Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

From the start, there have been critics of the restrictions imposed by a republic as opposed to a pure direct democracy.  How many times have we complained that both parties are in thrall to (insert special interest here)?  A republic can be a very unwieldy thing, and the connection between the voters and the government often seems like operating a television with a very balky remote control.

Even so, a republic offers many advantages over a more direct democracy.  Having the whole population vote on every little issue would be unwieldy at best.  And while critics have also often argued that a liberal democracy does not respect majority rule and offers too many chances for a vocal minority to hijack the process, I say thank God for that.  The last thing we want is unquestioned majority rule.  Want to guess how many countries would be smoldering ruins today if you'd have let a simple majority start launching missiles on 9/11?  You'll rarely see me say anything favorable about W, but at least he kept his fingers off the button for a few days.

No, I like the idea of representative government.  What I don't like is the idea of secretive, restricted way in which legislation is created.  Our current system doesn't just call for a select group of representatives to vote on issues, it calls for this same group to craft these issues.  This is often done in a hurry, in the dark, and with almost no public scrutiny.  The same thing applies to the way candidates form their message, which is often no more than the brainstorm of a few back-roomers, perhaps guided by poorly understood poll numbers.

It's interesting to toss around other ways in which our representatives might be selected (Oh darn, I got my draft notice in the mail.  Sorry, boss, I have to be a senator next week), but it's unlikely we can make any big changes to that area in the immediate future.  However, I think we can address the idea of policies being created in the dark, and I believe the capabilities offered in this blog are a great step toward a forum in which policies can be set through a much more democratic process.

Some weeks ago, I posted a diary over at DailyKos, titled "I am more than a bank account."  In it, I complained that the Democratic Party, candidates, and sitting representatives were all too happy to have my money, but not as willing to take my ideas.  While I got considerable sympathy from others who were also getting several fund raising calls each night, I also got called a "whiner" who wanted access to the most "sensitive" areas of the campaign without "paying my dues" and "proving myself" as a full time staffer.

I plead guilty.

I also plead that the idea of forming policy in a closed room with a few people working it over is one of the stupidest concepts in a nation not lacking for idiocy.  Instead of a few consultants working out a  candidate's pitch and then throwing it out to sink or swim, why not solicit the input of thousands of interested, supportive Democrats?  Instead of crafting legislation in dark shadows with lobbyists calling the shots, why not do so in broad daylight, with a thousand voters looking on and offering suggestions?

I believe in democracy.  I believe in more democracy than we now enjoy.  And I believe we can use tools like the ones you're looking at right this second to deliver policies and legislation that are more just, more sensible, and less riddled with nonsense and pork.  

So don't hold back.  Don't restrict yourself to reporting the news of the day or complaining about what those "insiders" have done.  It's time for us all to be insiders.  

Give us your ideas, your flights of fancy, your radical proposals and sound policy, yearning to be implemented.  Let's open source this country, and make a change bigger than anything seen this side of 1792.