MAJORITY DOESN'T RULE
It's amusing to watch reporters and columnists vying to provoke fights
within the Republican Party while declaring its demise. Especially if it
doesn't move left and mimic the Democrat Party. Most recently the foils have
been Colin Powell and Rush Limbaugh, Meghan McCain and Ann Coulter.
It's amusing because John McCain, with lukewarm support, garnered more votes
(59,934,814) than any Democrat presidential candidate in history other than
Barack Obama. And the media write obituaries every week for the Republican
Party, which they re-read with great pleasure attempting to dishearten
Republicans. Getting 60 million votes, only 7 percent fewer than President
Obama, is no reason for Republicans to feel down and out lonesome, and
hardly something that justifies all the obits.
Here are some interesting facts the media likes to suppress. No president of
the United States has ever received over 33 percent support from the
voting-age population including President Barack Obama (32.6 percent). (He
received 41 percent of the Registered Vote, which is all that really
counts.) But if it's acknowledged that only one-third of the population
supports the president it's hard to maintain he has a "mandate" to impose
his ideas on the other two-thirds. Ah perspective!
Also suppressed is the fact that 35 percent to 41 percent of the population
(depending on which poll) self-identify as "conservative," and barely 21
percent as "liberal." Amusing, because in a Pew Research Center survey only
7 percent of reporters self-identified as conservative. Generally speaking
the much broader base of conservatives tends to vote Republican and from
which the Republican Party gets the majority of its base. Moving left would
be a disaster!
Furthermore, the media insist the Republican Party is the party of the rich
and Democrats are the party of the poor and downtrodden as if reporting it
over and over makes it true. In 2007 Democrats comprised the six richest
U.S. senators and six of the 10 richest congressmen. Go figure!
At the local level things get even more amusing. Mayor Sanders most recently
was elected with 54 percent of those voting but with only 18 percent of
citywide registered voters. And in making statistics fun just 9 percent,
116,527 of the city's total population of 1,336,865, elected him.
Carl DeMaio won my old Council District 5 seat receiving 66 percent of the
votes cast but from only 24 percent of registered voters.
Todd Gloria won with 54 percent of the vote but only 36 percent of
registered voters.
Sherri Lightner won with 52 percent of the vote but only 36 percent of
registered voters.
Marti Emerald won with 50.43 percent of vote but only 36 percent of
registered voters.
Prior to District Elections in 1988 candidates had to be nominated in their
districts. They then ran citywide in general elections and the percentages
of registered votes cast were about one-half the above -- and in a few
districts, candidates were elected with 8 percent to 11 percent of those
registered to vote. Most people elect politicians hoping that they will
simply administer civic affairs -- not remake the world in their own image.
Apparently most politicians are unable to get others to voluntarily buy into
their ideas and must rely upon the coercive power of government to enforce
them regarding land use, spending priorities, etc.
When nearly half (47 percent) of the people who file federal tax returns pay
no taxes, and rarely even 60 percent of those registered actually vote, you
understand why all spending bills should require not a two-thirds vote, but
at least three-fourths to be adopted. Even this change would not provide
true majority rule by either eligible or registered voters.
Elections do have consequences.
Schnaubelt, president of Citizens for Private Property Rights, has been
a commercial real estate broker
for 39 years and was a San Diego city councilman from 1977-81.
