I’ve been reading Francona: The Red Sox Years for
the past week or so. I’d be done with it by now, but since it’s written
chronologically and organized season-by-season, it’s been easy to put down for
a few days before tackling some of the more disappointing seasons. I’m
finishing up 2011 now and it is painful to relive the epic implosion. It’s
clear that the wheels had been coming off the team bus for a few years and that
if the players hadn’t been so spectacularly talented, they never would have
contended at all.
Bad baseball is like bad politics. When players get
lazy and self-serving, they might perform well individually but that doesn’t
win games or help build team morale. Same thing in politics - an elected
official that thinks only of his or her political future will not make the
right decisions for their constituents or for the city or state he or she is
supposed to serve. The impact might not be immediate – particularly
when the economy is booming – but we’ll always pay for not electing good leaders
in the end.
On Team Rhode Island, the wheels came off a long time ago
and we’ve been spinning our axles in a ditch for a generation.
I refuse to indict every elected official in Rhode Island
– most are in it for the right reasons and have a real passion to serve, but
it’s time to shine a light on the folks who are more concerned with getting
re-elected than serving their constituents. And this year, the debate
over eliminating the master lever can be that floodlight.
There is absolutely no reason why we should have a
straight party voting mechanism in 2013. Studies have shown that most
voters don’t know how to use it and it causes an “under vote” in local
races. It’s not a convenience – there are no longer multiple levers to
pull and the voting machines don’t look like this:
If people want to vote a straight ticket, they can do it
by using the pen provided to draw a series of lines. As they are making
these choices, they may read the names and find that some of the people on the
ballot are not actually model public servants and may wish to skip the race or
make another choice. This is America after all.
I used to think that master lever line was something that
was an advantage to Democrats – and certainly it is to some degree -- but I think
I am more galled by the votes that Rhode Islanders waste on the master
lever line. In 2012, 9,000 Rhode Islanders in 39 cities and towns used the master lever line to vote for Moderate Party candidates. Wow!
Too bad there were no Moderates on the ballot in 34 communities where
the straight party option was drawn for Moderate.
For those of you keeping score at home, Ken Block has set
up a great website www.masterlever.org where you can sign a petition
and see where legislators, mayors and statewide officials stand on this
issue. Visit it, share it and talk about it.
And no, this isn’t the most important issue on the agenda
this year, but it’s a vote that will tell us who is on Team Rhode Island and
who is on their own squad.
As I turn to 2012 in Tito’s book, I already know what’s
going to happen. A horrific season is punctuated by the trades of those
whining, self-centered baseball players who complain about late games, don’t
run out grounders and trash their teammates in the media. In baseball -
unlike politics - the mistakes don't have to carry over. A week from tomorrow pitchers and catchers
report and the 2013 Red Sox start the season with a clean slate while we will continue to pay for our poor choices for generations to come.
As the 2013 General Assembly session plays out, let’s keep
an eye on our lineup, and use the master lever vote to see if there are trades
that need to happen in November 2014.
It’s clear that continuing to use the master lever line in
our elections is not a benefit to anyone except the candidates who are afraid
of being judged on their own merits. If a state representative or
state senator can count on getting 15-17% through a straight party vote, why
would they vote to eliminate it?
This year I’m hoping it’s because their constituents tell
them to.
CMC
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