Reply #19: a recent post on this issue

[welshTerrier2]

a few days ago, i made the following post on this issue: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2951935

reforming democracy was one of the top two issues i discussed ...

as for your "#7", i am very new to this idea ... i first saw it discussed only a few weeks ago and have yet to "think it through" ... i've been pushing for similar objectives, i.e. better representation and a greater degree of communication between elected representatives and their constituents ... the objectives are the same; the method of achieving them very different ...

to reform our current system, citizens need to demand that their representatives hold regular, public, free forums in their home districts ... why don't most Senators speak around their home states outside of campaign season? there's no excuse for it ... so many cynically point to the detachment of the voters ... "when we do hold meetings, nobody shows up" ... that may well be true; it's their job to change that! you can't run an out-of-touch government and then complain that voters are apathetic ... it will take time to build trust and interest ... the problem is, too many reps don't make the effort at all ... unless, of course, it's "vote for me" and "how about a small donation" time ...

the little theme you commented on in my previous post about getting truth to the voters is probably the most important function of a real democracy ... what the hell good does it do anyone to have the right to vote if the entire political process is designed to misrepresent the truth ... "my guy is great because of this; the other stinks because of that" ... it should not be about sales pitches ... a healthy democracy demands respect for the voters' right to know the truth ... the truth is that election campaigns are no longer about the best ideas for the country but about getting people elected ...

i am elated that the Democrats have regained control of Congress ... truly we were, and still are, a nation on the brink of great suffering and decline ... but i am equally saddened by the way we won ... our success, in my view, was based more on successful political tactics than on laying down a clear vision for the future ... we played the anti-bush game as effectively as it possibly could have been played ... i'm not dismissing the outcome but we did not campaign with integrity and truthfulness ... the great issues were not put clearly before the American people ... what exactly is the Democratic plan to address the ideas you and i have raised about democratic reforms? to be fair, i have heard some good ideas about lobby reform from Nancy Pelosi ... i commend her for that but were these ideas a key plank in the Democratic vision before the election? is that what Democrats "ran on"? ... and on global warming, the other key issue i discussed in the post linked above, Democrats are offering some vagueries about alternative energy ... that, i'm afraid, is woefully inadequate ...

we have built an electoral system, even our democracy itself, that does not lend itself to communicating bad news to voters ... if we have used more than our share of available fuels, if we must "cut back" on our lifestyles and suffer greater inconvenience, if our production of carbon dioxide threatens life on the planet, who will deliver the bad news about the changes we must make? surely it will not be someone needing to garner more votes and raise campaign funds ... at least that is true in this "win at any cost" climate ... as long as candidates and parties put winning above the national interest, and they clearly do, our future will be very dark indeed ... there is no question the great American empire is approaching a day of reckoning and our own democracy and electoral processes stand in the way of making the changes we so desperately need ...

so, anyway, who ya going with in '08?