In our current system, elites have grasped the political calculus. They have gamed the system, and we are on the losing end. Those Sanders backers who cannot bring themselves to vote for Clinton — and who can blame them? — will either abstain or vote for a third-party candidate like Jill Stein. But rather than trying to find a new messiah to vote into office, imagine if presidential elections were focused on issues rather than people. Instead of a ballot with names on it, we would have multiple-choice questions that looked something like this:
  1. What sort of health-care system would you like to see?
    • a. Single-payer or Medicare for all
    • b. Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare)
    • c. The status quo, i.e., semi-regulated private health insurance companies

  2. What sort of public funding should there be for higher education?
    • a. All higher education should be free
    • b. Students should simply take out loans if they cannot afford college
    • c. The status quo, i.e., a combination of government funding and private loan companies

  3. What should our criminal justice system and prison industry look like?
    • a. Reduce the prison population, decriminalize drug offenses and shut down private prisons
    • b. Privatize all prisons and continue our current levels of incarceration
    • c. The status quo, i.e., a combination of private and public prisons, and continue our current levels of incarceration
You get the picture. The answers that win majority votes would set the agenda for the country and offer a binding set of tasks for a public servant willing to take them forward. Of course, we cannot run elections in this hypothetical and unrealistic way. And we should not even try, given that majorities can trounce the rights of minorities. But we should think about our elections in this way and imagine the president not as a leader whom we follow but as a paid public servant who does our bidding. Perhaps, then, candidates might flock toward the political positions that voters demand of them. Instead, every four years, we find ourselves pasting bumper stickers on our cars in support of our favorite personality, only to scrape them off in frustration years or months later. It is an experiment with repeatable results. What if we metaphorically replaced “Feel the Bern” bumper stickers with issue-oriented messages like “#Black Lives Matter,” “Abortion Is a Constitutional Right,” “End War,” “Free Palestine,” etc.? Elections are one aspect of our political system, and voting on Election Day is the barest minimum we should expect of ourselves. Vote Clinton, vote Stein, or vote not at all. That is your right. But fighting to uphold our values is a lifetime commitment and requires year-round work. If we want Bernie Sanders’ stated goals and values to be realized, we have to work hard to manifest them. Sanders will work to make Sanders’ dreams come true. We have to work to make ours come true, and that can ultimately, albeit slowly, be achieved through political activism and organizing. It is our only hope. Your support matters…

Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.

You can help level the playing field. Become a member.

Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.

Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG
In this Article:
#2016 election#barack obama#bernie sanders#democratic party#education#health care#hillary clinton#jill stein#revolution#td-original#usa#wall street