Public interest
in elections wanes in off years, understandably, but how, asks Palast, when
more votes for members of Congress were cast by Democrats and yet the House is
dominated by Republicans.
There are so many
issues within the EI movement to fight: just above I'd say that gerrymandering
is the crime, among others. There should be a contest to determine which
congressional [re]district in the country is shaped most weirdly. I think one
district in Texas would win with its shape a microcosm of Chile's dimensions.
Then there's the
issue of discrimination at every stage from registration to electronic systems
to provisional, absentee, and mail-in ballots to caging and other forms of
deceit to harassing just about everyone caught voting a straight, or even
partial Democratic ticket.
And so the point
is that we shouldn't roll down our sleeves. Democracy is a 24/7 way of life,
not just when we vote, but that's the bottom line. Where I read recently that
Marco Rubio didn't plan to run for president in 2016, more recently the decision
has advanced to "maybe."
I still believe
that, given the demographics currently trending, the GOP will have a tough time
regaining the White House in the near future, unless they take some lessons
from Lincoln and revert to their founder's ideals. That doesn't seem likely.
Other forms of
GOP unscrupulous ingenuity will become apparent in 2014 if not sooner. They'll
need to work much harder than they already have to gain any traction.
Now the House of
Representatives must be targeted, our House of Commons that does not reflect
the true majority of everyday folks. Then we have to aim our efforts at smaller
jurisdictions and the labyrinthian jumble of legislation focused on elections
at every level from federal to small town. Then we have to eliminate all
loopholes and rationalizations.
And everything
that slips through the cracks during this process.
If we've worked
hard, we must continue to work even harder. Every one of us. I've also preached
to the choir that democracy requires contributions from everyone in the
country, whether you inhabit a lean-to or a sprawling mansion.
My book Grassroots, Geeks, Pros, and Pols was
meant to reach beyond the choir. So far lots of voters are still whistling
Dixie. And Dixie extends from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans brown
with pollution. The real Mason and Dixon were British. In terms of how their
names have been immortalized, I'd prefer to be Mason.
( c )
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