- Why would a candidate for public office sign a
Microtution contract?
- Can I change the framework of a Microtution
contract?
- What can I do to get my favorite candidate to sign
a Microtution?
- As a candidate why should I tie my hands now when I
cannot predict the future?
- What happens if an elected official violates their
Microtution contract ?
- Can we really add another contract without
violating the Constitution?
Microtution contracts provide a voluntary framework for candidates to
self-select issues important to their constituents and then turn these issues
into clearly stated "action items" that the candidate will do if elected to
office. If a candidate is elected and their Microtution goes into effect
in their service as an elected official, any failure to complete all the items
in their Microtution will prevent him or her from seeking re-election to the
same or any other elected office in the next election cycle. That's a
stiff penalty, so why would any candidate sign a Microtution?
Consider this example: Two candidates seeking election to the same
office. Once candidate campaigns as usual by making promise after promise
on what they will do if elected. The other candidate campaigns as usual by
making promise after promise on what they will do if elected; and takes the
additional step of placing a few of those carefully thought out promises in a
Microtution contract that says if I am elected to serve and I fail to accomplish
the items in my contract I will not seek re-election to this office or any other
office in the next election cycle.
Which candidate do you believe will keep some of their promises? Which
candidate wins the election?
The main reason a candidate for public office will have an interest in
creating and signing their own Microtution is to connect on issues important to
their potential constituents and to garner their vote on election day.
Every "action item" a candidate places into their Microtution must be easy to
verify that the goal is clearly accomplished as stated once completed.
Examples of clearly stated and easily verifiable action items include:
I will introduce (legislation, resolution, ordinance) to increase taxes
by 12%...to decrease taxes by 12% No
member of my immediate family will lobby the government entity I am elected to
serve (list names) I
will organize community volunteers to supply paint and labor to paint the
school, community center....
I will not accept campaign contributions from any political action committee...
These are just a few examples of an infinite number of possibilities and do
not represent any public policy or political statement. A candidate and
his or her supporters will consider the important issues facing their community
and turn those issues into clearly defined action items.
Candidates with a desire to restore trust, confidence and dignity to elective
public service now have a tool to make these changes happen. It requires
courage to lead change. Americans have a rich history of supporting
candidates who lead with courage.
These are a few of the reasons a candidates will want to take the lead by
signing and executing a Microtution in their campaign for elective office.
Better to lead with a Microtution than to be forced to follow the other
candidate's lead. It is the necessity of practical politics that will
drive this positive change into the American system of government. It's
about time.
Yes, you can change the framework language of a Microtution contract.
However, we strongly urge you to take advantage of the contract language and
framework as presented. Changing the structure or language in the
Microtution template may cause far more unanticipated future problems than
necessary. Changes to the Microtution template will not be certified
by the Microtution Foundation and you will lose the benefits of that
certification. It is far more important to focus on creating good, solid,
clearly stated "action items" to include in your Microtution.
Certification of your Microtution contract by the Microtution Foundation,
Inc., includes many benefits, including joint press releases by the Foundation
and your campaign. The Microtution Foundation provides your campaign with
a "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval." Just as important,
certification of your Microtution enables a candidate to take advantage of the
Foundations nonpartisan constitutional and political science theory. This
support is critical to address media inquiries successfully and to help with
positive reporting by skeptical reporters about your use of a Microtution
contract in your campaign effort.
As more and more candidates form across the country utilize Microtution
contracts in their campaigns, joint press releases and certification of your
Microtution contract by the Foundation will become an important asset to your
campaign.
There are many things you can do to help your favorite candidate for office
learn about the benefits of utilizing a Microtution contract in their campaign.
You can print a copy of the contract and the responsibilityera.com home page and
hand it to him or her at their next public event. You can email your
candidate the responsibilityera.com web site address and follow-up with a phone
call.
Another great way to introduce your favorite candidate to the
Responsibility Era and the Foundation is to volunteer for their campaign or hold
a fundraiser in your home, only if the candidate agrees to attend, and invite a
few friends to meet the candidate -- then sit him or her down at your computer
or print the material you believe will do the best job of informing your
candidate. Try calling your local talk radio host and point them to the
microtution.org
web site and ask them to ask local candidates to participate.
This is a very common question with a very straight-forward answer.
Obviously, none of us can predict the future so it would not be fair to ask any
candidate to put their elected office on the line by demanding they predict the
future. Predicting unknowns in the future is not the foundation for action
items a candidate self-selects to include in their Microtution.
Every candidate seeking elective office has a set of core values they bring
into their campaign for office. These core values and beliefs that will
guide their tenure as an elected official serve as the foundation for the
creation of action items in their Microtution contract. Framing issues important
to the constituents a candidate hopes to serve if elected around their
fundamental core values does not require a candidate to predict the future.
It does require a candidate hold true to their core values for the term of
office for that particular election cycle. The Microtution expires when
the term of the elected office held ends. If the candidate chooses to seek
re-election or to run for higher office the candidate will create a new
Microtution for that campaign.
The number of action items a candidate includes in their Microtution is
entirely up to the candidate.
Every Microtution contract includes very specific details for a constituent
of an elected official who executed a Microtution as part of their campaign for
elective office to resolve disputes about compliance as contracted in the
Microtution by the elected official. A constituent may initiate a binding
arbitration process in strict compliance with the rules of the National
Arbitration Association to resolve such disputes.
To prevent frivolous arbitration proceedings, a constituent or constituents
initiating the arbitration action must pay all costs associated with the
arbitration, including all costs incurred by the elected official as a result of
the arbitration, irrespective of the final decision issued through the binding
arbitration process. If court action is necessary to enforce a ruling by
the arbitrators, the arbitrators will file their ruling and request for action
with a court having jurisdiction over such matters.
To provide a complete answer to this question would require volumes of
written material. The short answer is yes we can. There is no
constitutional limit as to the number of contracts under which we allow
ourselves to be governed. Under very specific guidelines and with a
methodology that is completely voluntary, we may exercise a dormant
constitutional right to add additional contracts to the American system of
government. Material supporting the 'yes we can' answer is available on
the microtution.org web site.
Research on this issue was initially conducted in the mid 1980s at California
State University, Sacramento. The research was guided by Dr. Thaddeus Eugene
Shoemaker, constitutional scholar and principal author of the War Powers Act (WPA)
enacted by Congress in 1973. The WPA defines the constitutional
declaration of war powers between Congress and the President with the intent to
prevent another American undeclared war similar to our experience in Viet Nam.
Are Microtution contracts constitutional? Absolutely without a doubt
the answer is YES. Unless and until, if ever, the United State Supreme
Court rules otherwise.
Copyright © 2003 The Microtution Foundation, Inc., All rights reserved.
Revised: 10/06/03.
| 
