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12:00 AM - Democracy in the Heartland Avidly watching the 24-hour news cycle winding down this evening, I was filled with cheer to see the bulk of the Iraqi people peacefully taking hold of their own destiny. The folks over a Homeland Stupidity and Hammer of Truth are crying humbug, however, over the unfortunate fact that we Americans have fewer geniune democratic options here in the States (particularly here in Oklahoma) than the Iraqis proudly sporting their newly purpled fingers. Both bloggers make good and necessary points, but I'm afraid that they are less than fully diagnostic. The root problem in American democracy is not the (admittedly serious) issue of ballot access but rather our archaic "one candidate per voter and winner-take-all" system of democracy, which has been historically shown to lead fairly straightforwardly to two dominant coalitions built upon an emergent "lesser of evils" psychology which motivates a rational electorate to vote against their worst fears rather than in favor of their best hopes. (
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