Book Review
by Larry Sakin
January 16, 2007
There's a
shelf of books in my home that have been categorized as "Imagine"
books. They have a number of characteristics in common. First,
they succinctly point out myriad problems with America and American
Democracy. Second, they are written to achieve a visceral response
from the reader, raising indignation rather than consciousness
. Lastly, they present unworkable solutions to the complex difficulties
America faces. Joel Hirschhorn's Delusional Democracy,
which tries to sell the dream of a competitive third political
party in America, is now among the titles on that shelf.
Hirschhorn
correctly theorizes about the corruption of the two party system
in America. Few could doubt that corruption has allowed corporate
elites to be the puppet masters pulling the strings of elected
officials. In this sense, Delusional Democracy is an extraordinary
book. But where Hirschhorn goes astray is in his belief that a
competitive third party in the US would bring purity into the
political spectrum, its leaders somehow immune from the powerful
influence of big money campaign contributors. Further, Hirschhorn
doesn't address the idea that the politically influential would
go to great lengths to quell such a movement should it ever find
an appeal among the electorate and offers no strategies as to
how a start-up third party would withstand a battle against those
profiting from the political status quo.
The third
party Hirschhorn envisions is a merging of Greens, Libertarians,
and Constitutionalists. Their candidacies would be funded strictly
through a "clean money/clean elections" law that would
be enacted by Congress with enough pressure from a dissenting
citizenry tired of the current system. There are several problems
with each of these ideas. I could be wrong, but there'd likely
be a lot of disagreements among Greens and Libertarians, including
issues of taxes and government welfare-- so many in fact, that
compromise would be very difficult to achieve. And the Supreme
Court ruling in Buckley v. Valeo, which equates money with speech,
makes it impossible to do away with privately financed campaigns.
There is a Bill languishing in the US House right now, (HB 3099),
which institutes a clean elections system to fund candidates for
national office. Needless to say, it has been stuck in committee
for a couple of years. Gee, I wonder why?
Generally,
I support a clean money/clean elections approach to campaign funding.
However, the American program of graft is extremely well ingrained
in politics, and too many people would have too much to lose if
that program changes. I'd like to see a legislature more resembling
European parliaments, where representatives from myriad parties
work together to forge policy. But I cannot say that such a blueprint
would operate less corruptly than our own national legislature.
People willing to sell their votes to the highest bidder will
do so regardless of political philosophy, because that choice
has more to do with the seller's moral compass and the culture
surrounding them. So while Hirschhorn's idea of a competitive
third political party sounds pretty good, the reality is this
design would have to leap some huge hurdles before making significant
progress.
Still, Delusional
Democracy is worth reading. Hirschhorn's recognition of the
problems American Democracy faces are well researched, and illuminating
to those who may be reading this kind of book for the first time.
Hirschhorn's writing manages to move the reader along at a good
pace, and doesn't get bogged down with a dense, academic approach
to his subject. Hirschhorn is deadly serious about his subject
matter, but he conveys his message with a light touch and an often
wicked sense of humor.
Perhaps someday
the prescription Hirschhorn recommends in Delusional Democracy
will have a positive effect on our dysfunctional government. But
I wouldn't wait for the physiological and psychological changes
America would have to go through in order to make it work in my
lifetime. And neither should you.
~~~~~~~~
Larry Sakin
is General Editor of Elections 101 in www.mytown.ca.
Sakin is a former music executive and medical non-profit administrator
and the Western Field Director of Wedemocrats.org.
He has published a number of articles and is currently writing
a book about coping with loss. More of his work can be found on
www.blogcritics.org,
www.changeforamerica.com,
and We! the People.
