A letter on Thursday lamented the state of politics today and urged changes. Readers critique those ideas and offer their own.
The Letter
To the Editor:
Democratic government requires compromise to work. But when government loses focus and succumbs entirely to compromise and tricks, we have government in name only.
A small segment of Congress seems to be the tail wagging the dog. President Obama and both Democrats and Republicans have capitulated—the Republicans because they need the minority as part of their political base, and the Democrats because they, well, are Democrats. The president seems unwilling or unable to grab the reins.
When President Ronald Reagan had to raise taxes, he did. When faced with a union leadership that tested his resolve, he fired the union membership. When the Republicans threatened to shut down the government to get their way, President Bill Clinton let them shut it down.
We need to get some of the tricks and gimmicks out of government. The Senate should constrain the use of the filibuster. We should also consider lengthening the terms of House members from two to four years to reduce re-election pressures in the face of important policy decisions. The Electoral College should be abandoned, leaving the president to be elected by a simple majority. And further work must be done to reform the financing of elections and the influence of lobbying by special interests.
We need to elect representatives who are smart, represent our best interests and are tough enough to stand their ground. Leadership restores confidence and keeps fear at bay. Lack of leadership promotes the opposite.
BRUCE NEUMAN
Sag Harbor, N.Y., Aug. 2, 2011
The writer is a retired lawyer.
Readers React
Mr. Neuman laments that the United States government no longer works. His evidence? There is far too much “compromise,” and far too many obstructionist “tricks” and “gimmicks” in our system to permit focused policy action.
He says we are left with “government in name only.” There is another name for a political system that forces difficult compromise and is filled with obstructions to swift policy action: the American political system, as embodied in the Constitution.
After nearly three years of growth in government, thousand-page bills, countless new regulations and the birth of new entitlements, the American political system has put up its hand and said “stop.” In other words, the system indeed works.
STUART GOTTLIEB
New York, Aug. 4, 2011
The writer teaches public policy at Columbia University.
