Reform Is Not For The Short-Winded
FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | December 6, 2018
“From the day he took office, President Trump has served as a poster child for the need to strengthen the rules that protect the integrity of our democracy.”
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced at a press conference last week that when the new Congress begins in January, the House will move quickly to act on a comprehensive package of democracy reforms.
The package will be sponsored by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) who has led a House Democracy Reform Task Force in this Congress.
It is expected to include a wide range of campaign finance, voting rights, and presidential, congressional, and judicial ethics reforms.
The effort to pass the democracy reforms in the House will be backed by Declaration for American Democracy, a recently formed coalition of 115 organizations, including Democracy 21.
The need to restore the integrity of government and our political system was a leading issue for the incoming freshman Democrats. In September they wrote to House Members that they “share the American people’s impatience and frustration over the lack of reforms and transparency and the role of money in our politics.”
From the day he took office, President Trump has served as a poster child for the need to strengthen the rules that protect the integrity of our democracy.
Trump ran a scam in the 2016 election by repeatedly promising to “drain the swamp” in Washington. Once elected, however, he did absolutely nothing to address the “swamp.”
Instead, Trump and his administration became the swamp, committing widespread ethics abuses.
The country is ready for Washington to clean up its act. The upcoming fight for democracy reforms will go a long way toward determining whether Washington is ready as well.
Democracy 21 is in this battle for the long haul. As John Gardner, the founder of Common Cause, used to tell us when I was there, “Reform is not for the short-winded.”
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Fred Wertheimer is the Founder and President of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to strengthen our democracy and ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections. See previous Notes from Fred here.
