The Grinches Who Stole Democracy
by Robert A. Levine
“It is a misfortune incident to republican government…that those who administer it may forget their obligations to their constituents and prove unfaithful to their important trust.”
James Madison, The Federalist Papers
Americans need to be reminded that democracy is being stolen by elected officials and affluent outsiders working in concert. The democratic ideal of a universal franchise, with every person’s vote having equal weight, is being undermined by politicians who will do whatever they can to tip the electoral scales in their party’s favor. Enhancing their own power and staying in office is more important to these officeholders than fairness and equity, or working to benefit their constituents. And beside elected officials who pursue power, various special interests push to have BobLevinetheir concerns addressed ahead of the interests of the nation as a whole.
Redistricting has become a major tool of those trying to subvert the democratic process. With the national census every ten years measuring population growth or decline, a redistribution of Congressional seats occurs according to the number of citizens gained or lost by each state. This accords an opportunity for state legislatures controlled by either party to determine the configuration of Congressional districts, trying to keep the population of each one fairly equal. (State legislative districts are also redesigned.) They usually do it in ways that protects their party’s incumbents and makes the districts in play more likely to elect their party’s nominees. (This political maneuver is called gerrymandering after Elbridge Gerry, an early Massachusetts politician.) The districts that result can be quite outlandish in shape, ignoring natural boundaries and cutting across municipalities in order to include or exclude minorities and presumed voting blocs. Because of this, a candidate or party may have overwhelming or minimal support in a particular district, rendering each individual’s vote less meaningful in those districts.
In another strategy to improve their party’s chances in elections, some state legislatures with Republican majorities have recently enacted voter ID laws that make it more difficult for minority voters, poor people, and the elderly to register and vote. Men and women who don’t have driver’s licenses, and those without ready access to birth certificates, may be unable to cast their votes because of these laws. The sponsors of these measures claim their goal is to prevent voter fraud
even though instances of fraud are few and far between. In fact, the obvious objective is to reduce the rolls of voters who support the opposition party, a clear suppression of the democratic process.
Lobbyists and special interests utilize financial incentives to capture the support of government officials and legislators, with the priorities of the special interests overriding the needs of ordinaryChristmas-cheer-grinch4 citizens. And organizations such as political action committees, 501(C) (4) and 527 groups, some of which use money from anonymous donors, have been able to influence the political discourse by providing advertisements for or against candidates and issues. This of course further reduces the voices of ordinary citizens who want to participate in politics but lack the funding to compete on the same level. The Citizens United ruling from the Supreme Court in 2010, which authorized donations by corporations and unions to fund political advertising as “free speech,” can be seen as a blow against democracy by allowing special interest money to have an outsized effect on campaigns for office.
The length of political campaigns is another impediment to democracy, as it gives men and women who are wealthy, or with superior fund-raising abilities (incumbents) a distinct advantage over ordinary citizens. (Though embedded in the Constitution, choosing a president by the Electoral College system, instead of having citizens vote directly for the office, is another element in American politics that is anti-democratic.)
With the current make-up of the Supreme Court and the unwillingness of Congress to reform campaign financing or address distortions of the electoral process, democratic change is unlikely to occur in the near future. America needs politicians willing to contest the status quo and stand up to the grinches who are out to subvert democracy.
A VietNam vet and a Columbia history major who became a medical doctor, Bob Levine has watched the evolution of American politics over the past 40 years with increasing alarm. He knows he’s not alone. Partisan grid-lock, massive cash contributions and even more massive expenditures on lobbyists have undermined real democracy, and there is more than just a whiff of corruption emanating from Washington. If the nation is to overcome lockstep partisanship, restore growth to the economy and bring its debt under control, Levine argues that it will require a strong centrist third party to bring about the necessary reforms. Levine’s previous book, Shock Therapy For the American Health Care System took a realist approach to health care from a physician’s informed point of view; Resurrecting Democracy takes a similar pragmatic approach, putting aside ideology and taking a hard look at facts on the ground. In his latest book, Levine shines a light that cuts through the miasma of party propaganda and reactionary thinking, and reveals a new path for American politics. This post is cross posted from his blog.