(This is an important article from John Andrews. It really sets the context, and the path, for what the Green-Rainbow Party and its great little slate of candidates is doing this year… and beyond. – promoted by eli_beckerman)
Massachusetts likes to call itself the Birthplace of Democracy. But if giving voters a choice on election day is a measure of the health of a Democracy, we’re not doing very well. Massachusetts has become a one-party state in which possession of the vote is often rendered meaningless because there is only one candidate in the race.
According to a recent tally by State House News Service, the 2010 elections are suffering from a dearth of candidates.
Incumbents generally are getting a free ride through the primaries. Only 14 Democratic incumbents face a primary challenger, which means that 92% of Democratic incumbents will have no primary opposition. No GOP incumbents face a primary challenger.
Democrats currently hold 90% of House seats (144 of 160) and 88% of Senate seats (35 of 40).
For all their demonizing of the Republicans, the Democrats don’t seem particularly anxious to challenge their reelection. In the 21 legislative districts held by Republicans, the Democrats are fielding an opponent in only 5 districts (24%).
96 Democrats – representing 48% of the Legislature – will coast to victory without having to face an opponent.
The Green -Rainbow Party is running against Democratic Party incumbents in two House districts. While this provides some welcome choices for voters in those districts, it’s clear that the GRP needs to recruit a lot more candidates if they’re going to have statewide impact. Other third parties and independents are few and far between.
One reason for the lack of opposition is the iron grip on power exercised by the establishment parties. It’s just not good for your political career to challenge a member of the Democratic or Republican club. You’re expected to wait years and years until they decide to retire so you can run for an open seat. Another big barrier is the high cost of running for office. Incumbents have a crushing advantage when it comes to their ability to raise money – all they have to do is offer their voting services to well-heeled special interests. Ever since the Democratic Party leadership repealed Clean Elections on a voice vote, the prospects for fully-funded challengers has been dismal.
So if you’ve been looking forward to holding your local elected legislator accountable at the polls, 2010 is likely to be another disappointing year. When you see an unopposed name on the ballot, you might consider lodging a small protest by just casting a blank for that office. It’s one way of saying “I’d prefer a choice”.
And if you want to make sure voters have a choice, you might consider running yourself. The Green-Rainbow Party is committed to helping newcomers enter the political fray – as long as they’re ready to run clean money campaigns and speak up for progressive values. Getting involved with one of the current campaigns is a good way to learn the ropes and start preparing for 2012. Think about it. [Write office@green-rainbow.org to find out what’s happening in your neighborhood.]
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Incumbency is anti-democratic. With incumbency comes a politics devoid of popular participation, it becomes the domain of professionals and specialists. Its connection to most citizens (in the broad sense) is severed. (this effects the politial parties in power as well, participation and debate are closed within their own ranks)
Bad, unequitable, and old ideas become enshrined in policy and politial institutions. Power becomes more and more centralized and the same players exert control. Public debate is narrowed and guided by fewer voices. The media and other institutions that are suppose to take a critical and questioning stance toward power become wedded to it and self-censor dissent. Urgent problems, political innovations, and new thinking are ignored to the detriment of everyone.
Organizations that are suppose to be democratic and fight for the interests of their members become a part of the machinery, lobbyists and insiders gain ascendence watering down demands and postponing confrontation with power.
Its an insidious process and cycle that causes the public sphere to shrink, wither, and ossify. And that means the great majority of people will not develop the means and attitudes that enable democracy to flourish. Active, critical, and engaged participation in public life.
That’s my little rant. My answer to any social problem is to throw democracy at it, because for a democratic society we have a awfully large deficit of it.
[And by democracy I don’t mean majoritarianism. Acknowleding the existence of universal rights is a necessity for a polity that wants to avoid enslaving itself]
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In a vibrant democracy the fact of a legislative seat being contested should be about as newsworthy as the safe landing of a passenger jet at Logan Airport, but my friend John Andrews, in this article, puts into perspective why the April 28, 2010 front page of the Berkshire Eagle contained the headline:
POLITICAL SEASON HEATS UP … ALL FOUR STATE REP SEATS IN BERKSHIRES CONTESTED
Of the four Berkshire County representative districts, the Green-Rainbow Party is challenging Democrat incumbents in the 3rd and 4th districts in two-way races. (I am the Green-Rainbow challenger in the 4th). The Republican Party will only run a candidate in the 2nd district in a three-way race (with an Independent and a Democrat). Voters in the 1st district and voters for county sheriff, unfortunately, will see only a Democratic Party candidate on the general election ballot, although each of those races has a contested primary.
Let this trend continue; the Green-Rainbow Party should grow to run candidates in twice the number of districts that the Republican Party does. Voters here are getting a small taste of multi-partisanship, and they seem to like it. they shouldn’t have to wait for an open seat to get some real change.
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It look as though I’m going to have some (relatively!) decent pickings between Green, Independent, and Democratic candidates in my districts.
But as for casting a vote for choice–umm, it seems disingenous to cast a blank ballot to declare that “I’d prefer a choice”–there is absolutely nothing preventing Greens from running for any office (campaign finance law does render high-level offices tough, to say the least). But if a candidate wants to gather 500 signatures, he or she isn’t being deprived a slot, and the only thing preventing more choice in, say, state legislature races, is the fact there aren’t third parties or indies running. As Scott suggests above, he finds that there’s a lot of interest in non-traitional candidates once they run. This isn’t simply another element of the Vast Establishment Conspiracy to keep us down. We haven’t stepped up to the plate.
I’ve never cast a “none of the above” vote. I’m a Green because I believe the Democrats have rendered themselves unable–not simply unwilling, but literally unable–to deliver the solutions to the three major threats to my town, country, and planet. But I don’t believe that there’s no difference between Democrats and Republicans, either, Until we reach that utopia where we actually are offering up viable candidates accross the state, experience has taught me that my family is better off under Democrats than Republicans. Living the precriosu existence I do, I’ll take what help I can.
And there are a lot of hardworking, constituent-focused, decent people running for office. I’d want to listen to each one and consider voting for him or her–anyone who has the gumption to run deserves at least that. There are Democrats who may not subscribe to Green values or Green ecological thinking or whatever, but whose votes on most issues by and large resemble the patterns a solid Green candidate might display. So far as I’m concerned, they deserve my vote every bit as much as does a big-G Green candidate (I come from the “she who is not against me is with me” wing of the party).
Will they be perfect? Far from it. So are our own candidates, so’s our own party. The Green party is just one tool in a very big box. It’s one I’ve come to care deeply about and into which I have put some small effort, but my committment isn’t religious, and doesn’t run deep enough that I’d cast a “none of the above” vote if I felt my incumbent were doing a good job or that Democrat or Republican(!) running had some really meaningful experience or new idea to which she were committed. We don’t have a monopoly on them, nor on virtue. I DO look forward to the day when we CAN offer choices.
Your last paragraph summarizes the solution, of course. Sounds to me like you and I, no matter how much we may relish our current rules, are gonna be due to be out shaking hands and kissing babies… In any case, I think it’s going to be crucial, going to be essential, that the good energy around this year’s campaigns be sustained–in other words, that the GRP develop some real momentum towards electoral politics, and not just every four years. We need to fundraise, need to communicate with members, need to register new members, etc. But it woudl be neat if during off-years, we were getting regular updates on folks thinking about making a run. And laying the groundwork so as to hit the ground runnin at the cry of “play ball.”