I've long been pondering what a viable new political party would be based on and what it would be called. Considering all the current comments about the NSA telephone surveillance and the Patriot Act, I have considered a new solution to the rigid stances.
I forget the details, but someone challenged Congress to read the entire Patriot Act. Only one Representative did and he voted against it. Many Democrats in the House opposed it and only Russ Feingold opposed it in the Senate. Many did complain that they weren't given enough time to read it, and some complained there weren't even enough copies available.
Given this "knee-jerk" voting on so many issues, rather than look around for a third party to replace one of the two current major parties, maybe we just need a new caucus open to all: The Read the Bill Caucus.
To join The Read the Bill Caucus, a Senator or a Representative need only promise to read a bill before voting for it. If a caucus member has not read a bill and understood it, then the member will vote against the bill or abstain from voting on the bill.
The beauty of this idea is that a member of Congress doesn't have to change his or her ideology. Members only have to understand what they are voting for instead of just following a party line or caving in to mass hysteria.
