The real Tom Paine has been dead for a couple of hundred years now.  But the spirit of “pamphleteering” and “common sense” lives on.  The pseudonym “Tom Paine” was taken by the author of How Democrats Can Take Back Congress as a mark of respect, so the book’s message cannot be seen as tainted by any hint of personal ambition.

The book should be viewed as an experiment conducted by a Concerned Citizen, to see whether pamphleteering the policymakers in Congress is still a viable option in a modern Democracy.  It is public knowledge that pre-production copies of this book were sent to every Democratic and Independent U.S. Representative and Senator in Washington for their edification.

The author sincerely hopes that those in the corridors of power are still open to the voice of reason from the public.  Democrats can take back Congress, and this pamphlet freely explains how—to those willing to hear its message.

In the author’s own words:

“I have written this pamphlet as an average American citizen trying to break through the bubble surrounding Washington politicians.  This pamphlet follows the time-honored tradition of petitioning our governmental representatives to address issues pertinent to me and (I strongly believe) to many other American voters.

Although I am a published author, I write this as ‘Tom Paine’ so as not to distract from my message.  My anonymity should assure readers that I want no personal credit for these ideas. I would much rather see them utilized by others.  I am not running for any office, and have no plans to do so.  I have never published anything under the name ‘Tom Paine’ before, in print or on the internet.

Speaking as an average taxpayer who tends to vote Democratic (that is, when they give me good reason to), I think it would be a shame if the Democratic Party didn’t take back Congress this time around.  Out here in Blue State America, we’re getting really tired of watching Democrats blow elections so spectacularly.  I, like many other Americans, want the party to redefine itself.  I hereby submit my thoughts on how to do so to the marketplace of ideas, for party leaders and the public at large to consider.  If this list of ideas isn’t acceptable to all, then I challenge the Democratic leadership to come up with their own agenda.  If an average citizen can easily come up with such a list, why can’t party leaders manage to do the same?

I don’t want the epitaph of the Democratic party to be Will Rogers’ famous quote:

‘I am not a member of any organized political party.  I am a Democrat.’”

The author of How Democrats Can Take Back Congress has been since revealed to be the author Chris Weigant. Chris had written two previous books in the field of young adult career guidance (which can be seen on his author's archive page), but he felt that his name would not carry any weight in the political arena—and therefore he decided to publish the book anonymously, as an “Everyman” voter who cares about the direction of the Democratic Party, but does not have any formal credentials to promote his political writings.

Since the time the book was written, of course, Chris has become a regular on The Huffington Post website, the brainchild of Arianna Huffington. Chris' first post on The Huffington Post was in June of 2006, during promotion of his book. Since that time, he has become a regular blogger at Huffington Post, and now posts three times a week (Mondays, Wedenesdays, and Fridays, late in the day) on his own Huffington Post blog.

After blogging at Arianna's expense for a full year, Chris Weigant decided to fully embrace the "blogosphere," and has since introduced his own daily blog at the eponymous site: ChrisWeigant.com. He encourages you to visit his site, and support his blogging efforts by supporting the advertisers found therein.

For earlier works than his blog, Chris invites you to visit his author's archive page, which includes editorials in The San Jose Mercury News, as well as information on his previous books.