My essay on dailykos.
It was long and didn't receive any comments in the Political forum on DU, however, the two comments I did receive in dailykos suggests that I'm on the right track. I'm reposting in this wider forum to try to get more brainstorming.
Read below or check out the comments on
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/19/1075923/-How-to-Turn-a-Red-County-Purple
How to Turn a Red County Purple
Just about everyone has something to say about the differences between Republican and Democratic principles. We hear it so often that we shut down when an opinion begins to diverge from our own. Democrats will do it when someone goes off on a rant about wanting less government in their lives, and Republicans shut down when someone suggests raising taxes as a solution to the problems we face in society. Me, I wish life were that simple again.
Where I live I’ve seen so many inconsistencies that absolutes are meaningless. I live in a community which consistently votes Republican, and though some things might run true to form, others require an entirely new perspective to understand.
To see things from my point of view, a politician would have to go beyond the rainmakers and campaign donors to come eye to eye with people who are living with the consequences of bad policies. This is difficult to do for many because the problems of ordinary people lack sparkle.
Try these words out to see what I mean: Homeowner’s Association meeting, (“HOA”), Architectural Review Board, Declaration of Covenants & Restrictions. This is the language of ordinary people who live in the growing number of community associations which are springing up across Florida. What local government can’t force upon a homeowner is possible to do through the HOA boards. So, if you want to see how policies are trickling down to the people who are most regulated, you wouldn’t do better than talk to someone who lives within the boundaries of a Florida HOA.
The needs of these homeowners have been so overlooked that they are in a prime position to be the next soccer moms or grizzly bears, or whatever trendy word you want to call a motivated voting demographic. One thing that will move things along faster is finding a candidate who can prove he or she understands their issues. They would have to be well-versed on the subject because not even homeowners fully understand where to pin the blame. The overall feeling, however, is that they’re at the bottom of the food chain, serving as one huge baitball that feeds the real estate industry. How this is allowed to stand unchanged is a lesson in local politics.
Because I live in a Republican community, my observations are best suited for Democrats who want to understand the inner workings of a red voting district. What I research and post on my website is based on an experience which began in 1998. Back then my city was operating under the philosophy of minimalist government so I had a sneak preview of the future which we now are all faced with. What the last fourteen years of research offers is a track record that helps to point out the kind of community that this form of government inspires.
In the end, the data will lead to the conclusion that a government that ignores its regulatory responsibilities leaves a vacuum which is filled by self-interested networks that exist to game the system. These societies are like Russian stacking dolls, where a government exists within a government.
It may take new homeowners years to understand that they moved into a community where decisions are influenced by a trip-wire society. And if that isn’t bad enough, the effect gets amplified when they realize that City Hall promotes programs which go head-to-head with their rights.
Having lived through one of these city supported operations I can tell you that the overall impression you’re left with is that nobody has your back.
The irony is that most Republicans would agree with me. No one wants to see their rights abused by a government supported program. So it’s hard to understand why Republicans work so hard to hamstring procedures which are meant to protect everyone’s rights; or why they don’t recognize that private interest groups are rushing in to fill the void they helped create. As a bystander, it’s like watching people strangle themselves in their sleep.
Today, the favored way to introduce these programs is through public-private partnerships or 3Ps as some people call them. On the surface, these projects have sparkle. Who wouldn’t support a plan which promises to create jobs or lower taxes because the private sector agrees to take the financial burden? I would support them too, if I didn’t have the awareness of what goes into making these programs appear successful.
Perhaps in a Democratically controlled precinct government agencies which promote 3Ps know how to keep everything transparent and how to follow a uniform process which ensures that everyone’s rights are protected. But such a process would be slow and laborious which is precisely why, in a Republican community, all of that becomes secondary. Instead, the priority is to minimize delays and remove road blocks for the business sector.
The impression one is left with is that the city takes shortcuts which are rarely beneficial to the homeowner’s interest. For example, with the community development issue I write about, city staffers failed to perform the due diligence to determine ownership of residential property so homeowners were left to feel like spectators when they actually had legal standing in the proceedings. Instead of conducting a legal review which would have cleared up the confusion, the city relied on word of mouth for their information.
On the same project, elected officials did not follow the Sunshine Law and met with the developer before the issue came before the board in a public forum. But because process was not followed, it took years before it was understood that the development received favoritism because of an economic development objective.
It’s a paradox that these things occurred in a community which is populated by people who claim to be in favor of law and order. But it does occur, which is why this minimalist form of government is failing homeowners.
These kind of governmental “slips” are documented on my website which can be accessed by pointing your browsers to www.keystoneworksite.com. It’s just a coincidence that the website carries the same name as the Keystone Pipeline. Though the two do not share a common origin, they do share this one similarity: They both offer lessons to what can happen to individual property owners when private interest is allowed to take on the power of government. In the case of the Keystone Pipeline, a foreign corporation attempted to eminent domain a homeowner’s property. As of the 9th of March, the owner prevailed. The Texas legislature, however, is considering an exemption that will make it easier for the corporation to succeed the next time it tries.
Something similar is happening in Florida. The state legislature continues to pass laws which causes hardships on homeowners. The trend is to delegate more power to local government even though the evidence indicates that local government has failed to be honest brokers where the interests of homeowners are concerned.
No one seems to take notice or care that homeowners are left to fend for themselves and don’t have the resources to match what they’re up against. Or maybe, that’s the point.
This should signal an opportunity for the party that can find a better way to achieve economic development objectives without encroaching on or usurping the rights of homeowners.
At a minimum, an effort should be made to show how the methods used in these Republican municipalities erode trust in government. When people see how their rights are being usurped by those who have a fiduciary responsibility to protect them, it will be easier to get their attention. It’s my hope that the website, and the issues I bring up in my blog, will be used by candidates who believe in putting fairness back into the government process, and that it will give them the edge they need to connect with voters they thought were beyond their reach.
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