Weekly New Way Round-up: 11-17-23
Death rattles or rebirth pains? Independent voters are real. New political power. Native American Art.
Each week I try to highlight a few interesting stories, trends, thought-pieces or people who are helping chart the New Way, or whose work should inform and inspire us.
This week I was challenged, encouraged and shaken in a good way. I’m no doomsday, conspiracy theory prophet, but I am concerned when I hear people dismissing the real risk that our nation may not survive as a flourishing republic if we don’t demand change. One faction, on the nationalist/populist right seems to genuinely want a more authoritarian approach. Another, on the furthest left, wants a massive state with speech policing and cancel culture abounding. Neither of these visions makes room for a the beautifully pluralistic nation in which we live - nor for the true flourishing of the most people.
We need a New Way.
Here’s a few thought-provoking pieces I’m following this week. I’d love to hear your feedback.
“Rich and consolidated democracies don’t usually die – until they do.”
I’ve recently been connected with the folks at the Ash Center at the Harvard Kennedy School and I’m really grateful for the work they’re leaning into. Specifically, the Ash Center is taking a stronger interest in evaluating the possible New Ways for our nation - a signal that thought leaders are feeling it too. We’ve got to figure it out.
For starters, they’re studying and publishing on how history should inform any New Way that may emerge. This line smacked me in the face in a new book they’re releasing with Oxford Press:
“Rich and consolidated democracies don’t usually die – until they do.”
This is the haunting opening line of a chapter in the new book When Democracy Breaks which is available for free online. This chapter in particular is a sobering warning for us, though rooted and focused in the scholarship of looking at what happened in ancient Athens. This section, in particular, stands out:
The questions of under what conditions democracy breaks is of obvious relevance today. This volume is but one of many contributions devoted to developing some answers. The evidence from the contemporary world suggests that democratic breakdown occurs in the aftermath of military coups, or when leaders lose legitimacy or cannot solve political problems, and it is more likely under presidentialism, when inequality is high, or when the country has past experiences with authoritarian institutions. Breakdown also occurs through the erosion of checks on elected leaders. Democratic stability rests instead on economic growth, strong states, and liberal institutions, such as a robust rule of law, free and fair elections, and individual rights.
I also found this line relevant to our current challenges, and the need to chart a comprehensive New Way, not just in our electoral systems or our interpersonal politics, but in every facet of our civic life and institutions:
The crisis of legitimacy manifested itself as a breakdown in the belief that the democracy was a fair system of social cooperation – that the costs I incur for my cooperation as a member of the group are compensated by the benefits that participation bestows on me—both as an individual and as a part of a community whose flourishing I value—and the belief that my fellow citizens are similarly motivated.
All this work for a New Way is deeply interconnected. We need to start working as if it is. Read the full chapter here - or the whole book here.
Independent voters now make up the largest voting bloc in Arizona
This great piece from NPR highlights one of the key moments we should be looking for in the charting of the New Way in our politics: voting power. Thom Reilly rightly notes that independents are, by definition, all over the spectrum. However, long-time Arizona operative Chuck Coughlin delivers the real money shot: “you can’t win the state without them.”
This truth, and the growing reality of it in many political geographies, will inevitably fuel the New Way. It’s just math. Voters are moving away from identifying primarily with, and being tied to, the two major parties. The challenge and task of much of our work is to lead the creation and growth of tribes, organizations, parties and campaigns which organize disparate voters who, though they may be ideologically diverse, are actually very aligned in wanting something different. Most of them are willing to accept the reality of disagreement and compromise on specific policy points in favor of leaders of integrity who will lead in a New Way.
The inclusion of veterans in the narrative was deeply moving to me, and echoed the work of my friends over at Veterans for All Voters and their incredible leaders Eric Bronner and Todd Connor who are working to organize veterans to support electoral reform. In this NPR piece, veteran Bud Meador was featured:
BUD MEADOR: My name is Bud Meador. I'm 77, I think - retired military after 42 years of service.
KHALID: I met Meador in Sun City West, which bills itself as the nation's premier active adult golf retirement community. It's about 45 minutes from central Phoenix. Meador recently left the Republican Party.
BUD MEADOR: And it was a long decision. We had wrestled over that for a long time because we just didn't like the way the contentious atmosphere - becoming more personal, more low-rent, low-class commentary coming out of some of the Republican candidates, Donald Trump in particular.
I am so inspired by those who have served our country working to protect it in these new ways, and living out their principles.
On a personal note, Thom Reilly is part of the team at ASU’s Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy which also includes my friend and mentor Jackie Salit. Jackie’s view and vision of the movement has inspired and challenged me through the years. They are doing some really tremendous and important work, and I recommend you follow them.
Principled Republicans & Conservative Independents need new political power levers. Here’s one way to create them.
Let’s be honest: if you’re a Republican or conservative who doesn’t see the Republican Party as your home anymore, you’re wandering in the wilderness. Former principled electeds like Adam Kinzinger, Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney (soon to be retired) have bravely tried to stand for a New Way, but they’ve lost. And voters, activists, political professionals and elected officials of this character find ourselves largely without levers for political power. Though that may sound crass, it’s reality. In order to influence our system, you must hold some form of elected, financial or mass voter power.
It’s against this backdrop - the need for principled conservatives, non-MAGA Republicans and center-right folks to find new levers of political power - that I found this paper from Andy Craig, the director of election policy at the libertarian/ center-right think tank the Rainey Center, very timely and important.
Craig says:
In the 19th century and continuing well into the 20th, the United States saw a proliferation of political parties, many operating within a single state or region, and often achieving a substantial degree of electoral success. The most successful of these coalesced to form what is now the Republican Party.
Andy then goes on to point out a real political power play that is available to this group in two states already, and is worth fighting for in many others.
The single greatest cause for the decline of this marketplace of ideas was the prohibition of fusion, also known as cross-nomination.
Fusion is simply the ability of multiple parties to nominate the same candidate if and when they want. For example, both Republicans and Libertarians might want to back the same candidate in some races, or likewise the Democrats and the Working Families Party. On rare occasions an exceptionally popular candidate might even appeal to primary voters in both major parties.
In banning fusion, mostly at the height of the Progressive era, unjustified government control was asserted over core political speech and freedom of association. The consequences of this change have been widely overlooked, but go to the core of why our political system is so toxic and dysfunctional today.
I am still a believer that we need a multitude of electoral reforms, and that there is no “silver bullet.” But I am more and more convinced every day that if we don’t lean in hard to the work of building new tribes, factions and parties - and resourcing them for healthy growth - we will fail to bring long-term change. As I’ve stated in previous pieces, people are tribal - and we need to build healthier, more impactful political tribes, capable of considering the greater good, not just their own interests.
I think fusion voting is one political power lever that we need to bring back.
A moving tribute to Native American art and history
I bought my first Sackcloth & Ashes blanket a few years back when I met the founder and heard their awesome mission - donating a blanket to a homeless shelter every time they sell one. Then this week they launched this impressive legacy series honoring Native American art, heritage and story - and I absolutely love it. They’re not paying me to post this - I’m just a fan! As the weather cools, I have my blanket from them on my lap every morning in the early darkness as I start my day in prayer, journaling and meditation. You might enjoy the same.
Thank you for supporting New Way Politics. I hope you’ll subscribe if you haven’t already, and share with your friends and those in the movement who you think would find it interesting.
Thank you for another great piece, Joel, and for the shout out! Onward, as together we build the New Way toward a Union, more perfect...