Changing a Broken Political System

What broke our democracy is not complicated. Our sense of participation was lost as we let big government and big business decide what was good for us. As decision-making became more centralized, it became more opaque and remote from the people. Everyone went about their own business and we lost all sense of the common good. Cooperation and mutual respect, the essence of democratic politics, have been lost as we think only of ourselves. It has cost us dearly.

At last the people are coming together to once more become responsible as they retake and repair their country. First, it was all those who campaigned for Barack Obama and Change We Can Believe In. They had the faith and hope.

Now it is the battle cry of the Tea Party, that “we want our country back.” They are demanding smaller government, lower taxes and a balanced budget. But what I think “take back our country” really means is the intent to regain some control over their lives. Democracy only provides that control when there is participation, transparency and accountability in our public lives. The lack of these brought on our political and economic crisis. The real question is how do we reinstall them at the center of our politics.

Right now two very different ways of doing that are being offered us, one exemplified by President . Barack Obama and “Change We Can Believe In,” the other exemplified by the Tea Party movement and Sarah Palin. Both are offering a vision of a new and very different democracy. Both have in common the central belief that the people must be more involved in their government.

A wide range of causes are coalescing around the Tea Party label. Some of the members are traditional libertarians, militias or conspiracy theorists. But most are more timely and mainstream. The Great Recession and the economic neglect that led up to it are imposing real injury; there is an accurate perception of that injury and Tea Partiers represent a growing feeling that something must be done about it.

What exactly they want isharder to determine. Simply repeating the mantra “smaller government, lower taxes, a balanced budget and a stricter interpretation of the Constitution” will not, even if achieved, restore cooperation and mutual respect into our broken political process.

In a situation where neither Sarah Palin nor anyone else in the movement is constrained by party loyalty or the responsibilities of governance, you would expect some new thinkin “g.. With the freedom to espouse anything, the Palin/Tea Party Agenda of smaller government and lower taxes seems a very weak brew.

Barack Obama is, on the other hand, constrained by the fact that he must govern in a time of political and economic turmoil. He is officially atop the structure and accountable. He sees himself as the leader of a broken political system that he has been called to repair. The problem he sees is lack of participation in the process. Obama sees decision-making in our political system moving further away from the citizen-voter. The process is what is broken.

The “Change We Can Count On” refers to the process of government and not content, principles or programs. This is what angers the crusaders of the right and the left. Obama does not stand on principle but rather he seeks to enhance the democratic process. This grows out of and reflects the fact that Obama is a conciliator and mediator. Those are the skills that he brings to the presidency; those are the skills that can bring people together in the democratic process.

The change that Obama seeks would not address the grievances of the middle class, the anger of the excluded or the bonuses of the bankers. It would address the way that legislation is drafted, the way that the executive branch interacts with the regulatory agencies and it would include big and small business, labor unions, local government, churches, community organizations and even the bankers – but not their lobbyists.

The “change” proposes bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. Obama is thus trying to drag the Republicans back into the legislative process. Change would bring transparency to government. He excluded lobbyists from many positions in the executive branch and forced the release of over-classified documents. Change is the attempt to bring more of the people into the decision-making process.

Any kind of change to more democracy cannot be done quickly for it takes the building of trust. That is why the Tea Partiers should get over their irrational hatred of Obama and the media should stop the mean-spirited treatment of Palin.