[EM] Declaration ... - political-party & direct-participation side issues

[Fred Gohlke]

Richard,

re: "Nothing in this statement should be interpreted to imply
      that we believe that election-method reform is the only area
      of existing political systems that currently needs reform.
      In fact, most of us also support other reforms such as
      broader campaign-finance-reporting rules, increased use of
      other decision-making aids such as deliberative polling, and
      clearer ethics rules for officeholders. We believe that the
      election-method reforms we advocate here would be
      synergistic with such other reforms, both in terms of easing
      their adoption and multiplying their beneficial effects."

Patronizing me would be more effective if you did so from a position of 
strength.  I'm not sure why you thought it necessary to ridicule my 
position with this ludicrous tripe, but so be it.

The idea that all we need is "clearer ethics rules for officeholders" is 
preposterous and dangerously misleading.  No competent 'expert' in 
political science can be unaware of the repeated attempts to reform the 
ethics of politicians (in the United States).  Such attempts have marked 
my 82 years as an American citizen.  They failed for two fundamental 
reasons:

1) You cannot legislate morality, and

2) The political parties control the executive and legislative
    branches of the state and federal governments.  They are
    masters of misdirection and obfuscation.  They can not be
    reformed as long as they control the selection and financing
    of candidates for public office.

More than 100 years ago, Theodore Roosevelt warned the American people 
about the 'unholy alliance' between corrupt business and corrupt 
politics[1].  He described the invisible government behind the 
ostensible government, "owing no allegiance and acknowledging no 
responsibility to the people".

Yet, a century later, the 'expert' continues to ignore this warning, 
fails to recognize the need for institutions that harness human nature, 
and refuses to consider ways to destroy this 'invisible government'. 
Instead, as Durant wrote, he "... put on blinders in order to shut out 
from his vision all the world but one little spot, to which he glued his 
nose.", in this case, counting mechanisms.

* The reforms you describe will do nothing to stop the forces that paid 
for and got the gutting and repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, the repeal 
of which led directly to the excesses that brought the entire world to 
the brink of economic collapse.

* They do not acknowledge, much less attack, the corruption that 
fostered the outrageous expansion of 'intellectual property rights', 
so-called 'rights' that allow corporations (which have no intellect) to 
levy a perpetual tax on the people.

* No amount of "broader campaign-finance-reporting" will prevent such 
tragedies as America's unwarranted invasion of a sovereign nation, an 
invasion which resulted in the death of more than 4,000 U. S. armed 
servicemen and more than 100,000 Iraqis.

* Nothing in the proposed 'reforms' will stop parties from selling 
legislation like The Broadband Conduit Deployment Act[2], introduced by 
two Democratic senators, that saddles the American taxpayer with the 
cost of laying broadband conduit for the communications industry.

That's the real world.  It will take the best efforts of our best minds 
to improve the lot of the humans among us.  We should get started.

Fred Gohlke

(1) http://www.infoplease.com/t/hist/state-of-the-union/118.html

(2) http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.2428: Broadband 
Conduit Deployment Act