"We pray that 2020 would be rewarding and beneficial to us all."
"Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money" is the title of a book written at the turn of the 21st Century by the respected political analyst and columnist David S. Broder. In the book, Broder noted the increasing use of so-called "direct democratic action" by a group of people popularly known as initiative campaigns in almost half a dozen states in America and an increasing number of cities and municipalities meant to legislate matters outside of that provided for under the US Constitution—through elected legislative bodies. He held then that this undertaking although understandable at times given the public's increasing distrust not just of legislators but of elected, in this case essentially federal, officials (remember the call for draining the Washington swamp in almost every election) has become a way for special interest groups and moneyed people to subvert the very democracy under which American society is founded.
Given our very own democratic experiment thus far which has been essentially American influenced the troubling experience Broder elucidates in this very illuminating book should give us pause before we get entrapped in a very uncomfortable if not deadly embrace. This advisory has become even more critical at this point as President Duterte enters the last two and a half years of his six-year term and vowed to promote even more vigorously the interest of the masses of our people "undo the many abuses of the ruling oligarchy." In his recent tirade against the elite, the President advised the Lopez family which holds the controlling interest in the publicly listed media behemoth ABS-CBN, the Chief Executive told the family to "just sell the outfit, because it is only now that the Filipino people can retaliate against your abuses..and I will make sure that you will remember this episode of our times forever."
The President might as well have told this to the interest now lording it over our basic utilities and services, power, water, transportation and communications, as well as the lords of pharma, the cartels in basic commodities like rice, sugar and cooking oil, among others, and all those who have essentially greedily superimposed themselves in the interstices of our daily existence as a people.
We have no beef, of course, against the producers of essential goods and services or even those who have taken it upon themselves to infuse capital, resources and technology to better serve the interests of our people. The people's grievances flow from the inordinate profits drawn out of onerous arrangements and whimsically if not contrived operations undertaken by these controlling groups and socializing these very profits and, yes, their inadequate, lousy services and far from healthy and properly produced goods on the backs of our people. We can all bear their whims and caprices if they deliver as expected and at a reasonable and accessible price and a quality we can all be proud of. Sadly, that has not been our experience since "People Power" and "public surveys" have become buzzwords in our polity. Given the American experience and our most recent face off with contrived polls and special interest initiatives, I have decided to give space to some excerpts from the Broder book to serve as a prism of things which we expect will be in the offing very, very soon as President Duterte rallies to promote the people's interest and rails against the oligarchy and special interest groups, in and out of the country.
As the book's blurb notes: "In his new book, the "dean of American political journalism"(Brille content) reveals how political operatives and moneyed interest groups are threatening our democracy."
"Today, a new form of government is sweeping across America: The initiative campaigns, available in half the states and hundreds of cities. Where once most state laws were passed by legislatures, now voters decide directly on such explosive issues as medical marijuana, affirmative action, casino gambling, assisted suicide, and human rights through a new form of "direct democracy," the very form of government the Founders feared most. The initiative process, ostensibly driven by public opinion, is, in reality, manipulated by moneyed interests, often funded by out-of-state millionaires pursuing their own agenda on a new frontier of American politics operating virtually without public scrutiny.."
"In this highly controversial book, David Broder tells how the initiative revolution came about. A movement that started with Proposition 13 in California is now a multi million dollar business in which lawyers, campaign consultants, signature gatherers, and advertising agencies sell their expertise to interest groups or to do-gooders with private agendas. Broder takes the reader into the heart of these battles as he talks with the field operatives, lobbyists, PR spinners, labor leaders and business executives—all of whom can profit from the manipulation of the political process."
As if reached out from the Founding Fathers, Broder advised: "The founders of the American Republic were almost as distrustful of democracy as they were rebellious against royal decrees. They were steeped in the writings of philosophers such as John Locke, whom proposed a social contract theory to justify representative government against the claims of absolute monarchy and Montesquieu, who urged the separation of legislative, executive and judicial branches as a safeguard against abuse of power in a democracy. As their disciples, the writers of the Constitution placed the legislative branch first in their document—and preeminent in power—with independent executive and judicial branches providing the necessary checks and balance."
"The founders were not naive. they recognized the potential danger that those elected to the national legislature might abuse power. So they divided that authority between two bodies—the House and the Senate—the first, numerous and of short tenure, to reflect the short term shifts in public opinion—and the latters, at one remove from the people and with a longer term, in order to apply a prudent check on those instant judgments by the House.”
"Further, they created a role in legislative matters for the executive, by arming him with veto power that could be over ruled only by a two thirds vote of the House and Senate. And, implicitly, at least—or so John Marshall successfully argued—it empowered the Supreme Court to invalidate any legislation, and might we add, executive action that contradicted the terms of the Constitution."
So there. Given the many unfinished businesses in our very own social contract as a people not only with those in government and perhaps equally those holding the monies making this beloved country of ours go round and round, we are hopeful that the final products, as it were, will be as beneficial and acceptable by the vast majority of our people. And make our democracy a real, responsive and responsible one. Not as derailed, debilitated and subverted as Broder saw in his journey across America. We are hopeful as we pray that 2020 will truly be as rewarding and beneficial to us all.
A Blessed New Year to one and all!
