with friends, and intimidate the media through tacit means as elections are rigged. Hence, you get a democracy that is democratic in name only. Another Case is Iran. What makes western democracies special is the rule of law and the enumeration of powers, disallowing a democratic republic degenerating into a dictatorsh. So it's the checks and balances that make a government representative, not democracy. If such is the case then, could we not have checks and balances to ensure popular representation while ensuring the best people are in power? Yes, it's called a meritocracy. A meritocracy is simply a ideology where people of certain qualifications and/or intelligence are appointed to government. A check and balance could be an educated electorate which could say, comprise a virtual conger, and vote on legislation. This electorate would be everyone with an iq higher than 180. Due to the spread population and no attached special interest or ideology, this electorate by statistical elimination, would very likely end up voting the interests of the general electorate, it would just be an electorate that would be much smarter. The writers ofnthe legislation could also be meritocrats that would be experts in their particular fields, say, bill gates, Warren buffet, Steve jobs or Michael bloom berg, they would oversee their economic sectors and staff budget committees wgile still abiding within the legal constraints ofna constitutional republic. The criteria could be simple: an iq higher than 140, older than 60, and wealthy. Many in this category would reasonably, have more of an interest in their legacy and the future of their country than perks or money, they would have already attained them. Furthermore, further checks and balances could ensure 30 million at the end of 7 years or a life in jail if found to be corrupt... You could also, if you think electoral processes are imperative, simply have a census of ideological makeup of the country (conservative, progressive, libertarian) by which different parities would then staff with individuals in a congress to vote on legislation by meritocrats, you could also have a chamber wich represented the economic blocs of the economy, they would also have a say, to vote on legislation. Im other words, you could make it representative, in fact, MORE representative than our current democratic process, yet still have the best people at the top. The premise of the meritocracy is have people who can actually get legislation right, yet not have an incentive for corruption...I trust Warren buffet more than I do harry Reid, nancy pelosi, or John boehner, don't you?

First, we won’t get any meaningful changes through simply identifying the problems and complaining or through the current already rigged political and legal system. One that multinational corporations have bought, own and control through their combined spending of billions in campaign contributions and lobbyists. Corporations have put politicians in government to deregulate themselves, allow them to ship jobs overseas, create corporate tax loopholes, suck multimillion dollar quarterly bonuses out for a select few while laying off workers and cutting salaries, even deregulated banks so they can legally rob you. This is neither democracy or free enterprise. Our government has been stolen from within.

The answer is, through COORDINATED, TARGETED BUYING BOYCOTTS at www.buyingfreeze.org Corporations can buy all the lobbyist, politicians and write all the laws they want, even brainwash half the population through Fox news, it doesn’t matter. A company must have us as their customers or they are out of business, period. It is just that easy and simple. Without us progressives as customers any company’s sales are cut in half. We simply isolate one company at a time in each industry and stop buying their products until they meet the specified demands. If a large enough group of consumers pledge to do this, in six months the targeted company will be on the verge of bankruptcy. They have no defense for this. If they want to do us like this, let them feel the pain with us. Rather than our government operating to protect the public’s interests, as it is designed to do, it operates to protect corporate interests instead. No one has to quit their job or march in the street, simply don’t buy a Ford until Ford publicly joins us in calling for import tariffs, on all products brought back into the U.S. which (1) takes away the benefits they derive from exporting jobs. (2) The government will collect billions in import tariffs, resulting in paying down the debt and (3) lower income taxes for all. Then we lift the buying freeze on Ford and impose it on GM unless or until they do the same thing. If they want to sell cars in America, they should either make them here and use American labor or pay the tariff equal to what they are saving by exploiting overseas cheap labor and avoiding taxes. They do this so they can re import them back in and charge Americans higher prices than they can if they sold them in the country where they were made, which they currently do, at one fifth of the price. Find out more and become united at www.buyingfreeze.org Do your part, send a link to everyone you know, join up and stay connected.

As for the banking industry, move your account to any bank other than Bank of America until they lower interest rates to no more than 19% on the highest category of credit cards. Any rate over 19% in the 1980’s was illegal predatory lending and criminal. Either Bank of America will reduce the rates or no one will use their credit card services, until they do. Then, lift the buying freeze and impose it on Wells Fargo. Every one will be switching back to Bank of America at the new lower rates and dumping Wells Fargo if they don’t drop their rates also.
Look what happened in Egypt in less than 3 weeks! Poland over threw communism in less than 8 weeks with a general strike of dock workers in 1980’s http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/papa/poland1980.htm

ALSO !!! at www.buyingfreeze.org there is a section where we can all unite and form a private industry coop insurance company that is a private company public option insurance provider. No one can attack it as a social government program, or defund it or wreck it through government shills and lobbyists. If just one million pledge $200 for 6 months to a start up fund, there would be ONE BILLION TWO HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS !!! to set it up and start providing health insurance. The corporate charter would require all the excess money at the end of each year be paid back to the policy holders in dividends and who regulate the ceo pay and have one voting share each. Read about it at buyingfreeze.org It can operate at 30 to 40% less simply because the ceo and board of directors won’t be sucking hundreds of millions out every quarter. It will have little advertising expense and certainly no lobbyist or political pay offs like the other insurance companies are currently doing. They will lower their rates or lose all their policy holders to The U.S. Citizens Health Insurance Company, a private public option coop. It will operate exactly like the government option was intended to operate.

Tie congress' fate to rank & file Americans fate. It should be 100% about their desire to Serve the Public; NOT the corrupting power & riches that make them fight so hard to KEEP the public job. Spouses can work too, so this is actually still ABOVE the personal median, tagging it to combined US Median Household income. An average 401(k) plan to boot. Basically... they should not fight sooooo hard & dirty just to keep an average paying job, since they are there for their pure desire to serve the public. And true Public Servants would not mind much stiffer 3x penalties for ethics violations, misdemeanors, and felonies convictions while serving their fellow man. And NO lobbying associated job for 7 years after public office.

It's time for One Bill One Purpose: a movement focused on cleansing legislative detritus from the bill making process.

Earmarks, loopholes, and favors exist as a result of the ease with which unrelated legislation can be inserted into bills. Amending caustic, vile, or controversial legislative detritus is also a tactic to kill bills. If lawmakers continue treating bills as containers for mixing disparate issues, then it will be difficult to affect positive change in our legislative process.

We need a One Bill, One Purpose movement whose goal it is to change the process of bill making. In particular, the allowed procedures during the mark-up session–when the assigned committee(s) make revisions and additions (amendments) to the bill–need to be drastically altered.

One Bill One Purpose would require that amendments not directly and significantly related to a bill's primary purpose, can't be added. It's as simple as that.

One Bill One Purpose can alternately be called 1 Bill 1 Purpose. To support this movement, please use these synonymous hashtags in Twitter: #OneBillOnePurpose or #1Bill1Purpose.

We Agree our Politicians, R or D, Vote in Favor for the Special Interests who will give them $$$ to be Re-Elected. Eliminate the Re-Election. Restrict the Years of Public Service to 6. Six Years Served - Thank You! You're Done! Now Leave! Perhaps Allow ONE More Term of Service as President and If Elected - 6 YEARS - PERIOD! NOT 4 Years and then You Vote Only for Those Who Will Give You $$$ for the Next 4 Years... Simply 6 Years and Done! Then Our Politicians Might Start Voting In Ways To Benefit the People The Represent - Not Wall Street - Not Defense Contractors - Not Telecom with all their tricky rules that hurt the consumer - THIS WILL HAVE PEOPLE ELECTED WHO WILL WORK FOR THE U.S. CITIZEN - NO MORE CAREER POLITICIAN BEING IN CONGRESS FOR 30 + YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!