The Politics Industry

Just Another Dogmatic Diatribe. With a title and premise like this, I truly had high hopes for this book. I should learn to not have such high hopes for such books, given that they almost always are utter disappointments, and this one is no exception to that generality. It raises some good points, particularly as they relate to ballot access and the nature of the duopoly system of government we have in the US. But beyond that this truly is just another dogmatic diatribe, this one from self-professed “moderates” that are actually anything but. It ends with an “altar call” urging you to act and donate your money, even as the authors sit back comfortably writing books and being “activists” rather than actually putting their own names on the ballot to try to achieve their stated goals. They want you to take the heat in running for office... even as they don't have the guts. So take it from someone who has run for office, twice. Read this book, as it genuinely does have a couple of good ideas. But read it with a boulder of salt, because the authors aren't brave enough to get in the fire themselves, and it is only within the fire that you truly see your ideas in action. Recommended.

Everyone has their opinion about what's broken in our political system. Not everyone can offer a clear, practical, achievable path toward improvement; of those who do, few can document their recommendations with hard data and historical context.

Gehl and Porter waste not a word on Citizens United nor right-wing propaganda channels nor social media. Perhaps they see those battles as unwinnable? More likely, since they're both economically minded, they prefer to focus on the best ROI. Which, as they see it, is: (1) changing the Primary system to be open and nonpartisan, in which the Top Five (or Four) vote getters are guaranteed a place on the electoral ballot, then (2) Ranked Choice Voting in actual elections.

Will it work? I don't know, obviously: I'm just a cog. There's reason to be optimistic, though: California has had a watered-down version for some years and has seen great results. Alaska just recently (November 2020) passed Four-Way primaries (which of course the two-party system will do everything in their power to try to undo); and Maine voters have sent a big fuck-you to the parties who have been trying to nullify the voters' RCV decision in 2016. IMO anything that both parties fear so much has to have a lot going for it.

The book itself: a tad long, and uncomfortably breezy/chatty at times. I couldn't figure out if they were writing for a scholarly audience, for politicians, or for lay people. I learned some history, paused often to reflect; and even if I'm not 100% sold, I'm sold enough to make efforts toward this goal. I'll be talking to some people I know.

(If you're interested: I recommend starting by listening to the Freakonomics podcast. If watching videos is more your thing, Gehl and Porter have some video links on their web site. If you'd like to borrow my copy, just ask).