Constituents should demand that their congressional representatives take this simple pledge: “I will read every bill before I vote.”
“ReadtoVote” is a $750,000 marketing campaign launched by the National Citizens’ Action Group, cofounded by New York ad execs Mark DiMassimo and Eric Yaverbaum – the same people who brought us the unfortunate “Tappening,” a quixotic campaign to get people to drink tap water and stop drinking bottled water after a previous – and highly successful – campaign urged them to drink bottled water instead of soda.
ReadtoVote not only makes a lot more sense, it will no doubt cut down on the proliferation of phonebook-sized legislation written in legalese so impenetrable that even electrons cannot escape.
“What could be more important and gratifying than investing in a nationwide effort to politely request that our elected officials read the very bills they debate and vote on?” DeMassimo asks. “And to suggest to the general public that they monitor which legislators actually read the bills and which do not.” Can’t argue with that.
Unfortunately, DiMassimo and Yaverbaum don’t stop there. They’re also recruiting “chalkers” to write the entire health care reform bill on the steps of the Capitol, presumably to allow members of Congress to fulfill their Read to Vote pledges on the fly.
