What is Important? Part 1
by Dave BradleyMany years ago, a potential candidate for office sent out a note to activists asking them what were their main issues for the upcoming campaign from the most important down.
I thought long and hard on this because it was one of the few times in my life that anyone had ever really asked my opinion who could possibly act on it.
Before I started to write I tried to mentally sort a list. Is health care number 1? How about election reform? Money in politics? Ending the wars? Maybe overall it should be climate change? There are really so many pressing needs that have been neglected or ignored that they have grown into issues that need immediate attention.
With the debt ceiling being turned into yet another urgent crisis, I thought maybe this would be a good time to re-assess the issues and try to make some sense out of a political world where most issues are being sidestepped and non-issues seem to take precedent.
I wish I could pull my email from 7 or so years ago, but I am sure it is in the dust-bin of history. I do remember my short list ended at about 15 then. I expect it will stretch that far this time also.
1) Money in politics
I know this was near my top before, but with the SCOTUS handing down the second worst decision in their history in Citizens United v. FEC, this is clearly the top issue. Sadly those who would reform the system are the ones who most benefit by the system.
There has always been corruption in politics, but this has brought it to an incredibly high level. There is little pretense anymore that certain politicians are little more than prostitute for certain industries.
2) Unverifiable elections
The Help America Vote Act gave perfect cover for elections to be stolen electronically. Many people believe elections have been stolen since HAVA has taken effect, but thanks to a lack of paper trails, how can we tell?
The recent experience in Wisconsin with a Republican auditor in a Republican county suddenly finding enough votes for Judge Prosser to retain his seat with a margin beyond the automatic recount was probably one of the most bizarre if not blatant incidents yet.
Iowa has at least gone back to a verifiable paper trail. The one thing we need to add is a random check of a statistical number of precincts throughout the state at every election. Then if that is passed, we can feel that the numbers on the machines are valid.
The validity of elections is the very basis of a functioning democracy. Why should this not be an absolute priority? It is so important that I harken back to Ronald Reagan’s advice (one of the few things I agreed with him on) – “Trust, but verify.”
Whew! I am just getting started. Come back tomorrow for part two. There is a lot of work to be done. Taking an inventory and prioritizing is the best place to start. Dave Bradley is a self-described
retired observer of American politics “trying to figure out how we got
so screwed up.” An
Iowa City native currently living in West Liberty, Dave and his wife
Carol have two grown children who “sadly had to leave the state to find
decent paying jobs.” E-mail Dave here
Blog For Iowa 