You say you want a revolution
May 4th, 2008 8:24 pm · 7 comments
So, according to the Sunday News, people who attended a recent home rule meeting told the commission they want more say in government and pushed for greater ability to have referendums on the ballot. As East Hempfield Township supervisor Doug Brubaker said, “People feel they’re not part of the process.”
I’d submit that when voter turnout can be as low as 20 percent in some elections, the question is who is failing whom? Is the goverment failing the people or are people failing the government? Both.
When I talk to classes, I often hear a prickly apathy toward politics. Young people, despite reports to the contrary, remain largely uninterested in government, elections and politics. Sure, more young people participated in Pennsylvania’s primary than in recent memory, but a recent report said a mere 14 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 30 cast ballots. That’s paltry. However, if you saw that number jump to 40 percent or 60 percent, I guarantee you, politicians would start talking more about issues which matter to young people than they do right now. As it is, when barely more than 1 in 10 young people vote, there isn’t much to gain when older voters participate in bigger numbers.
My point is there are an uncountable number of people out there who feel shut out of government, but when you don’t vote, what do you expect? If Mr. Brubaker or anyone else want’s a better say in government … cast a ballot. Mr. Brubaker found out last fall how powerful that can be. Let’s ask ourselves if the strategy for a greater influence on county government is more voter referendums or more people voting. At the very least, we ought to start with the latter.
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Tags: Election Reform · Lancaster Politics
There are currently 7 comments on this blog postView Topic | Comment on this blogDBrubaker
5/5/08
9:19 AM | Dave, you bring up some salient points here.
I'm of the opinion that we are in a viscious cycle with the political situation in our country.
And, as the late Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Thomas P. (Tip) O'Neil (D) Mass. said many years ago, "...all politics is local...".
I shared that sentiment with my own GOP committee last August while I was in the middle of what ended up being my double campaign to win the seat that I currently hold.
I told them that they have lost sight of their principles and would rather stick up for their buddies and cronies rather than adhere to basic GOP principles of merit-based initiative and advancement. They would rather tear down others and ignore their own rules in an effort to further their personal preferences and agendas.
Looks to me, from the likes of this Millie Max situation, that my GOP committee truly is a microcosm of what goes on at the county level. And at the State level. And national.
I guess Mr. O,Neil was right.
Just look at the likes of our national discourse. And the choices that we have. No wonder people don't want to bother voting. They feel like it isn't going to matter anyway.
Now, on the flip side--yes we are apathetic. And busy living our lives, working, doing our daily routine. We as a nation have become complacent. And the people in the political classes have taken full advantage of that. So the bulk of the citizens have an "I don't know and I don't care" mentality. We end up with less than satisfactory performance of our government at all levels. And people have a ready reason then not to participate.
We then get what we deserve as a society. I told my GOP committee that sentiment also last August.
In no particular order, I would advocate the following: - We need to make economics and civics mandatory classes in our childrens' education.
- We need to recognize that our government is not to be our nanny or our parent.
- We need to have open primaries.
- We need to have a return to our core values and principles in the Republican Party.
- We need to make people feel a part of the political process again and then maybe we will get more participation, both as voters and candidates. We need fewer Poli-Sci majors, lawyers, lobbyists, and government employees being our first or only choices to serve on the GOP Committee or in public office.
So where do we start? Good question. I can only speak for myself. I decided to get involved instead of paying lip service or complaining. I even decided to run for my Committee seat, something I never thought I'd do.
Dave, you speak of a revolution. My hope is that the revolution starts with each person deciding they will get motivated, get educated, get involved, and then participate in a way that is one level greater than what their current participation level is.
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davepidgeon
5/5/08
11:24 AM | I would submit that none of the problems you outlined are unique to our moment in history.
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rogueGOP
5/5/08
9:26 PM | Dave,
I have a problem with the local government not feeling the need to be responsible to the citizens. Many of us who aren't apathetic are drifting in that direction because it doesn't matter much how we vote. The "Politburo"* picks someone who won't rock the power structure. Nothing changes except our enslavement to always increasing taxes and the slow erosion of our freedoms. As in the words of the great philosopher Dr. Evil, "Throw us a frickin' bone!" If the citizenry felt as if they had some power, perhaps they would engage again. That is my hope with Home Rule.
*Wheaton's infamous and yet accurate tag.
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DBrubaker
5/6/08
8:43 AM | QUOTE(davepidgeon @ May 5 2008, 11:24 AM) [snapback]385727[/snapback] I would submit that none of the problems you outlined are unique to our moment in history.
I think you're dead-on correct about that.
So what do we do? I am of the opinion that this situation may be worse now than in the past simply because I suspect that our level of complacency is much higher than before.
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Solancoforever
5/11/08
7:23 PM | One of the great mysteries of the ages seems to be--how do we get out the vote? We might want to start by true reform. It is very difficult, especially for the young, to take politics seriously when it amounts to adults, sometimes their own parents, bickering like kids. Another aspect are the types of tactics used in the process to put the politcly active in their place. Until there are either party leaders who take control of these increasingly divisive situations or campaign reform laws passed, sane people will stay far away.
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lee41
5/11/08
7:44 PM | The main problem is many elected officials do not understand the term 'public service'. What we are supposed to have is government of, by, and for the people.
If politicians understood this, and were permitted by the party 'elders' to actually do this, we would not need a home rule charter.
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davepidgeon
5/11/08
8:56 PM | lee41,
I believe more politicians understand this than are given credit. It's always funny to me how Congress can get abyssmal approval ratings, but constituents in most congressional districts rate their congressman highly.
The problem with inspiring young people to vote is making them realize how much politics and government are tied to everything ... everything ... in our lives. It's like when you go through college in the bubble of campus, then suddenly you're in the real world unaware about income taxes, property taxes and so on and so on. Make kids realize before graduating how everything from how much their jeans cost to what can be shown on a movie theater has to do with what happens in Washington and Harrisburg and Sacramento and Tallahassee ... |
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