Why Democrats need to rebuild trust in government

by: simonstl

Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 13:07:44 PM EST

A few years ago, I wrote about opportunities for Democrats to thrive as a reformist party. I still think the arguments there are worthwhile, but over the last four years I've started thinking that there is a much more basic reason that Democrats need to get their act together and act democratically.

The Republicans have spent most of the last forty years destroying trust in government, and thrived on it. Even their worst disasters - Watergate, Iran-Contra, and, um, the last eight years - fed into their core story of the dangers of government. In their telling, if a Republican was found corrupt, well, that's a government problem. If a Democrat was found corrupt, that's both a government problem and a problem with the party that wants to create bigger government.

Breaking this cycle is hard. We all know how Jimmy Carter's story gets told, after all. Beyond that, running on promises of reform always carries the risk of damaging the cause of reform, when reformers prove to be all too human. Eliot Spitzer is a painful reminder of this - not just for the prostitutes, but also for the way he set out to destroy his enemies. Reform can't just be a path to power.

Voters right now are deeply cynical. I like to joke that Obama's timing was good, because things had become so bad that voters were now cynical about being cynical. That created an opportunity, and we'll have to see what he does with it at the federal level.

At the state level, while I certainly welcome hearings on reforming the legislative process, the "Three Men in a Room" process hasn't changed at all. Paterson reverted to it last year claiming that the timing of his coming to office required it. This year it's the budget crisis that's requiring it. Unfortunately these things tend to become a habit, and once ingrained don't go away with better times.

If Democratic activists want an activist government, we have to convince voters that government can be trusted. Unfortunately, at present the State Legislature may be in Democratic hands, but neither house is operating in an open democratic fashion, one that lets voters see what they're getting from the people they elect.

If we can get over that problem, we'll be well-placed to get things done, and to get them done in a way that earns trust rather than raises suspicion. We can't blame the Republicans any longer - it's time to step and demonstrate that the Republicans were wrong all along.

Can we do it?

Wishing for Governor Obama

by: simonstl

Thu Jan 22, 2009 at 08:54:33 AM EST

Imagine reading this (slightly modified) in your local paper:

ALBANY - Governor Obama moved swiftly on Wednesday to impose new rules on government transparency and ethics, using his first full day in office to freeze the salaries of his senior aides, mandate new limits on lobbyists and demand that the government disclose more information.

Mr. Obama called the moves, which overturned two policies of his predecessors, "a clean break from business as usual." ... the actions were another sign of the new president's effort to emphasize an across-the-board shift in priorities, values and tone.

"For a long time now there's been too much secrecy in this city," Mr. Obama said at a swearing-in ceremony for senior officials at the Legislative Office Building, adjacent to the Capitol. He added, "Transparency and rule of law will be the touchstones of this governorship."

Obama understands the basic breakdown in American politics, I think. It's not just ideology, but trust.

The past thirty years have seen an accelerating breakdown of trust in government. Much of that is because Republicans are shouting "don't trust the government" to their followers while behaving in ways that make non-Republicans doubt all of the rest of what they're saying. However, while I'd like to say it's a Republican problem, it's far from solely their responsibility. Democrats have unfortunately also abused trust on a regular enough basis to be unforgettable.

It's an open question whether or not Obama can reverse that slide at the federal level. Rebuilding trust after it's been lost is a tremendous challenge, and redemption doesn't come easily.

At the state level, though, I fear we're not even trying. Spitzer was all about reform, but even beyond the scandal that removed him, he seemed to enjoy the cloak-and-dagger of backroom politics in ways that might even have damaged trust more severely had he stayed in office. Paterson, while I applaud his openness about the explosions coming in the state budget, seems extremely comfortable with three men in a room and the current status quo.

The same is true of our legislators, in both parties. Silver and the Assembly Democrats hand out little tokens of openness when it seems that enough people notice what an absurdly closed process they run. Senate Republicans barely even did that until they were in the minority. Their grandstand of proposing the same rules reform that the Democrats had offered in 2007 did very little - except demonstrate how resistant those with power can be to change. (The Senate Democrats now unanimously voted against their earlier proposal.)

We can't have Obama for governor for lots of reasons, I understand. We have a long ways to go to see how his efforts at the federal level change the government and citizens' trust in it.

Still, I hope our own Governor and state legislators will note that it's possible to change direction, to seek a clean break, and to work toward building broad trust rather than narrow coalitions of donors and constituencies.

I know, I know - it's a dream. One worth pursuing, though!