EDMOND —
Before we get down to business, let me admit some biases. First, there are times when decision by committee is unworkable. If I’m at the wheel of a car and I’m confronted by an emergency, I don’t have time to consult the other occupants about the best way to deal with it. Next, there are times when majority rule is impractical. In the military, there’s a chain of command. Subordinates are expected to follow orders without slowing the operation down to take a vote. Also, if I apply for a job, the person writing my check gets to decide how I do that job even if I’m certain I know more about it than he/she does.
To summarize, there are times when the person in charge gets to have their way no matter what anybody else may want.
On the other hand, there are times when votes count. On jury duty there can be no verdict unless the numbers add up. In an election, no one is sworn in unless the vote tally conforms to the rules. On most boards and committees, important actions must be approved or ratified by a majority of members. In each of these circumstances, the person casting a ballot has every right to expect the rules of order will be observed and group decision won’t be co-opted by the overbearing desires of a dictator.
We recently witnessed and the world was free to observe the ultimate steps in the process whereby Americans select their candidates for the presidency of the United States. Each step in that process is expected to be a demonstration of the principle that the nominee is “the People’s choice.” This is to be an uplifting and exemplary exercise in the power of democratic representation at work. It would be a jarring contradiction if at this very moment of democratic triumph, a dictatorial voice intruded to make a public mockery of the process.
On Wednesday afternoon, the American electoral process was held up to ridicule by a blatant procedural farce that freely and unabashedly admitted the exercise of dictatorial power.
You’ve probably seen this with your own eyes, so forgive this brief recap. The Democratic Party platform was found to contain disturbing omissions. Somehow, the reference to God contained in the 2008 platform was taken out. So was the statement affirming Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. We needn’t pause here to ponder the “whys and wherefores.” Let’s assume these were oversights and the disputed language should have been there all along.
In the run-up to the “repair,” interested viewers were told the platform would be amended to include the omitted language and the rules require a two-thirds vote of delegates in order for the amendment to be effective.
Los Angeles Mayor Tony Villaraigosa presided over the session where the amendment vote was to be taken. Three times he called for a vote and three times it was patently obvious to any objective observer that the two-thirds majority threshold wasn’t there. Even so, Mayor Villaraigosa read the text prepared in advance for the teleprompter indicating that, in the opinion of the chair, two-thirds of the delegates approved the amendments and the platform was, consequently, amended.
Later, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman for the national Democratic committee, frankly and unashamedly admitted the platform was amended because President Obama wanted it amended. End of story. In other words, it didn’t matter that the rules require a vote. It didn’t matter that the vote was taken and the amendment didn’t carry the two-thirds required. This vote was, in every respect, a farce and the real mechanism at work was the dictatorial wish of the president.
Ordinarily, I would say this is no skin off my nose. If Democrats want to participate in a shameless charade played out on a grand stage in full view of the whole world, that’s their business. The problem is that shenanigans like this lend support to those who say America is no longer a morally upright nation; that we pay lip service to democratic ideals and representative order, but all this can be trumped by the dictates of the puppeteers.
Political conventions are free to write any rules they desire. Their procedures may be democratic or dictatorial as it suits them. If they choose to ignore and trivialize their own rules, that’s their business.
All I ask is this: If you make a mockery of your procedures, don’t do it in a way that holds America up to ridicule. And if you show utter disdain for the integrity of your processes, don’t encourage others follow your example. I’m Hink and I’ll see ya.
MIKE HINKLE is an Edmond resident and retired attorney.
Opinion
Dictatorial moves at the DNC
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