Gridlock is only a symptom. Why our democracy may be hardwired to fail for a generation.Does bode well socially or economically if this voting pattern persists. Liberal democracy becomes dysfunctional when a significant percentage of eligible voters don't show up to vote. This is a civics and citizenship problem more than anything.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Jamelle Bouie — The Disunited States of America
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6 comments:
"Liberal democracy becomes dysfunctional when a significant percentage of eligible voters don't show up to vote"
Those are Obama talking points, and are disingenuous to the core. FYI a "significant percentage" of voters have always been absent during midterm elections.
That true, MG, and there's talk now of getting rid of the midterms if people aren't motivated to vote in them.
Actual election turnout far lower than reportedActual election turnout far lower than reported
Less than 35% of eligible voters showed up at the polls. So the majority that won was a less than a fifth of the country.
Makes a mockery of democracy. Use it or lose it.
You're blaming the victims, Tom.
We don't have a real democracy.
Poor people don't vote because there is no one on the ballot who represents them.
Since I was twenty-one in 1889, I have in theory followed the voting plan ... voting for a third party even when its chances were hopeless, if the main parties were unsatisfactory; or, in absence of a third choice, voting for the lesser of two evils.
In 1956, I shall not go to the polls. I have not registered. I believe that democracy has so far disappeared in the United States that no "two evils" exist. There is but one evil party with two names, and it will be elected despite all I can do or say.
Stop yelling about a democracy, we do not have. Democracy is dead in the United States.... Drive the money-changers from the seats of the Cabinet and the halls of Congress. Call back some faint spirit of Jefferson and Lincoln,and when again we can hold a fair election on real issues, let's vote, and not till then. Is this impossible? Then democracy in America is impossible. ~ W.E.B. Dubois
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/298.html
A couple things to consider:
--Many voters are dissatisfied with the limited choices that boils down to two side of the same coin. If one hates the coin then they stay away. Pretty rational decision.
--Low information voters generally stay away from elections anyhow. I don't see that as necessarily bad, relatively speaking.
--In the information age many are jaded about politics, what with the constant media bashing of all things political. Thus they stay away.
--Tangentially to my first point, many stay away because they are content with either party or life in general. In other words no matter who wins won't be earth shaking to their collective worlds.
Finally, there's nothing magic about voter turnout numbers.Just ask those folks where 100% voter turnout is mandatory like North Korea or the old Soviet Union. All things considered our democracy can function just fine with rates as they stand now, in on or off years.
As it stands now, the electorate is dominated by motivated, high information voters. In a free country those who choose to go along for the ride electorally speaking are not losers either or democracy wreckers. They contribute in a myriad of ways to a functioning democracy even if they exercise their right to not participate in elections.
The reason that people don't vote is that they aren't motivated to do so. We have to ask why. There are likely many factors instead of a single predominant reason or even just a few.
Obviously, some factors are more weighty than others, but I suspect that to get a really good turnout, all the factors have to be identified and addressed
As John Dewey observed, ti is necessary to educate people for democracy, but it is also necessary to provide real choice and a voice in shaping it.
The one thing that is abundantly obvious is that liberal democracy is not working in the US, and this is a trend in the midterms.
We need to establish what the obstacles are and how to remove them.
I would say that anything under 60% participation rate is low and 80% is a good target.
If this doesn't happen, we can kiss the American experiment goodbye.
Presently, it is dysfunctional, and the result is empire rather than liberal democracy.
The result is that American soft power is dwindling and reliance is increasingly put on hard power. Moreover, political repression is growing as the US becomes a national security state, a surveillance state and a police state.
The implication is that this lack of participation (and illegitimacy of result?) is native to this election, which it most certainly is not:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html
I vote, but I'm very cynical about the results, not the process of elections themselves. My view is that government, especially national government, has been captured by the well connected--corporations and various other special interests. Ideology is no longer as simple as Democrat or Republican either. There are enough voters to reflect hybrid interests that would probably be legitimately represented by at least ten viable parties. The two party system is dated and non functional. Multi (much more than two party) coalition government/legislatures are probably a better way going forward.
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