On Historical Moments.

AuthorGlick, Ted
PositionBrief Article

Organized efforts to bring about significant reforms need a number of things if they are to be successful. One is an ability to discern when, for whatever the reasons may be, there has been a change from what might be called the "keep plugging away" stage into what might be called the "time to step it up" stage. I am convinced that that has happened with the issue of pro-democracy electoral reform. This is an historical moment ripe with possibilities.

"Florida" is the primary reason why this is the case. For 35 days the entire country had an intense civics lesson which made clear the need for change in our electoral system. But it wasn't just Florida. It was also the exclusion of Ralph Nader (and Buchanan) from the Presidential debates. It was other, less-visible actions in many parts of the country on the part of the powers-that-be to limit and restrict popular participation in the choosing of government leaders.

As a result, virtually every state legislature is now in the process of considering what needs to be done to improve the quality of electoral machinery. Legislation in support of Instant Runoff Voting has been introduced in 12 state legislatures. There was an unprecedented two weeks of debate over the McCain-Feingold bill in the Senate (with, not surprisingly, not much to show for it in terms of real change in our big money-dominated system). The NAACP and the US Commission on Civil Rights have held hearings on voting rights violations. The mainstream media has been doing and is beginning to report on results of a recount of all of Florida's votes.

Again, this is an historical moment ripe with possibilities. For those of us who understand the importance of running candidates for office and building up alternative political formations to hold those candidates accountable, this is a time to be stepping up our work. We have real possibilities for building a mass movement to significantly change the undemocratic, big money-dominated, winner-take-all electoral system, a system, a set of electoral practices, that may be the single most important reason the overall independent progressive movement is as weak as it is in the United States.

The question is, do enough of us recognize this, are enough of us acting upon this recognition?

Fortunately, some are. Since early December, there has been growing support for a Voters' Bill of Rights, a document endorsed by 110 organizations so far, and the list is growing. The Voters' Bill of Rights...

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