[discuss-dan] US Democracy in Crisis

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Independent Media Center
http://www.indymedia.org

US Democracy in Crisis Monday 27 Nov 2000
author: Brian Oliver Sheppard (bakunin@anarcho.zzn.com)

summary: US election crisis: int'l opinion as surveyed from world press;
contrasts US stance on similar crises in western hemisphere.

Reaction to US Election Crisis
by Brian Oliver Sheppard (bakunin@anarcho.zzn.com)
11-27-2000

No Real Democracy in the USA

The US Presidential election has resulted in many peoples' worst
suspicions being confirmed: the US has no real democracy in any
meaningful sense, and to the extent that it does it is hated by elites
who see it as a nuisance, infringing upon their entitlement to rule
without interruption or distraction. The Electoral College, the two
party system (actually two
factions of the Business Party), media manipulation, soft money
contributions - all these add up to a rather unsavory picture of how the
American system operates. Although many people have been arguing for
decades that the U.S. system is unfair, is not democratic, and is not a
reflection of trust in the people's ability to govern themselves, it is
interesting to see so many newcomers get turned onto these ideas.

In June of the year 2000, elections in Peru were marred by allegations
of fraud, backroom dealings, etc., just as US elections are now. This
was
considered a crisis in the Western Hemisphere by the Organization of
American States (OAS). The US reacted swiftly and held several press
conferences to condemn undemocratic practices in Peru. A press briefing
issued by the US State Department (available on the web at
http://www.usinfo.state.gov/regional/ar/peru/oas5.htm) states that the
US felt it best to "send a mission to Peru in the aftermath of that
country's recent controversial presidential election." Former Florida
Governor and Clinton Administration special envoy to the Americas
Kenneth McKay warned everyone that "the state of democracy in one
country inevitably affects us all" and that "[w]hen one country's
democracy is weakened, the entire inter-American system suffers." The
US, as always, had no qualms about stepping into the fray as
self-appointed expert on democracy, to arbitrate and manage another
country's affairs. The US always does this, all the more so when there
is a buck to be made by US corporations or when the interests of
geopolitical power can be strengthened.

Under secretary of State Thomas Pickering remarked that Peru's election
fraud was "the most critical issue the Organization has faced this
year." (His comments at this press conference are online at
http://www.usinfo.state.gov/regional/ar/peru/pick5.htm) He said that
"profound systemic weaknesses in Peru ... led to the deficiencies in the
electoral processes" there. He stated that the allegations of fraud
reflected a "crisis of credibility" in Peru's democratic structure. He
also stated that the US was perhaps not perfect itself, and that "we
hope
that in fact this organization [OAS] which has devoted so much time and
attention to democracy will also be there to lend a hand when any of us
need help and assistance and support." This seems to suggest that if the
US had an electoral crisis that the OAS, the Electoral Observation
Mission, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and others might
step in and "help" us out as well - and that, in fact, such an action
would be welcomed by the US State Department.

International Reaction to US Elections is Sarcastic, Cynical

No doubt Undersecretary of State Pickering was suggesting that other
countries might need to dispatch delegations to "any of us" when we ran
into election trouble so that the appropriate veneer of humility and
egalitarianism would be provided. This display of humility surely makes
US meddling seem more tolerable. The US intervenes abroad regularly,
whether overtly or covertly, whether welcomed or not, because the US
doesn't tolerate anything that even hints at a hatred for democracy, or
so the prevailing sentiment seems to be. Democracy and freedom were what
our
forefathers fought and died for, and, by God, it really irks us to see
others suffering under undemocratic regimes. But apparently we are irked
only if the ones suffering under an undemocratic regime aren't us common
folk here at home.

The Association of Democratic Nigerians Abroad: "May we suggest that a
delegation from the Organization of African Unity be dispatched
forthwith [to the USA] to investigate? And as in Africa, where political
reform has gone hand in hand with structural adjustment, the OAU can
pass on the lessons we have learned under the tutelage of the World Bank
and the IMF, beginning with an end to agricultural subsidies, cuts in
defense
spending and social services, drastic reductions in tariff barriers, and
above all, expatriate monitors to the US Treasury."

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Roque Perez: "I believe that those in the
United States who have always tried to become judges of elections that
take place elsewhere must be receiving a lesson of modesty and
humbleness." In addition Perez said that Cuba would "gladly send
monitors for a new election if asked."

The Mail, a newspaper in South Africa: "It is a shameful reflection on
our continent that, in the United States' hour of need, we were not
there
beside our American brothers and sisters to help and advise where we
could."

Lavarice Gaudin of Veye Yo (an immigrants' voting rights group in
Florida): "It was God himself who made this thing happen the way it
happened, so that the whole world can see how the Americans have
absolutely no moral authority to go supervise or judge any election in
any other country...."

Ben Dupuy, National Popular Party of Haiti: "While it dubs itself the
greatest democracy in the world, the United States electoral system
isn't democratic at all. The US Electoral College supposedly is a
precaution against the passions of the American people. In other words,
they don't even have faith in the people. They say they are too
impassioned. But when they have to go to war, they have no trouble
whipping up passions. 'Remember Pearl Harbor,' they chanted during World
War II to whip up people. We ask that the OAS (Organization of American
States), CNO (National Council of Observers) and all the observers which
usually go to the small countries decide whether the U.S. election has
been well done or improperly done... In fact there is always some
election monkey-business or scandal exploding in countries such as
France or Germany and now the U.S., and the day they accept for the
developing nations to observe their elections, then we will not have a
problem to invite them to come observe our elections."

Haiti Progres, a Haitian newspaper: "Fraud, corruption, voter
intimidation, confusing ballots, racial profiling, lost ballot boxes,
destroyed ballots, incompetent and abusive polling site supervisors,
polling sites closing early, and many other irregularities have all come
to light due to the incredibly tight U.S. presidential race between
Republican candidate George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.... This year's
electoral crisis reveals the more general bankruptcy of the U.S.
political system. As usual, less than 50% of eligible voters bothered to
vote because they don't feel there is that much difference between the
two U.S. ruling parties. 'There is no great ideological chasm dividing
the candidates,' admitted outgoing New York Senator Daniel Patrick
Moynihan."

The Star, a newspaper of Johannesburg, South Africa: "International
observers should be put in place because the United States must join the
established democracies."

Was US special envoy to the Americas Kenneth McKay correct when he said
that "[w]hen one country's democracy is weakened, the entire 
inter-American system suffers"? If so, doesn't that seem to warrant that
others intervene in the political processes of another country, if it
affects everyone else? Shouldn't, by this logic, other nations feel
compelled to intervene in our elections? What about Undersecretary of
State Thomas Pickering's statement that "we hope that in fact this
organization [OAS] which has devoted so much time and attention to
democracy will also be there to lend a hand when any of us need help and
assistance and support"? Are these honest sentiments, or does the US
ruling elite really not want to play by the same rules that it
insists others play by? In fact, history has shown that that is indeed
the case.

The US system is not democratic, and not merely because your favored
candidate did not win, or may not win. There are a variety of reasons
that we in America still labor under a fundamentally undemocratic
system, and they must each be challenged and tackled in turn. There are
two choices: The mass of the US public can continue to ignore what the
rest of the world finds so obvious about us, and we can continue to
happily fool ourselves that we are a self-governing nation. Or we can
call a rat a rat and begin to work to undermine this system.

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