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Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Democracy
Tom DeLay is trying to get off the ballot in Texas:
Given that a party cannot nominate a new candidate after a primary election in Texas, DeLay chose a legal loophole: get the hell out of dodge so that he would be ineligible to run for Congress in Texas, rather than withdrawing his candidacy (which would have spelled the end for the Republican line on the TX-22 ballot). Texas Dems didn't take this sitting down, and filed a lawsuit to block the local GOP from scrubbing DeLay's name from the ballot.
DeLay is really screwing the conservative voters of his former district. He's depriving them of the choice to vote for a candidate who they believe would best represent their interests in Washington. I want to be perfectly clear: it's all DeLay's fault.
Even though it's all DeLay's fault, he shouldn't have the power to deprive voters of a meaningful choice on election day. I don't know the controlling law in this matter. The issue should be resolved after deliberate consideration of the best interests of the district's voters and the best interests of democracy.
We're four months out from the election. It seems to me there's enough time to change the ballot. A Democrat is far more likely to be elected with DeLay's name on the ballot. I think another Democrat in the House would be good for the country. But giving the voters a meaningful choice is good for democracy. And what's good for democracy is always what's good for the country.
You can't defend democracy only until the point when it costs you elections. In the long run, a vigorous commitment to the democratic process helps win elections. That's a principle liberals should embrace.
