How to Cool Voter Anger? Pay Attention to Them
By the way, since all interests are "special" to somebody, I translate "special interests" to mean "interests other than my interests." The term is far from new. William Safire's "Political Dictionary" traces "special interests" and its sister "narrow interests" back to President Theodore Roosevelt.
Yet dissatisfaction with government has reached new heights, according to PPC director Steven Kull in a news release. In the 1960s, fewer than half of voters complained that government was run by "big interests," according to Kull's office. In recent years this number has risen to 92 percent.
Which leads to the always-important question of what can be done about this discontent? One answer comes from Voice of the People, a nonpartisan nonprofit founded by Kull that released the survey.
VOP aims is to bridge the gap between politicians and the people they are supposed to serve by forming a "scientifically selected, representative sample" of constituents in each congressional district. These "Citizen Cabinets" would be consulted on current issues and provide a voice that reflects the values and priorities of their district or state.
My initial reaction: Don't we elect congressmen and senators to do that?
After all, it is in the interest of politicians to serve their constituents and stay in touch if they want to keep their jobs. Layering in another group of community spokespeople sounds like a classic Washington prescription for every crisis: form a committee.
Sometimes such committees solve problems. But usually they simply meet until the problem goes away or everybody stops talking about it.
Yet the Citizen Cabinet idea tested well in polls. So did reducing the amount of money flowing into politics. Yet Barack Obama, no less, showed how record amounts can be raised through Internet appeals, and Donald Trump has shown how a shameless publicity hound can generate more free publicity than most candidates ever could afford to buy.
I prefer another idea favored by PPC: Abolish political gerrymandering. Let a panel of citizens or judges instead of state legislators draw congressional maps. A few states have done it in recent years, but it's catching on elsewhere about as slowly as any other idea that asks the powerful to give up power.
Almost any idea that makes sitting politicians feel less comfortable about their political futures is OK with me. The less secure they feel, the more quickly they respond to angry voters.
========
(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@tribune.com.)
(c) 2016 CLARENCE PAGE DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
