Minority rule.

[MadHound]

I came across a sad piece of news the other day. Our local school district, strapped for cash, is now looking to cut out art, music, drama, laying off not only teachers, but an assistant principle as well.

This is more bad news coming on top of previous bad news, that the school is desperately overcrowded, and with roof leaks, sewage backups and other such problems, the need for expansion and repair is now desperate.

How did this once fine school reach this current state? Minority rule. You see, in Missouri, and most other states in the country, for a school district to take out a bond, or raise property taxes in order to raise revenue, it takes a super majority of the vote in order to accomplish any such action. Thus, a minority of large landowners, who are conservative fucks with no kids, who see no value in a well educated populace, rules. Year after year we have bond issues and such put on the ballot, and while the voters approve by a majority of 53, 54, 56 percent, due to the way the system is set up, the minority wins everytime.

Minority rules in other ways across this country. Look at the recently passed 111th Congress. Obama was blessed with large majorities in both Houses of Congress, yet it was the 'Pugs, the minority party, who were able to control the agenda. This was due to a couple of factors, one being the fact that the 'Pugs new how to game the system regarding the filibuster, and the other being the fact that the Dems simply didn't have the spine for any real fight.

The highlights of this Congress were the crash and burn of a number of issues that the public was largely in favor of, the highlights being how the public option, overwhelmingly approved by the people, was dropped in the final bill. Another high, or low light depending on how you look at it, was the cave on the tax cuts for the rich extension. Again, dropping the tax cuts for the rich was immensely popular, but the minority ruled, through the simple fact that the Dems and Obama didn't have the stomach for the fight.

The minority is still ruling, namely the Tea Party. Hellbent on spending cuts to social services, and tax cuts for the wealthy, a minority of the American people, the Teabaggers, have elected a minority of politicians to Congress. This Teabag minority has managed to take over the Republican party, and is now starting to dictate terms to the rest of us. Ryan's budget is but one example. He comes out with the most extreme of budgets, and instead of laughing him out of Congress for the fool that he is, the President and Congress actually take him seriously enough to start discussion on issues like cutting Social Security and Medicare, though to a lesser degree than what Ryan proposed. Again, this is against the will of the majority of American people.

However this minority rule is carried out in an even wider arena in our society, namely the socioeconomic sphere. It is here, where a minority of the population owns an overwhelming majority of the wealth, and controls an overwhelming amount of power, that we find the inherent power of minority rule in this country. This minority of people has, over the years and decades, accumulated the majority of the wealth of this country, and the power that goes with that wealth. They answer to no democratic principles, they buy and sell our government, on a local, state and national level, at will. The rules are made by, for, and of this minority, and it is the rule of this minority that continues to hold sway over this country.

If we want a true democracy in this country, if we want to actually make progress in this country, then we have to do away with minority rule at all levels of our government and society. No more supermajorities in order to pass school bond issues. No more supermajorities to push anything through Congress, publicly funded elections so that the minority of wealthy elite no longer control our elections through money. We need to take these, and other measures, otherwise we will never fulfill the true democratic potential of this country. Instead we will continue to be a country that bows under the yoke of minority rule.

[MadHound]

1. Interesting, the unrecs on this post,

Do you folks deny the reality of this? Care to explain yourself?

[elocs]

3. If someone gave a thread an UnRec, why would they kick it?

I never would. Then again I would never use the first response in a thread I thought was important to complain about UnRecs.

[MadHound]

4. Not complaining,

But rather looking for an explanation, a defense if you will, of why they feel my post is in error.

Looking for a debate here, not complaining about unrecs.

[Odin2005]

2. K&R!

[TheKentuckian]

5. We have a deeper but related problem that must be squared away first.

When Republicans are in the majority they push their agenda by any means they can but when Democrats have majorities we ALWAYS actively seek to share power and compromise with the minority.

You can't have a two party system where one party is trying to represent the other and the opposition is all "my way or the highway" because the inevitable outcome is a 1 1/2 to 1/2 system.

By insisting on being inclusive of the opposition and by adopting their policies and positions in a vain effort to gain acceptance or whatever they fail to reflectively represent the people and cheat the system by allowing gravity to come from one direction which makes both parties ever more regressive while literally forcing the Republicans to go further and further off the deep end but never paying a price for the movement because they follow as well as legitimize the fucked up positions.

[MadHound]

6. It is but a reflection of the two party/same corporate master system of government we live under

This is not going to be corrected until we pass a Constitutional amendment for complete publicly funded election campaigns, for everything from dog catcher to president. Take the money factor out of the electoral equation, and we the people gain back out government.

[MedleyMisty]

7. And you can't do that from within the system

They aren't going to vote to do that themselves.

That can be one of our demands when we go en masse to occupy Washington.

[MadHound]

8. Actually we could, but it would take a hugely concerted effort

Essentially we would have to make all elections for the next decade about one issue and one issue only, passing this amendment through Congress and the state legislatures. Don't focus on whether or not the candidate is a Dem or 'Pug, but rather will they or won't they vote for this amendment, that would have to be the only criteria.

Of course partisan party politics would get in the way, but it could be done.

[TheKentuckian]

9. and that isn't remotely possible with the Congress and captured states.

In fact many of the things that require publicly funded elections are more likely to get passed than the sort of reform you rightly suggest under the current system.

We cannot depend on Congress to fix it's self.