“Democracy, the worst form of government … except for all the others” is attributed to Winston Churchill. He saw the flaws of democracy having worked inside and outside of the system. He also saw that authoritarians, whether fascist (Mussolini, Hitler) or communist (Stalin), were much worse. Too many people see the corruption in government and business and roll their eyes and say, “That’s just the way it is, they are all the same.” Well, the truth is, they aren’t all the same, and we voters have the responsibility and power to elect people with integrity and courage to make democracy work for us as intended.
I am politically independent. I have seen up close the failures and successes of democracy through my career as a federal civil servant of 37 years. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Often the “bad and ugly” are the result of party politics using their power to ram something through that fits their ideology rather than making sense for the whole of the country. The saying “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” surfaced in the late 1800s reflecting on the corruption of monarchs, Napoleon declaring himself emperor, and Roman emperors declaring themselves gods. Corruption is rampant currently. Democracy was developed to counteract that corruption.
Our democracy survived for 250 years. It has changed and improved during that time. We have faced significant threats throughout our history, and each time it has come out stronger. We no longer have slavery, women have the right to vote, senators are elected by the people, not by state legislators. We, the people, have the power to change the system through our votes.
I am supporting Seth Bodnar, running as an Independent for Montana’s Senate seat, because he plans to represent the needs of Montanans and not a political party. I have talked to Seth, asked questions and looked at his platform for action when he is elected. He is focused on three pillars:
Protecting the Montana Way of Life – through affordable housing, health care, sustaining Social Security and Medicare, veterans benefits, tribal rights;
National Security – by supporting Montana’s agricultural sector and its contribution to national food security; enhancing energy security using all energy sources with a grid designed to meet our needs; economic security – rejuvenating our wood products sector using sustainable forest management, promoting the tourism sector, innovation and new business creation; investing in infrastructure; expanding upon the great research and development work by UM and MSU that supports all of these efforts; military security; fiscal responsibility;
Lastly, and of equal importance: Political Reform – term and age limits for judges and Congress; eliminating corporate money in elections; eliminating gerrymandering so political parties can’t create “safe” seats that take away voters’ choice; prohibiting insider trading; fixing the primary system, so our votes have more power.
Seth is not serving up platitudes and culture-war doggerel. He provides an outline for returning power to the voters. He believes in Lincoln’s words from the Gettysburg Address about preserving a government of the people, by the people, for the people and has specific plans to get it done. If we want to change the culture of Washington, D.C., we must change how it operates. We can eliminate corruption and self-dealing by sending an Independent voice from Montana, for Montana, by Montana. We can have a better, stronger democracy. Vote the person, not the party!
Dave Atkins is a forester and forest ecologist (B.S., M.S.), retired from USFS. He is on the Montana Prescribed Fire Council Steering Committee, the Montana Wood Products Roundtable Steering Committee, past president and current board member of the Montana Forest Owners Association, member of the Blackfoot Challenge, the Lolo Restoration Committee and owner of a family forest in the lower Blackfoot River. These are his personal views, and he is not speaking for any of the organizations.