4 ms·

I'm interested in the White House's response, but anticipate the issue basically being blown off.

tellarin 14y ago
I kind of agree, but it is good that some attention might be brought to the issue (not necessarily the government's). My concern is that the WH might once again raise the number of needed signatures for the next petitions! as there are still many reaching the target.
- nonamegiven 14y ago
  I think Colonel Cathcart works in the White House.
TheCapn 14y ago
People have it in their heads that a successful petition is supposed to mean there will be change but that was never promised. I've always felt petitions were used by lawmakers to help filter noise. If you set a threshold for the amount of support any cause needs before you'll address it (preventing you from having to listen to each person individually) the petition system seems only logical. If the lawmakers now see that 100,000+ people are against their decisions they promised to make a response but have no obligation to change anything. This is where people's voting power is supposed to matter. If the representatives are always ignoring the issues that are deemed important by petition/protest groups then why should the be expected to get re-election? Its sort of a shit deal where we're hoping the channels they provide will show some benefit or marshal of change but I haven't seen that happen yet. I'm not American so I'm somewhat distanced from everything but it has always seemed like these petitions were just another campaign tool and never intended to be taken seriously by gov't.
- brador 14y ago
  If only there was a website where voters could see how every politician voted on every vote they've ever made when in power. It would cut right through any BS.
  - jerf 14y ago
    Not as much as you'd like. Thanks to massive omnibus bills, converting Yes and No votes into meaningful stands on issues is far harder than you'd like. A no vote on a bill putatively establishing $YOUR_FAVORITE_CAUSE as the law of the land may have been because a rider encouraging $YOUR_WORST_CAUSE was attached and the whole was not judged worthwhile, even before we consider mere politics themselves.
    - redblacktree 14y ago
      This is not to mention the constant horse trading that is the norm in congress. i.e. You vote for my bill and I'll vote for yours.
- homosaur 14y ago
  Filter noise? You mean like concerns of citizens instead of concerns of lobbyists? A Kickstarter might be more useful than a petition in getting the attention of the US government.
  - pekk 14y ago
    Concerns of how many citizens? 10? 1000? Out of how many millions?
    - zanny 14y ago
      I have absolutely no idea how you any cause would get even 10% of Americans to actually get up off their couches and away from the tv long enough to make their voice heard on anything. I mean, the closest thing is recent history, the Occupy movement, was still only a few tens of thousands at most.
      - homosaur 14y ago
        I wish I thought you were being grumpy and cynical instead of accurate.
  - wuest 14y ago
    I'd chip in.
  - bhauer 14y ago
    I invite you to also consider using my project, Brian's Taskforce: https://usa.brianstaskforce.com/ https://usa.brianstaskforce.com/ https://brianstaskforce.com/blog/more-than-a-petition https://brianstaskforce.com/blog/more-than-a-petition The idea is to combine charitable giving with petitioning so as to establish the weight or importance of your idea to the powers-that-be.

I kind of agree, but it is good that some attention might be brought to the issue (not necessarily the government's). My concern is that the WH might once again raise the number of needed signatures for the next petitions! as there are still many reaching the target.

nonamegiven 14y ago
I think Colonel Cathcart works in the White House.

TheCapn 14y ago

People have it in their heads that a successful petition is supposed to mean there will be change but that was never promised. I've always felt petitions were used by lawmakers to help filter noise. If you set a threshold for the amount of support any cause needs before you'll address it (preventing you from having to listen to each person individually) the petition system seems only logical. If the lawmakers now see that 100,000+ people are against their decisions they promised to make a response but have no obligation to change anything. This is where people's voting power is supposed to matter. If the representatives are always ignoring the issues that are deemed important by petition/protest groups then why should the be expected to get re-election? Its sort of a shit deal where we're hoping the channels they provide will show some benefit or marshal of change but I haven't seen that happen yet. I'm not American so I'm somewhat distanced from everything but it has always seemed like these petitions were just another campaign tool and never intended to be taken seriously by gov't.

brador 14y ago
If only there was a website where voters could see how every politician voted on every vote they've ever made when in power. It would cut right through any BS.
- jerf 14y ago
  Not as much as you'd like. Thanks to massive omnibus bills, converting Yes and No votes into meaningful stands on issues is far harder than you'd like. A no vote on a bill putatively establishing $YOUR_FAVORITE_CAUSE as the law of the land may have been because a rider encouraging $YOUR_WORST_CAUSE was attached and the whole was not judged worthwhile, even before we consider mere politics themselves.
  - redblacktree 14y ago
    This is not to mention the constant horse trading that is the norm in congress. i.e. You vote for my bill and I'll vote for yours.
homosaur 14y ago
Filter noise? You mean like concerns of citizens instead of concerns of lobbyists? A Kickstarter might be more useful than a petition in getting the attention of the US government.
- pekk 14y ago
  Concerns of how many citizens? 10? 1000? Out of how many millions?
  - zanny 14y ago
    I have absolutely no idea how you any cause would get even 10% of Americans to actually get up off their couches and away from the tv long enough to make their voice heard on anything. I mean, the closest thing is recent history, the Occupy movement, was still only a few tens of thousands at most.
    - homosaur 14y ago
      I wish I thought you were being grumpy and cynical instead of accurate.
- wuest 14y ago
  I'd chip in.
- bhauer 14y ago
  I invite you to also consider using my project, Brian's Taskforce: https://usa.brianstaskforce.com/ https://usa.brianstaskforce.com/ https://brianstaskforce.com/blog/more-than-a-petition https://brianstaskforce.com/blog/more-than-a-petition The idea is to combine charitable giving with petitioning so as to establish the weight or importance of your idea to the powers-that-be.