Topic: Obama-style Democracy: Bureaucrats know best

[jpatrickham]

By: Examiner Editorial 

09/28/11 8:05 PM

"Most Americans complain that government is unresponsive to their wishes. But not everyone feels that way. In the space of two days, two prominent Democrats have called for less responsive government that ignores public input.
One of them, former White House Budget Director Peter Orszag, penned a piece this week in the New Republic arguing, as the title says, "Why we need less democracy." Orszag wrote that "the country's political polarization was growing worse -- harming Washington's ability to do the basic, necessary work of governing." His solution? "[W]e need to minimize the harm from legislative inertia by relying more on automatic policies and depoliticized commissions for certain policy decisions. In other words, radical as it sounds, we need to counter the gridlock of our political institutions by making them a bit less democratic."

Orszag's view is typical of Obama White House alumni. Last year, former auto czar Steve Rattner wrote in his book, "Overhaul," "Either Congress needs to get its act together or we should explore alternatives. ... If our country wants to do a better job of solving its problems, it needs to find a way to let talented government officials operate more like they do in the private sector." True to the founding ideals of the progressive movement, both men are suggesting that enlightened technocrats who know best should be allowed to operate the federal government independent of popular will.

Perhaps know-it-all bureaucrats can be forgiven for harboring such contempt for the voting public. But elected officials cannot. That's why similar comments by Gov. Bev Perdue, D-N.C., are far more troubling. "I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover," Perdue told a Rotary Club gathering in suburban Raleigh this week. "I really hope that someone can agree with me on that."

Perdue's office at first claimed her comments were made in jest. The subsequent release of the audio conclusively demonstrates otherwise.

The federal government's legitimacy is based upon the consent of the governed. This nation's Founding Fathers would have had it no other way. Given Perdue's apparent disdain for the American constitutional system, she might be more comfortable in the private sector, where hierarchical management is the rule. And the voters in her state should remind her next November who's the boss."

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2011/09/obama-style-democracy-bureaucrats-know-best?

[IronDioPriest]

It occurs to me to think of this in terms of Chris Christie's point a couple nights ago at the Reagan Library. He said [paraphrased] "what happens here doesn't stay here. The whole world is watching."

He said it in the context of Reagan's showdown with the air traffic controllers, and how his willingness to demonstrate resolve and courage here at home sent a message to the world as to who it was they'd be dealing with.

Now we have Leftist elected officials and bureaucrats - even our president to some extent - publicly questioning the very viability of our system of government, either through word or deed. The world is seeing that our Leftist leaders are ready to put a fork in representative government. Both our enemies, and our friends are seeing this. The international Leftist power structure is seeing this.

At what point will our domestic Left appeal to the international Left in the form of the UN to intervene on behalf of "doing what is necessary", to use the words of Richard Trumka?

I think these ideas being floated publicly are like trial balloons. We're not hearing the end of such talk, and unless we can politically relegate such people to the fringe of society and discourse, this kind of talk will increase to a cacophony.

[jpatrickham]

It occurs to me to think of this in terms of Chris Christie's point a couple nights ago at the Reagan Library. He said [paraphrased] "what happens here doesn't stay here. The whole world is watching."

He said it in the context of Reagan's showdown with the air traffic controllers, and how his willingness to demonstrate resolve and courage here at home sent a message to the world as to who it was they'd be dealing with.

Now we have Leftist elected officials and bureaucrats - even our president to some extent - publicly questioning the very viability of our system of government, either through word or deed. The world is seeing that our Leftist leaders are ready to put a fork in representative government. Both our enemies, and our friends are seeing this. The international Leftist power structure is seeing this.

At what point will our domestic Left appeal to the international Left in the form of the UN to intervene on behalf of "doing what is necessary", to use the words of Richard Trumka?

I think these ideas being floated publicly are like trial balloons. We're not hearing the end of such talk, and unless we can politically relegate such people to the fringe of society and discourse, this kind of talk will increase to a cacophony.

Next Step: Obama will ask the U.N. to send a Coalition of Peace Keepers to America to Monitor the Elections. Of course, many will volunteer from Iran!

[Libertas]

It occurs to me to think of this in terms of Chris Christie's point a couple nights ago at the Reagan Library. He said [paraphrased] "what happens here doesn't stay here. The whole world is watching."

He said it in the context of Reagan's showdown with the air traffic controllers, and how his willingness to demonstrate resolve and courage here at home sent a message to the world as to who it was they'd be dealing with.

Now we have Leftist elected officials and bureaucrats - even our president to some extent - publicly questioning the very viability of our system of government, either through word or deed. The world is seeing that our Leftist leaders are ready to put a fork in representative government. Both our enemies, and our friends are seeing this. The international Leftist power structure is seeing this.

At what point will our domestic Left appeal to the international Left in the form of the UN to intervene on behalf of "doing what is necessary", to use the words of Richard Trumka?

I think these ideas being floated publicly are like trial balloons. We're not hearing the end of such talk, and unless we can politically relegate such people to the fringe of society and discourse, this kind of talk will increase to a cacophony.

Next Step: Obama will ask the U.N. to send a Coalition of Peace Keepers to America to Monitor the Elections. Of course, many will volunteer from Iran!

Then I'll form a contingent of Sons of Liberty to volunteer to usher this trash to holding areas until they can be processed out of my country!  They can go peacefully, or they can just go.  Makes no differnce to me how they want to play it.