FAQ
So you’re forming a new political party?
No. Because of how our political system works a third or fourth party is never going to be viable. Instead, the goal is to form a citizens group that drives Democrats to work for us - otherwise they won't win elections. We think this can be accomplished with about 5 million members nationwide.
Are you against Republicans?
Our country functions best in a true two party system. But that’s not where we are today. The Republican Party has been taken over by Trumpism. Our goal is to help turn back and eventually defeat Trumpism. Then hopefully Republicans will return to their laudable roots, the party of Lincoln.
What are you calling yourselves?
TBD. What we know for sure is the Democratic Party is in disarray. If they're going to win elections they need to come to town halls and work for us citizens. Call us the Town Hall Citizens Group?
How does this citizens group work?
Don’t think of us as a third party like the Green Party. Or a fourth party. Or what you’d see on a ballot. Again, the example is The Tea Party.
Another example is the National Uncommitted Movement that sprung up as a protest vote against former President Biden’s lack of commitment to the Palestinians. According to their website 730,000 voted uncommitted in the 2024 Democratic Primaries including yours truly. It’s safe to say the uncommitted voters cost Kamala Harris Michigan in 2024 Presidential election and 1000’s of voters in key swing states.
The Tea Party, Uncommitted Movement, and plenty more are proof that citizens groups work.
What would you have Democrats do?
A good start would be to run on Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal agenda, but brought up to date.
- A good paying job, good education, good and affordable housing
- Clean and healthy environment - clean air, food, and water
- Medicare For All
- The Open Web
- Free speech
- Publicly funded elections
- Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies
- Economic protection during sickness, accident, old age, or unemployment
- Department of Peace
- Legalize Marijuana
Why not try to work with Democrats?
No doubt about it there’s a few good Democratic representatives on Capitol Hill. Like, our hero Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. But here’s the thing. Trump won the Presidency twice - 2016 and 2024. In 2024 he won by even more votes than 2016. Look no further than this to see why, on balance, the Democratic Party is failing us. Power is never ceded without demand. Democrats won’t change unless people demand them to.
What are recent examples of people have the power?
Park City Mountain Resort is owned by Vail Resorts, a publicly held company that owns 42 other ski resorts, real estate, restaurants, shops, and more. Just before Christmas 2024, a few PCMR ski patrollers went on strike. Customers who spent thousands for a ski vacation stood in 2 hour lift lines. They then shamed VR online. A class action lawsuit has been filed against VR. VR food service workers, ski instructors, and lift operators are talking about striking. VR now has major PR problems. Investors are calling for sweeping changes. All because of a few ski patrollers.
Where does "town hall citizen" come from?
We organize town hall meetings with the goal of forming a citizens group so powerful that Democrats work for us, instead of their donor class.
How is this funded?
townhallcitizen is funded by contributions, monthly subscriptions, and Shakedown Street sales.
What does divesting from X and Meta accomplish?
Both X and Meta are publicly held companies owned by Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. X is now essentially state owned media and a hub for Trumpism. If the markets see a public backlash and users leaving their networks en masse, it's like to cause their stock price to drop. If their stock price drops significantly, shareholders will revolt - causing Musk and Zuckerberg headaches and PR problems.
Here's a piece on electrek that covers why divestment matters.
Fred Lambert
From the piece:
"But it looks like now thousands of people are getting active and it’s becoming a real problem for Tesla.
"Enough to get the board to act and remove Elon Musk? I doubt it. Elon has done plenty of fireable offenses and they haven’t even blinked – because they are all in Elon’s pockets.
"I think the stock price is the only thing that can really get things moving".
Another important reason users should divest from X and Meta is to join the Fediverse.
What is the Fediverse and open web?
The Fediverse ("federation" and "universe") are interconnected servers that are used for web publishing (i.e. social networking, microblogging, blogging, or websites) and file hosting, but are independently hosted and can communicate with each other. The Fediverse is the Internet the way it should be - no algorithms, advertising, tracking, or corporate control. Here's two links explaining the Fediverse and open web:
What is "enshittification"?
enshittification is word invented by Cory Doctorow. Put simply it means the services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of shit. Here's a lecture Cory gave on it.
Cory Doctorow
Why do you call it Web 4?
Web 1 is the earliest version of the Internet. Web 2 is the second stage of the Internet marked by the rise of social media. Web 3 started off to be about blockchain and crypto, it all looked promising. But Web 3 turned out to be mostly gambling and scams. It takes place entirely on X, an enshittified app owned by Elon Musk. Most involved are far right Trumper crypto bros. It’s unsavory. Web 3 is an irredeemable abomination that needs to be skipped. Web 4 is the rise of the fediverse, decentralized Internet and open web. It’ll be glorious. BTW we hope crypto becomes something that makes people want to use it IRL. If so it’ll be part of Web 4. But right now there’s no signs this will happen.