Want Democracy? You Won’t Find It With The GOP…Or Obama
The Article: 5 Ways the GOP (And Obama) Have Undermined Our Democracy by Steven Rosenfeld in AlterNet.
The Text: Is Barack Obama — the former constitutional law professor and voting rights activist — allergic to democracy reform? Or have congressional Republicans have thrown up such roadblocks that the White House has decided it’s not worthwhile to fight for the key federal agencies that defend democracy.
Whether the fault lies with the White House or with GOP obstructionists — or both — the results are the same: federal institutions created to make campaign finances more transparent and ensure that election technology is evolving are paralyzed by empty leadership positions, while the executive branch’s efforts to push ahead on its own have yielded little.
“I’ve felt like Diogenes looking for an intelligent Republican and never found one—I am hoping that will change,” said Craig Holman, Public Citizen’s Capitol Hill lobbyist, who puts the blame on the GOP for blocking Obama’s appointments. “But I’ve also been very critical of Obama for not taking on these fights. I’ve been asking Obama since 2009 to replace these commissioners and take on [GOP Senate leader] Mitch McConnell.”
