The push from the public to fix our democracy is surprising only to those who haven’t been paying attention.
No matter what the public thinks about when they hear about our government, these days they are presented with tales of corruption, greed and malfeasance. And while Donald Trump’s administration — with his Cabinet of millionaires and his unwillingness to stop personally profiting from the presidency — has become Exhibit A, most Americans understand that Trump is a symptom of a deeper problem that needs to be addressed.
Americans care about a lot of things. A good-paying job, a safe workplace, clean air and water, a financial system that works, education for their children, affordable housing and much more. But without a democracy that represents voters instead of corporate and millionaire donors, achieving the basic goals of the American dream has become a herculean struggle.
That’s what led to the recent launch of diverse new coalition of 115 organizations under the name the Declaration for American Democracy: Whether you care about women’s health, workplace safety, protecting the environment, national security or something else, to truly counter systematic disenfranchisement and moneyed interests, our democracy first must be fixed.
Numerous candidates running for office this past cycle had this same realization and made promises to strengthen democracy first. Rising star and incoming U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York said recently that like-minded incoming Democratic members of the House of Representatives have the numbers needed to press their case for change. She noted that “35 of that 63 (are) not funded by opioid companies, not funded by the NRA, not funded by for-profit health care, not funded by fossil fuels. Thirty-five are independent of the interests of corporate influence.”
The members of the new freshman class who refused corporate PAC money and ran on fixing our system are echoing the calls from regular Americans to fix democracy. Longtime leaders have embraced the issue as well, with Nancy Pelosi, likely incoming Democratic House speaker, tasking Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland with developing a package of voting rights, money in politics and ethics reforms that, if passed, would be a game-changer for our democracy. The package is to be the first order of business for the incoming House.
The blueprint for the package includes proposals on automatic voter registration, more enforcement authority for the Office of Government Ethics and the Federal Election Commission, small-donor focused public financing of congressional elections, disclosure of political spending, a curtailment of the revolving door between government and the private sector, the expansion of the conflict-of-interest laws that apply to most government officials but not to the president, and much more. And it is essential that H.R. 1 stay as bold as possible to meet the public demand and the moment.
Last Friday, many of these new members stood with the incoming leadership team and committed to pass legislation on this topic as H.R.1.
This is a pivotal moment for our system, We will be defined by who steps up to the plate and how hard they push for change. And though this initial package is being led by Democrats, this effort is far from partisan. Polls show that across the political spectrum, the public agrees that reform is essential.
The H.R. 1 moment is just the beginning of the campaign for change. All legislators will be judged by their willingness to ensure our Republic can again function and represent the American people.
