Wanna make a difference?

Interested in real campaign reform? So is Doug Thompson at Capitol Hill Blue:

Capitol Hill Blue and founder Doug Thompson today announce The Campaign for Our America, a new grassroots, non-partisan educational political organization that will serve as a platform for real campaign reform in America, operate as a watchdog for bias in media and promote education for voters.

Our mission is simple: We feel the American system of government and politics is broken and needs not only repair but complete overhaul.

So our goal is realistic, serious campaign reform and a rethinking of how we elect our leaders and conduct our government.

We believe such an effort can succeed only if it is non-partisan. We are political agnostics, not affiliated with party or ideological organization.

We apply the same standard of conduct and expectations to all elected officials -- Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, right or left.

We will not work towards the defeat or election of any specific candidate or elected official but will use our resources instead to provide useful information so that voters can made meaningful decisions on our own.

We believe Our America belongs to the people but the people have, for far too long, been absentee landlords.

That's the mission for the Campaign for Our America: Simple, straightforward and to-the-point.

The Campaign for Our America's initial programs are aimed at serious campaign reform, media monitoring and fraud alerts.

They include:

Campaign reform: Working with campaign professionals, constitutional law professors and reform-minded organizations, Our America is developing realistic campaign reform proposals aimed at returning government to the people. Our proposals will be crafted around a belief that government service should be just that -- service. So we are advocating term limits (for both elected officials and staff), limits on salaries, limits on special interest groups, increased campaign reporting requirements and tougher laws to punish those who abuse the system. We expect to have our first set of proposals ready in June and will seek Congressional co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. As our programs grow, we hope to expand our efforts into state elections.

Media monitoring: Too many people in this country rely on an often-biased media for information that leads them to make important decisions on those elected to office. We will examine print, broadcast and Internet-based media and spotlight those we feel distort the news or hide behind political agendas.

Fraud alerts: We will monitor the actions of our officials plus elections, advertising, campaign promises and actions of candidates with a non-partisan eye towards fraud, misleading claims and outright violation of the law. We have lawyers ready to file class-action lawsuits against those we find abusing the public trust and will use available tools and resources like the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to aid our cause.

Other programs are under development and will be announced here shortly.

The Campaign for Our America was founded by Doug Thompson, career journalist, one-time political operative and founder of the Internet's oldest political news site, Capitol Hill Blue.

Mr. Thompson first became interested in campaign reform during a five-year stint as Vice President for Political Programs for The National Association of Realtors where he managed what was then the largest political action committee in the country. Disturbed by what he saw as the overwhelming and corrupting influence of money on the political process, he helped start the Project for Comprehensive Campaign Reform, a bi-partisan effort by heads of business PACs to place reasonable limits on the ability of large special interest groups to influence elections. He testified before Congress on the need for serious campaign reform.

Thompson will be assisted by a volunteer group of campaign professionals, Constitutional law experts, former elected officials and reform-minded individuals who share one thing in common: A disgust over the present system and an overwhelming desire to effect real reform.

* The Campaign for Our America is financed through three sources:
Money from our founder
* Revenue from advertising on Capitol Hill Blue
* Contributions from interested individuals and organizations that with to help.


Our budget for 2006 is $100,000.00 and we pledge to use all funds raised to fund programs, not pay staff and overhead. To meet this goal, Mr. Thompson has contributed $25,000 from his personal resources and pledged an additional $50,000 from advertising revenue from this web site, Capitol Hill Blue. Our operational expenses will be paid by our founder and no-one involved in this project will draw a salary. All contributions will go directly into our programs, including development of legislative initiatives, production of educational materials for voters and investigations of fraud, abuse and waste.

We are asking readers of Capitol Hill Blue and other interested individuals and organizations to contribute the remaining $25,000. If 250 people contribute just $100.00 each we will reach that goal but that is only a suggested contribution. We're asking those who support our cause to give what they can to help. Contributors will receive regular updates on our activities via an email newsletter as well as other benefits that are under development.

We are not a foundation so contributions are not tax-deductible. We are not a 527-type political organization so your contributions will not be used for partisan political purposes. Our goal is both reform of the system and creation of a more informed electorate.

Check out Campaign for Our America.