Congressman John Delaney published an op-ed in the Washington Post this week making the case for reforming Washington. Delaney writes:
Representative democracy is in crisis in the United States. One of the three pillars of our system of government — the legislative branch — is failing. The current Congress has shut down the federal government, bickers constantly and increasingly does not speak broadly to the American people. Obvious problems, from a struggling middle class to a flawed tax code to crumbling roads and bridges, go unaddressed. The American people have certainly noticed; according to Gallup, 80 percent disapprove of Congress.
We can’t let 535 people continue to limit the progress of a nation of more than 300 million.
In his column, Delaney offers a threefold solution: open primaries so that Independents can vote, redistricting reform, and making Election Day a holiday.
We need to act. Low voter turnout, gerrymandering and non-competitive elections are creating a frightening negative feedback loop. As mainstream voters grow increasingly disgusted and apathetic, only extreme partisans stay interested, creating more race-to-the-base contests, which then turn off more moderates and on and on.
Congress has lost the will to find bipartisan solutions. In the past, divided government didn’t mean open political warfare. The Highway Act, the Clean Water Act, tax reform and the Americans With Disabilities Act were accomplished under divided government. We can get there again.Each of the reforms in the Open Our Democracy Act, individually, would help counteract the dysfunction that has broken Congress. Taken together, they can do more than that. Let’s make the House of Representatives actually representative.
To read the full op-ed, click here. You can read John’s reform platform here.