A PLAN FOR IMPROVING AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

There is good news for those looking for some non-partisan scholarly research on what is wrong with our American experiment in constitutional representative government along with recommendations on how to make needed repairs.  The American Academy of Arts & Sciences recently published a detailed report on democracy in America prepared by the Academy’s bipartisan Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.

For those unfamiliar with the Academy’s role in shaping important topics, John Adams and other Massachusetts residents founded the Academy in 1780. The original charter, never altered, was “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent and virtuous people.” Over the years, the Academy has sponsored numerous initiatives to analyze and improve American democracy.  This most recent effort resulted in a “common purpose” report with the lofty goal of adapting the world’s oldest constitutional democracy to the twenty-first century.

The report deserves the full attention of every American who is fed-up with our ugly, partisan polarization and who would like to consider some alternatives. The Commission did its fact-finding in three main ways. It reviewed the existing quantitative data and literature on political and civic engagement and socioeconomic conditions; it consulted with numerous scholars and experts; and it held nearly fifty listening sessions in small towns, suburban areas, and some of the nation’s largest cities.  The commission found that 61% of Americans believe significant changes to the fundamental design and structure of government are needed to make it work in current times.

The final report identified 31 recommendations grouped among six categories called strategies. While the findings and proposed fixes will not all be universally accepted, they provide an excellent vehicle to jump-start the conversation. The report may be found at: https://www.amacad.org/ourcommonpurpose/report.  What follows is an overview of the proposals.

·      Strategy 1: Achieve Equality of Voice and Representation

Enlarge the House of Representatives to make it reflect state demographics. Introduce “ranked-choice voting” in federal and state elections. Support adoption of independent citizen redistricting commissions to reduce gerrymandering. Amend the Constitution to regulate election contributions. Pass “clean election laws” at all levels of government. Place 18 year term limits on Supreme Court justices.

·      Strategy 2:  Empower Voters

Give people more choices about where and when to vote. Change Election Day to Veterans Day when many people are off work. Establish same-day registration. Establish pre-registration for minors. Establish that voting becomes a requirement for every citizen. Establish voter orientation for new voters. Restore voting rights to the majority of citizens with felony convictions.

·      Strategy 3:  Ensure the Responsiveness of Government Institutions

 Adopt formats that would encourage participation in public hearings. Design mechanisms for the public to interact with elected officials.

·      Strategy 4:  Dramatically Expand Civic Bridging Capacity

Scale up social, civic and democratic infrastructure. Appropriate Congressional funds annually along the model of the National Endowment for Democracy.

·      Strategy 5:  Build Civic Information Architecture that Supports Common Purpose

Appoint a high-level working group to articulate and measure social media’s civic obligations. Place a tax on digital advertising with the tax proceeds used to support public media platforms at the state and local level, including investigative journalism. Develop regulations that would require for-profit digital platforms to support public media platforms. Require digital platforms to develop software that would permit researchers to measure and evaluate democratic engagement on social media.

·      Strategy 6:  Inspire a Culture of Commitment to American Constitutional Democracy and One Another

Establishment of one year of national civil service with expanded funding for service programs. Establish a national storytelling initiative designed to dovetail with the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.  Increase public and private funding to inform the public and encourage commitment to our constitutional democracy and to one another. Invest in civic education for all ages.

It is impossible to understand the depth and importance of this report without taking some time to digest not only the recommendations, but also the reasoning behind each proposal. Sadly, efforts of this ilk are often assigned to the dustbin of history because of the lack of politicaan elected official in his/her next campaign for office.

This result is not a foregone conclusion. The report was formulated by and written for concerned voters across America, not politicians. We need a substantial number of citizens to set aside our partisan differences. Each of us needs to read the report and incorporate it into our knowledge of what can be accomplished. We are then in a position to begin an honest discussion on the future of our democracy.

 

AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS IN PENNSYLVANIA AND WASHINGTON COUNTY

 

When it comes to presidential elections, Pennsylvania has become a crucial swing state and 2020 was no exception. The presidential candidates, followed by the herds of media attending to them, spent more time in Pennsylvania in the waning weeks of the campaign than in any other state.

On the evening of the election, President Trump enjoyed a sizeable lead because his supporters tended to vote in person on Election Day and their votes were quickly tallied. Over the next several days as the more Democratic mail-in vote was counted Biden caught up and surpassed the Trump vote.  The final certified vote total gave Biden an advantage of 81,555.

Given the fact that Trump took Pennsylvania in 2016 by 44,000 votes, an analysis of the recent results are crucial to understanding what changes have taken place.  Fortunately, the Philadelphia Inquirer and other news outlets have performed a deep dive into the Commonwealth results. A local political action committee, “SWPA Moving Forward”, has done the same for Washington County and South Western Pennsylvania.

The Inquirer results (reprinted on the front page of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) found that democracy is alive and well as voters in every single Pennsylvania County cast more votes this year than in 2016.  Highlighting this exceptional performance, voters cast 13% more presidential votes in 2020 with 64 out of 67 counties showing increases of more than 10%.

There were some interesting anomalies including the Philadelphia vote.  While Mr. Biden gained more total votes than did Obama or Clinton, President Trump’s improvement in Philadelphia over 2016 was his greatest gain of any Pennsylvania county.  The unexpected national shift of Hispanics for Trump played out on a smaller scale in Philadelphia. Moreover, many college students were not in the city to vote Democratic because of the pandemic.

In the Trump country of rural Pennsylvania, Biden often got a larger percentage of the vote than Hilary Clinton.  With the larger turnout, Trump actually received more net votes this year than in 2016.  There were only 10 counties where Trump increased both his percentage of the vote and his net vote.  Accordingly, rural Pennsylvania was a little less Republican this year.  However, because of the large turnout, Trump still received a boost from these counties.

As Democrats had hoped, the four Philadelphia suburban “collar” counties and Allegheny County powered Mr. Biden to victory in the Commonwealth.  There were also Democratic gains in the growing suburbs outside of Harrisburg and in the Lehigh Valley.

Biden’s “hometown advantage” of Scranton appears to have played a role in his win.  He finished with a 9,657 margin of victory in Lackawanna County where Scranton is the County Seat. In neighboring Republican Luzerne County he improved on Clinton’s 2016 vote totals.

Turning to South Western Pennsylvania, the best analysis I have read was prepared by “SWPA Moving Forward”.  Concerned citizens from Washington County formed this political action committee during the presidential campaign. Its mission was to promote pro-Biden public policy issues and to nurture future Democratic candidates in our section of the Commonwealth that is becoming more Republican. The group ran a series of positive, well received, fact based political ads during the campaign in support of Mr. Biden.

As was the trend elsewhere in the Commonwealth, the Biden vote increased over the Clinton vote because of the increased turnout.  In Washington County Biden received 45,151 votes, an increase of 8,829 over Clinton in 2016.  Biden’s increase in percentage of total votes cast increased to 38% from 35.8% in 2016. One could argue that the combined increased vote totals in Washington, Beaver, Westmoreland, Fayette and Greene Counties was a significant factor in his winning Pennsylvania.

Voter registration is becoming more Republican in Washington County.  At last count Republican registration increased from 39.84% to 44.29% of total registration; Democrats declined from 48.99% to 43.52%; and Independents increased from 11.16% to 12.18%.

What do political action committees like SWPA Moving Forward and other Democratic leaders need to accomplish to turn Washington County back to the Democratic fold?  In my view, there are four major tasks.  First, new candidates must be groomed that follow the template of Congressman Connor Lamb and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. These elected officials have won in Republican jurisdictions by developing an independent, moderate Democratic message that is fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

Second, I agree with the stated mission of SWPA Moving Forward that Democrats must “find ways to communicate our platform and values in a manner that connects to the electorate.” This would include knocking down the misstatements and outright lies promulgated by Pennsylvania’s Republican far right. On the proactive level Democrats must find common ground to simultaneously engage new voters while reengaging with older ones.

Third, now that Republicans have control of local government in Washington County, they need to be held accountable. Republicans unfairly attacked former Commissioner Harlan Shober to gain elected office and local Democrats must now return the favor.  For example, the electorate must be reminded that the two Republican Commissioners recently sanctioned the 10 million dollar purchase of an unneeded new building in the middle of a pandemic.

Lastly, local Democrats must use this moment of Trump negativism and Biden hope for the future to register as many new voters as possible.  Waiting for the next election before initiated voter registration would be a mistake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOME THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED DURING THE PANDEMIC

 

 The pandemic has brought on many challenges since it began disrupting our lives in March of this year.  As we move through the fall and into winter with the virus raging, the prospect of new vaccines finally offer some light at the end of the tunnel.

The pandemic has been nothing if not a learning experience, testing our endurance while giving us new insight into how we conduct our lives and socialize with each other.  Recently, I have been taking stock of opportunities lost and wisdom gained.

First, I will never again take for granted the small pleasures in swapping air with my fellow human beings.  I miss the face-to-face contact, the touching of an arm and hugging of a friend. I miss the satisfaction of being able to incorporate all my senses into understanding how the emotions and body language of another makes them who they are. Zoom is far from an adequate replacement. Emails are too brief, and phone calls lack the joy of in-person communication.

I miss the spray of spit from the actors at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, the crowds at the Washington and Pittsburgh symphonies and the warm faces of my colleagues at meetings and at the gym. I miss the bustling sounds of crowded restaurants.  I miss the summer and holiday blockbuster movies at the cinema.  I miss not being able to converse in public because my face is covered.

This year we have learned a great deal about how we warehouse the elderly in their golden years. Nursing homes became the first death traps when COVID-19 made its spring appearance.  These facilities were locked down like prisons, and residents were confined to their rooms with little interaction with family or other residents. 

We watched as a close friend in her nineties was able to remain in a small first floor condominium.  She communed with nature, tended to her plants, visited with masked friends and traveled around the community in her caregiver’s car.  Her quality of life was over the moon compared to family members locked down in care facilities over many months.  Clearly, our elderly infrastructure is inadequate, and home health care options need to become less expensive and more accessible.

The pandemic gave new meaning to the home being one’s castle. (Some would say a fortress.) My wife and I are both retired and spent much of the day at home before the pandemic. Nonetheless, the inability to travel abroad or to plan activities away from home forced us to gain new perspectives on our living environment.

Furniture was added and subtracted. The basement and closets were finally cleaned. Rooms were organized into new configurations. An old stereo system was updated via online shopping so that dusty vinyl records and old cassette tapes could be heard.  Bird watching and gardening took on new (even spiritual) importance. Our respective hobbies of reading and quilting achieved levels of importance never before imagined (twenty-seven books and three quilts at last count).

Not long before the pandemic struck, we snickered at Asians, encountered while traveling, all wearing masks as part of their everyday hygiene and personal protection. Now we purchase masks with impunity to match our outfits or to make a political statement. Masks pile up in the car, in our pockets and in the foyer. On Amazon, there are thousands of sites selling masks of every conceivable size, design and material. A product unknown to us in the spring has become the go to Christmas stocking stuffer.

Back in March, no one could have predicted that the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays would be downgraded to simple stay at home affairs with little interaction among extended family or friends.  While the boisterous celebration is gone, there is now time to contemplate the meaning of each occasion.  More diets will be maintained, and less drunk driving will reduce carnage on the roadways.  Conversely, loneliness and isolation will foster more depression and, sadly, more suicide and domestic violence.

Globally, the pandemic has given us a warning and informed world leadership of proactive actions that must be taken to avoid the next disruptive event. More deadly viruses, global warming and the migration of large populations across borders are real and present dangers.  The virus has made it abundantly clear that these multinational problems require multinational cooperation, planning and solutions.

From all indications, the pandemic will be darkest in the coming months before it subsides.  The small inconveniences most of us face are far less significant than the death and consequences it has caused to society as a whole. During this holiday season, our thoughts should be with those less fortunate who must endure the virus under already pitiful circumstances.  Every act of kindness and gesture of charitable contribution will be the best gift to give and receive.

We should also be grateful and willing to reach deep to show how thankful we are for the millions of individuals who have made it possible to get us through these trying times.  Conservative journalist, Peggy Noonan, in her weekly Wall Street Journal column had an excellent idea.

Noonan proposed that all undocumented workers who risked his/her health and family safety to keep the country above water during the pandemic should be granted citizenship along with their immediate families. Such an act of appreciation and compassion would make us all proud.