Democracy doesn’t work, but maybe we can fix it.

I’ve written before about something I call the “Gravel Pit Theory“. In brief, I argue that getting elected over and over is a screening process that simply filters out anyone who doesn’t have what it takes to win elections over and over. And what it takes is not a commitment to public service and the public welfare. (I’ve also noted that there are occasionally “holes” in the filter. People who are committed to public service - like Obama – occasionally slip through these holes.)

Today’s news has an excellent example. The Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, was arrested by the FBI and charged with basically selling the vacant US Senate seat to the highest bidder. (The trial hasn’t been held, but recorded conversations are enough to convince me.) The fact I want to point to here is that Blagojevich is a thoroughly filtered politician. Since his Chicago alderman father-in-law helped him win a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1992, he has won election three times as a US Congressman (filling a seat previously held by Dan Rostenkowski, also convicted of fraud and sent to prison) and election as governor twice. That’s plenty of filtering to guarantee that he’s as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. It might also be worth mentioning that the immediately previous governor, George Ryan, is also doing prison time on a corruption charge.

At this rate, they’re going to have to build a new federal prison just for Illinois politicians.

And, of course, the politicians who should be serving time, such as our own Senator Hatch, vastly outnumber the ones who actually are.

At times like this, I’m reminded of Churchill’s comment that democracy is a terrible form of government. But it’s vastly superior to whatever is in second place. That doesn’t mean that democracy can’t be improved, however. I’ve long believed that one simple change could do a lot.

To introduce my suggestion, let me point to a different election that both supports “the gravel pit theory” and also shows the way to a better democracy: the 2nd Congressional District of Louisiana. This district has been represented by “Cold Cash” William Jefferson since 1990. The FBI caught Jefferson with $90,000 of bribe money in his freezer. He still won the next election. But he just lost to a Vietnamese refugee, Joseph Cao.  (Cao’s previous highest office was “Orleans Parish Board of Election Supervisors”. It seems Cao has also slipped through a hole in the filter.)

How did “Cold Cash” lose? It was simple … Hurricane Gustav forced the election to be held a month later and the turnout was really low. With only the motivated voters casting ballots, even one of the most Democratic districts in the whole country elected a Republican.

Every election features a lot of hoopla about how everybody should vote. Even if you don’t even know the candidate’s names … doesn’t matter … it’s your patriotic duty to go in there and make some random selection.

I respectfully disagree.

The problem … is how to decide who gets to vote and who doesn’t. But the defeat of “Cold Cash” gives us a clue about how to proceed. Just throw in some small obstacle … in Lousiana, it was simply the lack of a two year buildup and the first black presidential candidate in history … and enough people will ’self select’ to at least get rid of “Cold Cash” Jefferson.

Here’s one idea. I attend town meetings here where I live a lot. But damn few other people do. Even when the future of their community is on the line, they still stay home and watch sitcoms on TV.

How about requiring attendance at JUST ONE meeting in your community before you’re allowed to vote. You could meet the people you elected and find out what their names are!

Maybe you have a better idea?