The Nation: Democratic Vistas

Democratic Vistas
Editorial


October 22, 2008



"Did you too, O friend, suppose democracy was only for elections, for politics, and for a party name?" asked Walt Whitman in his essay "Democratic Vistas." Writing in the aftermath of the Civil War, the great poet hoped that democracy might become more than just the balance of ballots cast, that it might find its fullest expression in "the highest forms of interaction between men, and their beliefs...democracy in all public and private life." But Whitman also had reason to despair. As Reconstruction came to a close, American democracy failed even to fulfill its promise of enfranchisement for all freedmen, and within a few years this nation witnessed the stark injustices of Jim Crow and the first Gilded Age.

American democracy finds itself at another crossroads, facing a new democratic vista. The choice between Barack Obama and John McCain could hardly be clearer. Throughout the campaign, this magazine has called for the rise of a small-d democratic movement and supported Obama's candidacy for its attempt to galvanize new volunteers, organizers and donors united by their dedication to progressive change. His proposals on the crucial issue of this election--the economy--while imperfect, are grounded in economic reality and empathy for the plight of poor and middle-class Americans. Indeed, as the second Gilded Age comes to a screeching halt and the metastasizing economic crisis drives undecided voters to Obama, the Republican Party has responded with its familiar tactic of blaming the victims. In a vicious smear, McCain has claimed that ACORN "forced banks to issue the risky home loans" that "caused the financial crisis" and that it is "destroying the fabric of democracy" by "perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history." These are outright lies told in desperation and bad faith. As Peter Dreier and John Atlas point out in this issue, it was ACORN and other consumer advocacy groups that fought the predatory lending practices responsible for the subprime mess. And as Andrew Gumbel notes on page 16, ACORN's voter registration drives--which this year have enrolled 1.3 million new voters from low-income communities--"have not been shown to result in a single fraudulently cast ballot."

In fact, it is the Republican Party that threatens not just the fabric of democracy but the very thread from which it is woven--the basic premise that every eligible citizen can vote and that every eligible vote is counted. Through voter ID laws, purge lists and other maneuvers, it intends to challenge the legitimacy of millions of votes in crucial swing states like Florida, Michigan, Virginia and Ohio. These contested ballots will come from Democratic-leaning voters, but, more important, they are from the young, the newly registered, minorities and the poor--those for whom democracy is a fragile and hard-fought exercise. Thankfully, a slew of watchdog groups are poised to check such invidious efforts, but it will take vigilance to ensure that this election is free and fair and that the electoral system itself is reformed. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081110/editors