Web site invites political dialogue

So you were born two centuries too late to join the American Revolution.

No problem.

Would-be James Madisons of the digital age can suggest changes to the Bill of Rights through a Seattle-based Web site called moreperfect.org, named for the Constitution's mission statement about forming "a more perfect Union."

If it seems daunting to tinker with religious freedom or gun ownership, click on the Washington state articles about local education reform, judicial elections, transportation and the future of Seattle Center. The People's Waterfront Coalition, which wants to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a highway-free waterfront, has contributed an article, to be refined and debated.

More Perfect works like Wikipedia, the rapidly growing global encyclopedia where readers add or edit information.

As more people participate, their shared knowledge is supposed to inspire wiser political decisions.

The More Perfect site's founding fathers are Chad Maglaque and Tim Killian, both age 40. They met years ago at a childbirth class and later crossed paths during the city's attempt to build a 14-mile monorail. Maglaque supported it. Killian managed the "Monorail Recall" counter-campaign that lost in 2004 — a year before the monorail's 50-year financing plan led voters to halt the project. Despite being in opposite camps, the two realized they could be civil about politics.

Killian's ideas about open-source civics date back to 1997, when he managed an initiative to legalize medical marijuana. It lost. Afterward, he and his brother, Dr. Rob Killian, invited opponents to suggest new wording. The proposal passed in 1998, with narrower language limiting marijuana use to patients who have a doctor's recommendation.

That kind of shared discussion inspired the new Web site, said Killian, who is currently managing a campaign against Seattle's "4-foot rule" to keep strip-club dancers separated from patrons. Maglaque is a software consultant.

Unlike partisan sites such as the liberal horsesass.org or conservative soundpolitics.com, More Perfect espouses neutrality. Comments are required only to be "constructive."

Matt Rosenberg, a conservative Seattle writer who frequently publishes online, called the site "a noble experiment" that could be useful. But he's skeptical it can influence political decisions.

"The above-the-fray approach is commendable, but people need a little bit of blood and guts to really become engaged in politics," he said. "Politics is a contact sport."

In its third month, More Perfect receives about 2,000 daily hits. The Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes transparency in Congress, recently gave the site a $4,500 grant. "A fascinating experiment in citizens participating in their democracy," foundation Director Ellen Miller called it.

Maglaque is proud that when someone tried to vandalize the online Constitution by inserting links to pornography, other users fixed the damage in 14 minutes, similar to the self-policing at Wikipedia.

In the Bill of Rights exercise, early visitors replaced "religion" with "system of beliefs," constrained gun rights to people "within militias established by the States," and banned a military draft. From the right, a new clause protects property rights from the government.

"We're trying to reach out to all sorts of people," Killian said.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com