Beware of the Mob

Since the election is over now and there isn't quite as much punditry, I will vent some of my own political frustration. I am not a big fan of Federalism, big government, Oligarchy or non-progressive politics, but the explosion of initiative politics is starting to piss me off! I think initiatives have their place, but currently they are being used as a political tool by extreme right-wing nutjobs. Take for instance Initiative 933 which was put before voters in Washington State. Basically the proponents of this initiative feel that government regulation of their property is an unfair "taking" of property. Therefore, these so-called private property defenders put up this initiative which would require government to pay private property owners if regulations diminish the value of their property or the potential value of their property as a result of their development schemes.

Unfortunately, for these idiots, nowhere in the constitution does it state that an individual has an inalienable right to build a nuclear power plant on their property. Government, when overseen correctly by elected representatives, has the right and the obligation to regulate the use of private property and it's effect on the general public. Should your neighbor be allowed to build a coal-fired power plant next door without the government protecting you from the health effects of the development. To take the argument even further, shouldn't the larger community have the right to decide what sort of development they will tolerate. Right now we do this by electing representative government which, when working correctly, is supposed to reflect the majority views. Sometimes these views aren't even the most rational ones. Look at school board decisions to teach Intelligent Design as an example.

What is new is that the extreme right-wingers have taken the initiative approach since they are a minority and their views will not be reflected in the elected representation. The idea seems to be write up an initiative which makes the government out to be an over-bearing bad guy and maybe, just maybe, enough stupid or un-informed voters will knee-jerk vote in their favor. Fortunately, in the case of I-933, the Washington State voters were smart enough to smell the rats, and soundly defeated the measure.

I am afraid, however, that someday someone, or some minority interest, will hijack our state's policies through the initiative process. It only takes some careful marketing to create a powerful "mob" rule. We live in a democracy not an ochlocracy!

Ok, I will get off my soapbox now!