Much ink and many pixels have been devoted this year to election campaigns for the presidency and Congress, not to mention state-level elected positions.
Cato Institute President Edward Crane explains for Forbes readers why we all would be better off if we could go to bed early on election night without worrying about the outcomes.
Pardon my cynicism (I’m a libertarian), but I truly wish we lived in a nation in which it really didn’t matter who was elected President, senator or congressman. Don’t get me wrong, because I’m not saying it doesn’t–only that it shouldn’t. I believe the Founders had a similar view. We had the vote and people cared–we even bought votes with whiskey–but it didn’t really matter that much who won. We had a Constitution that said, sure, vote for the legislature and the presidency, but keep in mind these folks don’t have a heck of a lot of power over you or your neighbors. Congress and the presidency were constrained by the enumerated powers of the Constitution, which the father of said document, James Madison, described as “few and defined.” …
… How we came to the point where politicians had so much power over our lives is a sad, if predictable, story. When asked what the convention in Philadelphia had given us, Benjamin Franklin replied, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.” The Founders were very smart people. They knew the odds against keeping a limited-government republic were long. Jefferson once wrote, “The natural progress of things is for government to gain ground and liberty to yield.” Most would have been amazed that the system prevailed for about 150 years.
But our heritage of liberty is still worth fighting for. More than 80% of Americans now favor term limits for Congress. I’ve testified before Congress a few times, and it always annoys me that the congresscritters sit high above those who are giving testimony. A remnant from the monarchies of Europe. The iconic founder of the first libertarian think tank, Leonard Read of the Foundation for Economic Education, used to argue that the House of Representatives should be chosen by lottery, much like a jury. That way they wouldn’t think of themselves as superior to the rest of us. Indeed, he thought the end result would be higher moral standards and more common sense in Congress.
