Steven Rosenfeld: Repairing America's Crumbling Democracy!

As the 2012 election crests with all its chaos, billionaire driven, TV ad wars, legal fights over voter suppression, tactics, endless fundraising e-mails and worries about stealing the vote, progressives need to remember what's been destroying our democracy, and what solutions are needed to restore the balance of power in America. Now is the time to note precisely what's wrong, what's gotten worse, and what's completely broken in key corners of the electoral process. That's because once the dust has settled after Election Day, the impetus to fix things will wane among the political victors, media and much of the public,as it does after every big election. The winners will say there is not a problem because they have won. The press will start covering the new administration, and weary voterswill want to look ahead to solutions, not back to old problems. That's how our dysfunctional may limp along until the next major election. But the first year of a presidential term is the most likely time that Congress might do anything on a big enough scale to touch the underlying problems because it's ebb tide in the electoral cycle. So let's look at what's breaking or broken as we experience the final weeks of the 2012 campaign,, and note where the solutions lie. 1. What Are 21st Century Voting Rights? For decades, progressives have asked where democratic renewal is supposed to begin. This year, we have heard more about big money abuses than what a higher voter turnout would mean. 2. Can we now have Modern Elections? Progressives want millions more people to vote. But those voters must be accommodated by the process, not impeded and tripped up at various stages of the vote. 3. Get Partisans Out of a Public Process. 4. Put The Public Back In A Public Process. Making elections more of a public process doesn't just mean enrolling all eligible voters and removing the private sector from our electoral process.