MedLawPlus.com®
|
Article Archives (10-27-2004)
Is the Revolution Just About Better Horses?
The idea for starting my own blog has been bouncing around within for some time; however, there always seemed to be more pressing projects at hand. Recently I purchased Joe Trippi's book "The Revolution Will Not be Televised". Joe was the architect behind the 2004 Howard Dean campaign and I have tremendous respect for the man but something he said triggered a response within. I was moved to write him regarding his vision for "the revolution" in America, see contents below:
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Joe Trippi
Trippi & Associates
606 North Talbot Street, Suite 303
St. Michael's, MD 21663
Re: The Revolution
Dear Joe:
I'm a believer like you that there shall be a revolution from the ground up (not the top down) and that the internet is the tool for affecting this revolution. I spent a good chunk of my legal career as a DOJ trial lawyer in DC, rotated back to my hometown for private practice, and eventually dropped out to run an internet company- www.medlawplus.com. Not exactly your career path but common interests.
Our dreams and vision of the future for our country differ in one important respect (and it is the reason for this letter): what I take from your writings is that the grassroots revolutionaries shall band together to elect progressive candidates and, hopefully, those candidates shall listen to feedback from the revolutionaries once in office. Unfortunately, that still requires us to "have faith in strangers" fn1. Yes, they hopefully shall be strangers whose views more closely align with ours but the will of the people can still be subverted by the weaknesses, corruptibility, and mortality of the elected leaders. Jack and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. Ross Perot weirded out on us. Bill Clinton fn2 helped himself to blowjobs in the oval office then lied about it to the American people. Howard Dean self-destructed under the lights (as you point out, the cracks were already showing before the "I have a scream" speech in Iowa).
When our founders enacted our current constitution, the populace was largely rural and uneducated. The technology for a geographically dispersed population to govern itself did not exist in 1787. That led to our representative form of democracy-i.e., we elect representatives who actually govern for us. Thus, we are forced to pick a stranger, pray our horse does not self-destruct on the campaign trail, and, should our horse actually win, hope the money politics of Washington does not corrupt our horse. As I understand your vision, it is an attempt to find and elect better horses.
Why not transfer a chunk of the governmental power from the horses to the people? It's not 1787 anymore. The people are ready for power and the technology exists to make it a reality. In the ancient Roman republic, there were three main legislative bodies: i.e., the Senate, the Comitia Centuriata, and the Comitia Tributa fn3. The Comitia Tributa consisted of all citizens who were not members of one of the other two bodies and could independently pass laws (although the Senate held a veto right over its legislation). To actually bring all the people of the US together in an assembly to vote is not practical; however, national votes happen routinely. Many states (California most prominent among them), allow the people to legislate directly through ballot initiatives.
If you want to fundamentally change the government of the United States by empowering the people, I submit the only way is to give the people direct power to legislate as opposed to "having faith in strangers". To accomplish this end would require a constitutional amendment setting forth a ballot initiative procedure for the federal government.
Dream large Joe. The power at the disposal of yourself and like minded people is awesome; however, to truly change the world and empower the people, please get out of "having faith in strangers" box. You, having poured out all of your energies to advance substantially flawed humans, should know that the only way to truly reform the system is to do away with the necessity of a candidate. The people must grab the reigns for themselves.
Best wishes,
Joe Raymond
St. Louis, MO
|
|
|
|
