Why Lobbying Congress Is a Dead End

We've all been taught, and rightly so, that Congress is the constitutional forum in which solve national problems through democratic deliberation. And so, it is not surprising that some in our movement would advocate the idea of petitioning Congress and sending our activists to lobby the halls of Congress in person. Unfortunately, we believe this tactic to be intrinsically self-defeating. We understand, of course, that this approach is well-meaning. But we oppose, on grounds of common sense, the idea of dispatching people into the bowels of a political institution that we believe is literally built around denial of 9/11 truth. In sending our activists to Congress, we are putting them in the hands of two corrupt and corporatized political parties that are known countenance state repression, torture, crimes against democracy, illegal warfare—well, you know the list.

Further, we object on pragmatic grounds. In making pressure on Congress our political strategy, we are in effect endorsing this organization as an appropriate and just forum for redress of grievances about 9/11, which in our humble opinion is a political impossibility—in almost any imaginable scenario. And remember, 911cc.org is led and endorsed by a former distinguished U.S. Senator, the founder of our organization, and is endorsed by two other prominent Congresspeople, Representatives Dan Hamburg and Cynthia McKinney.

One more important point: If, somehow, enough citizens do swarm the halls of Congress with petitions or copies of peer-reviewed articles, that institution may—in theory—be moved to act by overwhelming pressure from below. But we can be near-certain that such a process will result in yet another grand deception. In such a scenario, Congress stages a “new, 9/11 investigation” that quells the grassroots, but is rigged yet again, perhaps this time less blatantly. They limit the scope of their new commission just as before, and stack it with insiders as before (maybe adding one or two token “truthers”or those capable of a "limited hang-out" with 9/11 truth). And, perhaps this time, they go a little further by sacrificing a few lower-level “conspirators” (for example, those behind the “Able Danger” scandal) in an effort to let off steam and thus deflate and ultimately delegitimize the truth movement.

You probably can infer by now where this argument is going. We at the Citizen 9/11 Commission Campaign believe that we have found a solution to the gridlock and corruption that pervade our federal system:  That solution is direct democracy and the state initiative process. That solution gives our activists a chance to mature politically by given them an effective vehicle in which to exercise their rights as citizens. It provides an outlet for passionate activism that is structured and reliable, one that leads to a legal process that has teeth and gets concrete results in the real, political world. And this solution has the potential to both heal and unify the 9/11 truth movement, redeeming our ten years of effort by providing a fulfilling and functional platform of political self-expression.

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8 Responses to Why Lobbying Congress Is a Dead End

  1. John W. Wright says:

    If the ultimate result of the work of this commission is to be turned over to the U.S. court system, then what is to keep that obviously corrupt court system from rigging its outcome?

    Is there any legal precedence for what is being attempted here?

    What happens if more than one state passes an initiative calling for a new commission? Will there then be a legal battle over where the commission will be based or which state provides the subpoena power?

    How long do estimate it will take for all the legal questions regarding this concept to work their way through the various courts?

    How many lawyers do you have on staff now? How many do you expect to need over the lifetime of this process?

    Just a few of the hundreds of questions that need to be answered before investing too much time, energy and money in an unprecedented effort such as this.

    Still waiting for answers to very basic questions,

    John W. Wright

    Marin County, CA

    (aka LeftWright @ 911blogger.com)

    • Shelton says:

      What would YOU suggest be done with the outcome, John, discuss it on 911blogger for the next few decades?

      • John W. Wright says:

        It’s quite obvious that massive changes need to be made to our political, governmental and legal institutions (i.e. the corruption needs to be rooted out as completely as possible) before they can be trusted to work in the people’s interest.

        Thus, spending millions of dollars and many years getting a real investigation and then turning it over to corrupt institutions is not rational, yes?

        Many of us have been drawn to 9/11 truth BECAUSE it exposes this corruption. To then ignore its existence and expect it to reform itself is ludicrous, to put it mildly.

        If, on the other hand, one wants to use the initiative process to spotlight said corruption and motivate the American people to confront and eradicate it, then there are much simpler and cheaper ways to do that effectively.

        The most obvious lessons from NYCCAN have not been learned here.

        I do not believe in throwing good money and effort after bad, do you?

        John W. Wright

        Marin County, CA

        (aka LeftWright @ 911blogger.com)

  2. Jonathan Mark says:

    John, I will let Byron and those on the 911cc respond to your legitimate questions. I realize that in New York City, the referendum vote there was killed by the City Council and from political elites. It doesn’t matter to me if this campaign had a precedent or not, because it is absolutely in harmony with the rights given to citizens by the US Constitution, and by referendum ballot measures in such places as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and other states. The filing for this referendum vote in Massachusetts is happening this week, and then you will get to read the document. For now I think your questions on this blog is a bit off topic, because this article is about the futility for lobbying congress, especially while we have an opportunity to lobby directly to our fellow citizens, who have been betrayed by the mainstream media and the (mis)reprsentative government of the US.

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