The Richmond Register

Viewpoints

February 19, 2012

Deciding to let the people decide

Frankfort — “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.”

H.L. Mencken — Journalist, essayist, cynic and satirist



FRANKFORT — Gov. Steve Beshear and proponents of expanded gambling apparently don’t share H.L. Mencken’s cynicism when they say, “It’s time to let the people decide.”

At the press conference where Beshear and Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, unveiled their constitutional amendment on expanded gambling, Sen. R.J. Palmer, D-Winchester, said the issue is not “whether or not we need expanded gaming in Kentucky.” The real issue is “that we want the people of Kentucky to have their say.”

Of course what the people are being asked to decide is precisely what Palmer, Thayer and Beshear said isn’t the issue: Should we have expanded gambling?

But, every speaker that day made the same case: “Let the people decide.”

Some opponents, notably Senate President David Williams, argue plausibly that Kentucky is not a referendum state, and the constitution says voting for an amendment indicates the lawmaker approves of it and asks the people to ratify his or her decision.

For most people, however, that is a distinction without difference and letting the people decide is fundamental to their concept of democracy, even in a representative democracy.

That’s the only explanation for polling that says many who oppose gambling want a vote, even if the same polling says gambling will likely pass.

It is good marketing, and it gives political cover to conflicted or nervous lawmakers who can say they are “personally opposed to gambling” but voters want to decide the issue.

So it’s good strategy for proponents.

But isn’t there more than a little evidence that we, the people, don’t always make good decisions? Voters openly acknowledge they’ve made some bad decisions.

During my life, we’ve elected two presidents who faced impeachment and governors who left office in disgrace.

Congress has an approval rate around 10 percent. No one seems very satisfied with the government we’ve chosen. Some want term limits, presumably to protect us from ourselves and our own decisions. I guess it’s also why candidates often run against government while asking to be part of government.

None of this is to argue for or against gambling. My suspicion is that it won’t solve Kentucky’s problems and won’t make them much worse. (How could it?)

Expanded gambling in the form of casinos isn’t likely to turn the commonwealth into either Sodom and Gomorrah or the Silicon Valley.

But, I’m intrigued by the call to let the people decide rather than the representatives the same people have already decided to send to Frankfort — presumably to make such decisions.

Of course those are the lawmakers who decided to give us huge unfunded liabilities in state employee pension funds; persuaded us to approve annual sessions in order to reduce the number of special sessions and then regularly have been called into special session, sometimes because they couldn’t pass a budget.

They’re the same people who won’t confront controversial issues until the filing deadline passes and can’t craft a logical and constitutional plan to draw legislative districts.

In fact, several of those districts were deliberately drawn simply to contravene the people’s decisions about who they wanted to represent them in Frankfort.

Clearly people simply don’t trust those they’ve sent to Frankfort and prefer to make their own decisions.

But, I’m not yet as cynical as Mencken.

Instead I recall Winston Churchill’s quote: “Democracy is the worst form of government — except for all those others that have been tried.”

Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.

Text Only
Viewpoints
  • Ronnie-Ellis.jpg Republicans are making some noise

    FRANKFORT — Last week’s news was mostly about Tuesday’s primary election but some Republicans who were not on the ballot also had interesting things to say.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo

  • Ike Adams Taking our Sunday night baths

    There in the head of Blair Branch, when I was growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s, we always took our weekly baths, even during cold weather, every Sunday night, whether we needed one or not.

    May 24, 2012 1 Photo

  • Michael-Barone-NEW-Color.jpg Obama pursues higher tax rates

    In the run-up to this weekend’s G-8 summit at Camp David, journalists have unfavorably compared European “austerity” with Barack Obama’s economic policies.
    European spending cuts, the argument goes, have hurt people and are arousing political opposition, while Obama’s proposals to keep federal spending at 24 percent of gross domestic product indefinitely are likely to succeed.

    May 21, 2012 1 Photo

  • Susan-Estrich-color.jpg Graduation day

    It’s that time of year. What’s the old song? “I can still remember...” And I do. It’s what I talk about when I’m invited to be a graduation speaker and what I write about every year at this time.
    It’s about all those painful memories.

    May 18, 2012 1 Photo

  • Michael-Barone-NEW-Color.jpg Recent news could cause panic for Obama campaign

    Is it panic time at Obama headquarters in Chicago? You might get that impression from watching events – and the polls – over the past few weeks.

    May 17, 2012 1 Photo

  • Jim Waters EPA goes medieval on Kentucky coal

    EPA goes medieval on KRoman legions? Horrific crucifixions? Sacking dissenters and making examples out of their deaths?
    These may sound like some of the gruesome tactics used by military commanders of the ancient world, but according to Al Armendariz, who, until recently, was regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s much more relevant to modern America than we’d care to believe.

    May 13, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bill-Robinson.jpg Don’t just pick out a card

    When Anna Jarvis launched the movement for a Mother’s Day observance in 1908, her intention was to have everyone write their mother a letter, putting some thought and sincerity into thanking and telling her what she had meant to them.
    Unsurprisingly, the idea caught on quickly and became very popular. But, Jarvis was disappointed with the outcome.

    May 12, 2012 1 Photo

  • Ronnie-Ellis.jpg Returning to a calmer situation

    FRANKFORT – After a two-month absence, I’ve returned to Frankfort where things seem calmer than when I left.

    May 11, 2012 1 Photo

  • Susan-Estrich-color.jpg Saturday night with Bea

    “They made me feel so small.”
    Bea does my nails. I found her because she works seven days a week until 8 at night.
    She sits at the front table, which in the world of Vietnamese nail salons means the money is in her drawer, and she’s the one who makes sure everyone gets their fair share of business.

    May 10, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bill-Robinson.jpg Why are we in the dumps, again?

    The many positive comments readers and friends have given my weekly column have motivated me to keep writing it.

    May 5, 2012 1 Photo

Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
AP Video
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium 50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Poll

A recent health ranking listed Madison County as the 20th healthiest county in the state. It measured factors such as exercise, access to health care and smoking. Do you smoke cigarettes?

Yes
No
I used to, but I quit.
     View Results