DUPAGE COUNTY BUSINESS BLOG

A Non-Partisan Look at why Change is so Hard in Washington - and what needs to change - February 15, 2010

As I continue to read the various accounts from both sides of the aisle as to why solutions to any longer term issues cannot be found, it's clear that it's not a single election issue.

There seem to be root causes as to why we are where we are, and they don't really rest in the hands of any single office holder (even Mr. Obama).

In short, the current environment of the US political process is a significant part of the problem.

As I look at the following list of causes I compiled, it seems in part that meaningful long term solutions could very well be directed in turning some of these items into positive. That is, remedy the symptom or cure the disease?

1. The system of governmental checks and balances is intended to default to inertia. This is the exact opposite of the campaign propaganda and promises voters keep hearing, and expecting to be fulfilled.

2. Years of gerrymandering districts to ensure easy re-election chances for incumbents have encouraged elected officials to play to their base which by design represents a partisan majority of the district they typically serve. As such, many legislators have no real electoral interest in appealing to the middle or both parties - reducing room for compromise.

3. Legislators have simply been in office too long. Consider these ridiculous re-election rates. Over the past 23 elections, the percent of US House members has averaged 93%, and the supposedly more stable Senate has averaged 82%. (source: www.opensecrets.org). It has been quoted often that turnover in the old Soviet Politburo exceeded that of the US Congress. This doesn't bode well for any "democracy" and certainly doesn't suggest all that voter unhappiness has translated into any sort of accountability.

4. The exponential growth of media outlets and need for interesting content over the past 20 years has created debate at the extremes, making it more difficult for any well-intended leader to legislate in the middle.

5. Voter participation has declined 15-20% since the 1960's, when the % of voting age people that voted in presidential elections was in the high 60%'s, and in the mid 50%'s in midterm elections. Most recently, voters as a percent of voter age population were 58% in the 2008 presidential election and 44% in the 2006 midterm election. While comparable data on taxes isn't available to the voter data, we do know 1/3 of all tax returns filed show no tax, and estimates suggest that of 50% of the population >18 pay no tax. How it is that almost 1/2 of the citizens do not participate in their civic voting duty, and still another 1/2 pay not a penny for government. A correlation maybe? (source: US Census Bureau and taxfoundation.org data)

6. As voters have become more apathetic and media noise has become more shrill, candidates' need for money and messaging has increased dramatically. More and more marketing effort is needed to "pop through" the clutter to an apathetic population and as the campaign/news cycles extend debate. While political messaging spending is very high, it pales in comparison to certain consumer product spending such as soft drink promotion.

7. The continuous election cycle provides a very short term orientation in government actions and fiscal decisions. While voters regularly express their unhappiness with their political institutions, they vote for their current pocketbook, no matter how unaffordable their entitlements may be a generation down the road. In this environment, no politician concerned more with re-election than long term solutions will propose or be able to execute on closing the gaps in any meaningful way

So, while we all point to 2010 mid-term elections and want all want our side to win, maybe we should look for solutions from either side as to how we might address these fundamental problems so progress can be made after any election. Just a thought.....

-Scott Mordell

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Upcoming Events - February 22, 2010

This Thursday February 25th we have two of our quarterly meetings.

1st Quarter Meeting:

As we look to 2010, we want to invite you to our 1st Quarter Business Meeting for 2010 on February 25, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at Superior Ambulance, 395 West Lake Street in Elmhurst.

For the meeting's agenda, we will share the results of our focus group research that will help us reach out to new groups for support of our principles and every Republican candidate in 2010. Our focus groups, which were conducted January, will help us define the best ways to message our principles among important voter groups, including independent women, independent men, Hispanic voters and Asian/Indian voters.

In addition, since the focus group presentation will take up a majority of our time, each of the officers will give an update on their committee report.

1st Quarter Millennial Event:

Thursday night at Quigley's Irish Pub, 43 East Jefferson Avenue in Naperville that evening from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Republican Lt. Governor Candidate Jason Plummer is our invited guest speaker. The event is complimentary for 2010 DuPage Business Council members and 2010 DuPage Business Council Millennial Members.

$100 for Membership in DBC Millennial

$25 for Non-Members

Check out our Facebook Page for more info

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