If our elected officials aren't delivering the government we deserve, stop giving them the only currency that keeps them in power: our votes.
Sign your name below to solemnly join fellow citizens in holding incumbent politicians accountable.
"I, , do hereby affirm that we deserve a government that truly works for us. Whether the problem is donor money, insider trading, cronyism, ineffectiveness, neglect, or any other reason, the politicians in power have failed to deliver. I vow to cast NO votes for any incumbent candidate until I am personally satisfied that our leaders are honest, responsive, and working for the public good."
I'm not tracking you, don't want you to register and won't be trying to hold you accountable for upholding the pledge. This isn't a petition and I'm not trying to scare your representatives into changing—they'll only get that message when and if they start losing elections. There's no forum here or discussions here. It's about latching hold of an idea with the power to fundamentally change things if enough people believe in it.
Only you will determine how seriously you take it and when and if you'll go back to voting for incumbents.
Not sure who currently represents you in Congress? Enter your 5-digit ZIP code or select your state to look up your incumbent Senators and House Representative.
This isn't pie-in-the-sky idealism. It's simple game theory aimed directly at how politics actually works today.
The Problem: Most congressional districts are drawn so one party always wins. Incumbents in these seats don't fear general elections—they only fear primary attacks from extremists in their own party.
The Fix: When voters commit to voting against incumbents across party lines, even "safe" seats suddenly become unpredictable. It strips away the armor that gerrymandering gives to career politicians.
The Problem: Modern politics runs on "lesser-of-two-evils" fear. Candidates tell you, "I might suck, but the alternative is worse!" That lets incumbents do a terrible job forever as long as they scare you enough.
The Fix: An unconditional pledge creates a real, non-negotiable consequence. When elected officials know their time is strictly limited unless they actually perform, they can't hide behind partisan fear tactics anymore.
The Problem: Politicians spend half their lives on the phone begging mega-donors for cash so they can flood television with attack ads.
The Fix: Money only matters if it buys votes. If voters refuse to vote for incumbents, ad spending hits a wall. Raising $15 million vs $2 million stops guaranteeing a win, making donor money far less powerful.
The Problem: Incumbents claim we need their "experience." But this nation was founded by farmers, printers, surveyors, and merchants who managed to overthrow a king and build a country without being career politicians. Today, decades in office usually just means knowing which lobbyists to lunch with and how to protect your own power.
The Fix: Instead of entitled, privileged politicians who are insulated from the consequences of their own decisions, regular turnover brings in real people—teachers, small business owners, nurses, and engineers—who bring practical skills, everyday grit, and real-world problem solving to our government.
The Problem: Politicians are terrified to negotiate across the aisle because party hardliners will fund a primary challenger to kick them out.
The Fix: When politicians know holding office is a brief stint of public service rather than a 30-year career, they don't have to live in fear of party purists. They can focus on solving real problems.
The Problem: Running against a career incumbent backed by millions in super PAC cash scares away qualified, everyday citizens who want to serve.
The Fix: Showing that incumbents can actually lose encourages good, qualified neighbors in your community to step up and run for office.
Everything you need to know about the bumsout.us philosophy, why it works, and how to put it into practice.
Bumsout.us isn't an organization—those are too easy to infiltrate. It isn't a movement—those are too easy to derail. It's simply an idea and a voter pledge, and a pretty basic one at that.
The problem is simple: our government has been corrupted. Arguing over who did it first or who is more at fault doesn't solve anything. It just distracts us from the hard reality: everyday Americans are getting a government that no longer works for them.
Bums out! is about what I think is the answer. The people who hold elected office serve entirely at the will of the citizenry that elected them. If we don't like the job they're doing—and based on congressional, presidential, or judicial approval ratings we don't—then we just throw them out. That's easier said than done, and to really make a difference it'll take more than a few scattered individuals to withdraw their support. We have to STOP re-electing the entrenched career politicians who are beholden every day of their political lives to the money and donors who fund their campaigns.
I’m not here to argue about who started this mess or which side is worse—we all have our opinions. But when you look at the country today, the partisan finger-pointing simply doesn't matter. Everyone in power shares the blame. If the leaders holding office right now aren't corrupt, they lack the courage and strategy to beat those who are. Either way, it's time for Bums out!
The logic is simple: politicians raise money as a step along the path to get the only thing that keeps them in power—our votes. If we refuse to vote for incumbents, it stops mattering how much money they raise and spend.
New representatives will enter office having spent less and compromised less to get there. They’ll quickly realize that dialing for dollars won't save their re-election. The only way to keep their jobs is to do the people's work together. And if they can't get it together? It's just another round of Bums out!
If you're an American citizen with the right to vote and you're fed up with how things are going:
I started bumsout.us focused on Washington because federal politics is where power is the most broken, expensive, and insulated from real life.
But the logic is identical at every level of government. If your governor, state legislators, mayor, or city council members have made a career out of protecting their seats and answering to local donors instead of serving your community, the remedy is the exact same: Bums out!
If you're an incumbent Senator or Congressperson who spends more time—on the phone wringing money out of donors, having lunch with lobbyists, or schmoozing with special interest groups—than you do listening to your constituents, working for causes they care about, or navigating bureaucracy, then I've got bad news for you: You suck!
If this idea takes off, that's going to be the end of your political career—unless you'd like to get back in line for the next cycle. The good news about finding out you suck is that you can decide to change, and stop sucking. Here are a few humble suggestions:
If you take any or all of these suggestions and you still find yourself out of a job, you'll at least retire believing you did your best and console yourself with the idea that you're making way for someone else who might be able to get the job done better than you could. There's no shame in that. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.
If you are one of the rare few who already spends every day doing the country's work and never worrying about your next campaign, I want to say a genuine thank you. We deeply appreciate your dedication, even if the broken system around you fell short.
I wish there were an easy way to separate the truly good public servants from the rest of Washington, but on a national scale, there really isn't. If you end up on the losing side of an election because this pledge succeeded, please don't take it to heart. Take a well-earned break, get back in line for the next cycle, or run for a different office where your community needs you. If the new group doesn't get the job done, there will be plenty of seats opening up very soon.
If you're taking the pledge and following through, you're already doing the most important thing. The second most important thing would be to spread the idea. If you're on social media, post a link to the site. I'm not in this for any kind of notoriety, I'm not taking any donations, and I'm sure not throwing up banner ads. For me, the idea is king. If you've got a different or new way of packaging this up or explaining it to your friends or family, go for it. I just ask that you don't quote me out of context and respect the copyright on the site.