Commence Option 4

May 6, 2009 8:24 AM

Metafilter's own Sean Tevis made history with his run for Kansas House of Representatives in 2008. Read more here, here, and here. Sean is back and ready to commence 'Option 4', once again changing the way politics is done in Kansas. From his website "Sean Tevis is visiting more than 50 politicians who can make open government a reality. He wears a different shirt with each politician. Eash shirt is unique and displays the names of 100 people like you. These shirts also have messages on them, which are Twitter-sized: 140 characters or less. The politician receives a copy of this shirt, too, for meeting with Sean. You get an account of this visit."
posted by jlowen (25 comments total)

"sean tevis visited me and all i got was this t-shirt."
(wouldn't this be better in grey?)
posted by the aloha at 8:28 AM on May 6

I'm amusing myself by imagining what the politician does with the shirt after Mr. Tevis leaves.
posted by Joe Beese at 8:30 AM on May 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

He puts it with the piles of shirts from his corporate donors?
posted by Big_B at 8:37 AM on May 6

Eash shirt is unique and displays the names of 100 people like you.

I'm not following this at all. I mean that seriously. I don't get it.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:41 AM on May 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

THERE IS NO ONE LIKE ME! I AM A SNOWFLAKE. Soooooooo EPIC FAIL
posted by spicynuts at 8:50 AM on May 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

KevinSkomsvold (and anyone else) -

After election day I decided to take all the things people in my district asked for and present it to a few politicians so they could do something about these sometimes small, but important things that people wanted.

I thought of it as closing the data loop:
voter needs > politician > politicians does/does not act > voters decide if politician is worthwhile in an election

Except I lost. So all the "needs" data I had collected would have been wasted, ignored. I decided to do something about it. Much to my surprise it worked well.

Bolstered by this success, I'm now going to try the same technique to get an ambitious set of Open Government laws passed next year. It's using collaborative technology to make government transparent and able to solve problems using crowd knowledge. I'm following the Sunlight Foundation, the EFF, and the W3C eGov groups to make a model that can be used in all 50 states.

Many people talk about the value of bringing open government. I'm trying to actually make it happen. And I'm looking for a little help.
posted by stevis at 8:56 AM on May 6 [24 favorites has favorites]

Thanks for the explanation, stevis. I wasn't wrapping my head around the "names of 100 people like you" concept.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:26 AM on May 6

Eash shirt is unique and displays the names of 100 people like you.

I'm not following this at all. I mean that seriously. I don't get it.

I think it's also a clear, visual reminder that people, just regular people, are important to the political process. The t-shirt provides a tangible piece of evidence that the crowd has power, too, and hopefully will bolster Tevis' credibility.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 9:28 AM on May 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

better use real names - some mefi/twitter/digg/reddit/etc usernames might get you thrown in gitmo
posted by offtheroad at 9:40 AM on May 6

Eash shirt is unique and displays the names of 100 people like you.

I'm not following this at all. I mean that seriously. I don't get it.

If you actually RTFA, you find that it is a sideways reference to NASCAR. The original suggestion is that politicians should have to wear shirts which have contributor's logos sewn or printed all over it whenever they make a speech, so those watching can see who that politician's sponsors are. Since Stevis doesn't accept any lobbyist funds for his campaigns, all he could put on his shirt to show who is sponsoring HIS campaign would be the names of his donors.

So there is a link at the bottom of the article (you DID read the whole thing, right?) where you can donate to his campaign at different levels, and most of those include having your name on a shirt as being one of those who is underwriting the campaign.

It's pretty brilliant, I think. It would be even more so if he were to show up at each meeting wearing his own sponsorship shirt, and have one full of lobbyist logos (best if it were researched and tailored for each candidate) to give to whomever he is meeting with. Although that would likely close more doors, it would be a terrific statement.
posted by hippybear at 9:40 AM on May 6 [2 favorites has favorites]

I'm not sure if this violates any metafilter rules, but, jlowen - you look a lot like the bald goateed computer nerd. Or are you the shadowy figure in the fedora?
posted by jabberjaw at 9:53 AM on May 6

Jabber - Ha! Accurate description aside, I am not associated with his campaign in any way. Just a Tevis fan.
posted by jlowen at 10:18 AM on May 6

I'm trying to actually make it happen.

Just wanted to say thanks. Or fuck yeah!, which is how I really feel.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:45 AM on May 6

Maybe members of congress should be required to wear the logos of any companies that they've accepted money from. It would be like NASCAR.
posted by odinsdream at 11:01 AM on May 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

I love this. Thank you for truly wanting to make a difference, and taking it that extra step towards reality.
posted by odinsdream at 11:18 AM on May 6

Maybe members of congress should be required to wear the logos of any companies that they've accepted money from. It would be like NASCAR.

Not on their clothes. On their forehead.
posted by JHarris at 12:43 PM on May 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Tattoos. By the time the perineum is fully covered, you can be pretty sure that your Senator has sold out.
posted by benzenedream at 12:53 PM on May 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Maybe members of congress should be required to wear the logos of any companies that they've accepted money from.

Not on their clothes. On their forehead.

Or on their right hand.
posted by rokusan at 1:19 PM on May 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Tattoos. By the time the perineum is fully covered, you can be pretty sure that your Senator has sold out.

I dunno, most people have a pretty small perineum.

Oh, wait, you figured they would end there. I assumed, being Senators and all, that that is where they would start.
posted by afflatus at 1:30 PM on May 6 [1 favorite has favorites]

Aren't all senators pretty much tainted?
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 2:59 PM on May 6

Most people would have a small perineum but have you seen one from a poltician? They have huuuuuge heads!
posted by Talez at 3:38 PM on May 6

hippybear: "Eash shirt is unique and displays the names of 100 people like you.

I'm not following this at all. I mean that seriously. I don't get it.

If you actually RTFA,

So there is a link at the bottom of the article (you DID read the whole thing, right?)."

Yes. I "RTFA" and did "read the whole thing." If YOU would have bothered to read a couple of comments down, you would have noticed I thanked him for the clarification. Did you have any other snark to add or are you through?
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:11 PM on May 6

Maybe members of congress should be required to wear the logos of any companies that they've accepted money from. It would be like NASCAR.

Here's one Congressman who had a similar idea.
posted by lenorebeadsman at 9:42 PM on May 6

KevinSkomsvold: You are correct, I missed your exchange in the comment stream.

Wasn't really being snarky, however. Or at least was not my intent. I would hope my snark would leave any target a quivering mass of jello, unable to respond in any manner.

I was simply being a rude smartass. :)
posted by hippybear at 7:24 AM on May 7

hippybear: "KevinSkomsvold: You are correct, I missed your exchange in the comment stream.

Wasn't really being snarky, however. Or at least was not my intent. I would hope my snark would leave any target a quivering mass of jello, unable to respond in any manner.

I was simply being a rude smartass. :)"

Ah! I've met my match! No harm no foul.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:47 AM on May 7