Six years ago Brian Baird walked away from Congress, resettled in Edmonds and refocused on family.
But the moderate Democrat didn’t stop thinking about the devolution of dialogue in that political lair.
He kept talking with friends on similar quests to deepen conversations among the nation’s leaders and, in this election year, add content to the canned speeches delivered by candidates for federal office.
And as a result he, Bob Inglis, a former Republican congressman, and Krist Novoselic, a voting reform activist and bassist for Nirvana, drew up an approach that’s simple, idealistic and contains a touch of John F. Kennedy in its design.
It’s called 3 American Questions and the name says it all.
They’ve crafted queries on the rising national debt, the effects of a changing climate and the eroding of public trust in government for congressional and presidential candidates to answer this year.
“These issues are not getting the attention they deserve,” Baird said this week. “If we don’t get answers these problems become harder and harder to solve.”
And, drawing from JFK’s 1961 inaugural address, this trio wants candidates to not only lay out what they want to do but also what they are asking of the people they hope to serve.
“I really believe passionately that when called upon to face real challenges, the American people have always responded to those challenges,” he said.
The three questions are:
What specific actions will you take, and what will you ask the American people to do, to reverse global climate change and ocean acidification?
What specific actions will you take, and what will you ask the American people to do, to fix the growing debt of the United States?
What specific actions will you take during your campaign and your time in office, and what will you ask the American people to do, to help restore the respect and confidence of the American people in their elected government?
The group is road-testing its concept in one high-profile election this year: the contest in New Hampshire between incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan.
Certified letters containing the questions went to each candidate. Their answers will be posted on a website, should they come.
The group also plans to run ads online urging New Hampshire residents to pose the same questions themselves in hopes of inciting a conversation on the campaign trail.
“The message to candidates and parties is simple — if you want to earn the right to represent us and lead this nation, you must earn that right with honest answers to the questions that matter and that will determine our future,” Novoselic said in a statement. “That’s what real leaders do.”
Baird is using $200,000 of unspent campaign funds as seed money for the group, though additional funds will be needed to continue.
Baird is adamant this group isn’t offering solutions for candidates to embrace, nor will it be endorsing.
“If both candidates put forward good solutions, fantastic,” Baird said.
But the group intends to offer analysis of candidate responses. As an example, Baird said if a candidate calls for a constitutional amendment to balance the budget to deal with the debt, the group will push back to find out what federal spending cuts that candidate would make.
The purpose isn’t to shame candidates but to encourage them to be honest with voters.
“We want to make it safe for people to have the courage to tell the truth and make it unsafe politically to not tell the truth,” Baird said. “Solutions exist. It is possible to solve these problems.”
Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com and on Twitter at @dospueblos.
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