Process Matters

In 1994 and '96 I ran for Congress against one of the few elected officials who would not take PAC money, Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa. He was honorable in his service to a degree not often seen these days. By refusing to take money from vested interests he was able to maintain his independence. He looked to the common good and the interests of his constituents, voting his beliefs and his conscience after sober consideration of the issues. This high standard earned him the enmity of the rabid partisans who took control of his party in the '90's and who proceeded to marginalize him during his last years in the House. Rep. Leach finally lost his seat in the '06 election after 30 years of distinguished and exemplary service.

Jim Leach lamented the mean-spiritedness that arrived in Washington with the culture war in the ‘80’s, and which has been ratcheting upwards ever since. One of the things he liked to say during his campaigning was that "process is as important as product," meaning that our political campaigns should focus honestly and respectfully on the issues, and not engage in personal attacks and misrepresentations of the positions one’s opponents. His response to attacks made on him was to address the substance of the issue raised, if there were one, and to reiterate his position that campaign rhetoric should focus on the issues and not on personal attacks.

Throughout his career Jim never engaged in the character assassination, attack ads and appeals to base emotion which have become standard procedure in our political campaigns. Instead, he ran on his own moderate record, promising more of the same, and engaged in honest and respectful debate on the issues of the day. When in Washington he rejected the vicious partisanship that overtook the House during his tenure. He held to his high principles, consistently voted his conscience and worked in a genuinely bi-partisan way.

Process matters and it does directly affect the quality of the product we get. This is a general truism, and it is nowhere more pertinent than in our political process. If we want better government, we need thoughtful, honorable, respectful and wise people in government who will naturally conduct a better process. Throughout his career Jim Leach embodied these traits, practiced an enlightened political process, and upheld the highest values of public service. He has provided us with a role model for future candidates.

How to Unleash Our System

The all out partisan warfare that our political process has become does not serve anyone well. Those in power are stymied in their efforts; those out of power find the power of government used mercilessly against them. The cost of pursuing office has become so great that our representatives spend most of their time fundraising and become obligated to their financial backers. Anyone who does manage to rise in this environment has certainly compromised themselves to do so. And the nation is denied the services of a great many capable people who desire to serve but refuse to compromise themselves.

Worst of all, the very real and pressing issues we face are left twisting in the wind as vested interests deploy their political militias to kill off any efforts that might gore their oxes. Health care was an obvious issue twenty years ago and nothing has been done in all that time. Energy has been an obvious issue for thirty five years and nothing has been done. Even those issues that are dealt with end up being such a cobbled together mess of compromises that they create more problems than they solve. Medicare and education are two obvious examples. This is not an inherent trait of government solutions, as some might like to frame it. It is the consequence of a degraded political process that cannot accomplish its natural function.

Our system is capable of dealing with the issues we face and all the issues we will face in the future, but in order to do so it needs to be freed from the constraints that prevent it from functioning as it was meant to. There are several things that we can insist on that will unleash the natural vitality and creativity of our system:

1. Eliminate all money from politics except personal donations up to a limit of $5,000. No soft money, no PAC money, equal limits on committee and party donations.
   
2. Break up all media conglomerates and require an editorial firewall between entertainment and news divisions.
3. Require all media outlets to provide equal time to all qualified candidates for two months prior to general elections.
4. Ban personal attack ads and deliberate misrepresentations of public policy issues, and provide for injunctive relief, for six months prior to a general election.
5. Ban private lobbying and gifts to government officials beyond meals or other incidentals. All lobbying done in public forums.
   

The solution to the problem is ultimately in the hands of we the people. As long as we tolerate the situation it will continue, because there are vested interests that benefit in the short run from the status quo and are willing to spend the money it takes to maintain the status quo. Once we the people decide that this is no longer tolerable, it will stop.