I'm not sure that every major issue will be documented.  Only what is in the questionairre right?  I hope to not only document the issues that pertain to my area, but also my guiding principles.  In fact, I'd like to be held accountable to my principles (publically stated) much more than if I get a particular vote before me, I voted the right way.  E.g. an order of precedent being: Accountable to principles, then accountable to voting record quesstionaiire. 

I agree with using new approaches to campaign... before I found GOOOH, that was my plan as well.  But I also wanted to focus on educating voters, and explaining the principles behind what I stand for so they can see how such things can guide in gray areas or uncharted waters.  You tube, 5 Whys analysis, flow charts, Cause and Effect (fishbone diagrams), Argument / Counter argument diagrams, etc... (see http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html for what I mean)   But all that takes time to do properly.  Especially if you are dealing with rural districts who don't have as much internet connectivity (or at best, dial up).

Btw, I was happy to hear you are (or were) a programmer.  Me too :-)

Remember that you will have documented your position on every key issue of the day, and for the final ten candidates in each district, those answers will be available for all the world to see. We also intend to find the right way to allow candidates to elaborate on their position, perhaps via MySpace or YouTube type pages.

Most importantly, keep in mind that we do not intend to campaign in the old fashion way, we plan to run a national campaign for our nominees, selected by their peers, having documented their positions and agreeing to be help accountable, and without party affiliation or special interest funding. We believe 60 days will be more than adequate for each of our nominees campaigns, and in fact, may be too long acording to most data we have. Most Americans simply do not want four months of politics.

Hi, I must agree with Terry.  My district covers 12 counties, and has many rural areas and many square smiles.

Also, something to keep in mind, is that while people might be inclined to vote against the parties, they will want to know how a particular candidate stands on local issues (in my case farm related, and on social issues).  For some, abortion is an important issue and a show stopper.  For others it is the UN, or the trade, etc...  We need to be able to communicate to our district that we are more than a philosophical movement, but a movement of people that represent them! And that takes time.

Thank you for the clarification Tim.  I feel good about this process again.

For someone who has a district in and around a big city, that may be true.  The candidate from my district has 7 cities and countless rural areas and the issues are different in each section.  The important thing is for our candidate to address the issues here that are out of the mainstream, such as the clash between the environment and wilderness, and loggers and miners, issues between old industry oil and coal with new industries, wind and solar which are all here.  unions and wages vs. both small and big business, higher education and keeping college grads working in our district instead of training them to move away.

Here, as I am sure in most if not all districts, there are many local issues that are not covered in the questionaire that our candidates will have to explain their positions to the people.  The people will have to have a clear understanding of our candidates in order to win their votes.  It definately will not be as simple as crying on TV the day before the election.  I will propose to whoever is our representative that he/she travel and hold town hall meetings to answer the people's questions and gain voter confidence.  To accomplish that in 60 days will be tough, 90 possible, 120 more likely.  A donation box at the door will help pay for the gas to move around, but here we are used to long day trips.

To compliment that, I would also propose that he/she write their own platform using the questionaire as a guide but also include the local issues as well.  I do believe for right now that getting the word out and gaining support is paramount.  We need to have the -- In it to win it -- attitude.

If the question is can a GOOOH nominee start campaigning the moment he has been selected in the Final Round, the answer is yes. If that is more than 60 days out (e.g. 90 or 120), then we agree with you. The campaign can begin as soon as the Final Round is done.

But, be careful what you ask for. We believe that 60 days is more than enough time for the people to know who you are. Personally, I don't want to hear from candidates more than a month or two before an election, but maybe I'm in the minority.

We'll add this issue to the GOOOH Member survey which will ultimately be used to decide all such points. Thanks for the input.

I for one would never vote for someone I do not know, have not heard talk, or at least seen their face.  Americans are picky about their vote but will automatically vote for the incumbant on name recognition alone.  There are 432,000 households in my district and over 400,000 square miles.  It would be a futile effort for me to go door to door in my district.  That and it would take me until the year 2050 to finish the task.  The only way someone would have the slightest chance in my district or any district would be to start gathering people together and talking to them, listening to them, and answering questions from them.  Once we get a nomination why can we not get out and talk about the changes that need to be made.  I feel the best format would be a town hall meeting.  If we can not let the people know us then I must move to the cynics corner and say we are set up to fail.  Nationally we will elect ZERO people and will be lucky to get 1% of the vote collectively.  Without this simple part of the process then I would have to say, right idea, but no chance of making the changes you seek.

Don't think in terms of current campaigning. There will be ONE national campaign that asks Americans to vote for the GOOOH candidates, not the politicians. You will be able to make signs and go door to door, but two months is ample time.

Either GOOOH will be nationally recognized and we'll vote out all of the politicians, or we'll have to regroup and try again in 2010. All of America will know about GOOOH before we start the selection process. Those that choose to participate will be actively discussing with everyone they know. Anyone who votes will know why they should vote for the GOOOH candidate.

America will choose between GOOOH candidate and politicians. You will not need to raise money, kiss babies, or even make promises that you cannot keep. Your questionnaire answers will tell people what you stand for. The fact that you have been selected by your peers will give you immediate credibility. You will not have accepted a penny from special interest groups, so you will be free to vote your conscience. You will not have to worry about raising money or getting reelected. Political correctness will become unneccessary.

GOOOH candidates will not campaign like political candidates. This is by design.

The hardest part to fight in an election is name recognition.  60 days in no way will accomplish overcoming the names of the incumbant and possibly the other challengers.  The key to getting the message out will be to give the voter enough time to feel comfortable voting for you.  I personally would like to travel around my district during the warm months of july and august raising money and giving speeches on why I am the better candidate.  If we are not allowed to campaign futher than 60 days out then NONE will win.  To pay for this travelling, I would ask for donations at the door as they come and leave.

How my itinerary would look like this. 

Announce on the 4th of July.... No better time to start a revolution than our Independence Day.  Travel around the district holding town meetings and interviews on the weekends for July, August, and September, also use this time to drum up supporters to campaign in the communitees for me.  In October give a final push and hopefully debates to push me over the top and win the election.

If I am running, I am running to win it.

Your thoughts?