Letter From The Left Coast: Modern Democracy At Work

From Zimbabwe to the San Juan Capistrano School Board, Ian Bowater observes democracy in action and doesn't like what he sees.

Let’s talk about elections. Is it just a year ago that Gordon Brown was wading gloriously through the summer monsoon floods and bird flu? He was on course for another big election win in the autumn. Then he decided to bottle it because Dave Cameron’s Tory bandwagon slipped into town with its usual threadbare, gold lamé policies. Diamond Dave derailed that whole new era of dour, competent government thing in one fell swoop. I still reckon Gordon could have seen off Dave but he choked, leaving the panting, expectant press corps at the altar. There is no fury like that of a bunch of drunks scorned and the Fourth Estate turned on him. “Why shouldn’t it be election year every year?” they cried. Well, it is. Elections are like death and multiple orgasms, there’s always someone somewhere in the world having one.

Let’s talk about elections. Is it just a year ago that Gordon Brown was wading gloriously through the summer monsoon floods and bird flu? He was on course for another big election win in the autumn. Then he decided to bottle it because Dave Cameron’s Tory bandwagon slipped into town with its usual threadbare, gold lamé policies. Diamond Dave derailed that whole new era of dour, competent government thing in one fell swoop. I still reckon Gordon could have seen off Dave but he choked, leaving the panting, expectant press corps at the altar. There is no fury like that of a bunch of drunks scorned and the Fourth Estate turned on him. “Why shouldn’t it be election year every year?” they cried. Well, it is. Elections are like death and multiple orgasms, there’s always someone somewhere in the world having one.

It is usually Zimbabwe because Robert Mugabe can’t seem to get enough of them. Each one is suspect, apparently. But what troubles me is this... How does Mugabe rig an election that is so close he has to have a run-off? Wouldn’t it be easier to rig a landslide? And I am not so sure of the qualities of the opposition. Just because a person is persecuted and cracked about the head by the established regime, doesn’t make them the automatically qualified choice to lead the country. I was never enamoured of Vaclav Havel as a politician. He was great dissident and penned a few poignant plays, granted. But he always seemed driven by the fact that the Communists confiscated his grandpa’s restaurant. Besides playwrights should be pointing fingers at the government not trying to be part of it. Although I would like to see Harold Pinter do Prime Minister’s Question Time once – just once.

David Davis seems to have the right idea. Elections should be about matters of principle. I am not quite sure what Davis’ point is but he is determined to waste a lot of time and effort making it. As a Human Rights fan, he is disturbed by the 42 day detention period for terror suspects. But if he is a Human Rights aficionado, what is he doing in the Conservative Party? When they get back in, habeas corpus will go the same way that school milk did in the Thatcher years and with the same lack of concern. I am still even more puzzled. If he resigned his seat to stand again on a principle that his own party voted for, shouldn’t he be standing as an independent? The only solution is to turn it over to the European Union. They will let the election go ahead, ignore the result and carry on as before. David Davis will keep his seat, be buoyed by the oxygen of publicity while surrounded by the stale fart of democracy at work.

America is still in the midst of its election. Early focus was on the competitive race between Hillary and Barack. Now it has shifted to what they are up to now. It’s a Soap Opera that just keeps on giving. Suddenly everyone, including Obama, has realized that he only won in places Democrats don’t win in November. He still needs Hillary and her legions of supporters. So yesterday, he symbolically donated $4600 to Hillary’s campaign. That is the maximum that Barack and Michelle can give by law and probably by inclination. It may be a drop in the ocean but it means the world to the millions of women shafted by the Primary process. Bill and Hillary are now only $11,950,400 light. I wonder where they’ll get the rest. Perhaps Tony and Cherie will stump up a few quid.

While we wait for the main event in November, there are a number of sideshows along the way. This week saw the Special Recall Election for the School Board of San Juan Capistrano. This is one level up from the mythical office of elected Dogcatcher. You may remember Recall Elections from California four years ago. That is how Arnold Schwarzenegger got where he is today.

It works like this. Get enough signatures, approximately 12% of the last election’s vote count, and the incumbent can be recalled. That means there is an election to decide if the incumbent can keep their job. In order, to save the money, the ballot for the potential replacement takes place at the same time. This is somewhat prejudicial to the Recall ballot because it implies the incumbent has already lost. Thus a politician can be ousted on the say-so of 12% of the people who voted when he was elected.

In the case of San Juan Capistrano, there was a Recall campaign of the entire School Board before the last election, which failed because it didn’t get enough signatures. However, three of the board members lost their seats at the next election to a slate of candidates sponsored by the “concerned citizens” who put up the cash to get the signatures. Not satisfied with this, the two remaining members were subject to a Recall campaign. This time they got the required number of signatures. The Recall ballot still went ahead, even though the Board member said they would not stand again at the next election. The Recall passed and the two board members are out. Their replacements will have to stand in the next election, which is only five months away in November. Each one of these recall elections costs the School Board $800,000. What is the issue the Recall campaign is running on --- fiscally irresponsibility!

Why do I mention all of this? Why take you through the arcane details of a small-time election in Southern California? Because it is democracy at work. You know democracy --- that thing George W. Bush was bringing to Iraq and the rest of the Middle East. That thing that has cost hundreds of thousand of lives. That thing that has cost untold trillions of dollars. Democracy?! Don’t Bogart that hemlock, Socrates. Save some for the rest of us.

Next time – my brush with the judicial system.