Primary losers deserve respect for courage, dedication to run
Everitt, in his magnum opus “The Rise of Athens,” notes that Athens was not always a democracy. The city went through periods of aristocratic rule, oligarchy, and even an era of more or less productive tyranny before exhaustion with political strife finally led them to joining up the demos (the polity of the people) with political power or “rule” (kratos).
Like our own system, the Athenian democracy was founded by the aristocrats of the time. Unlike our republic, it was direct — with thousands meeting to create and legislate basic policy. Both systems were and are reliant on a pretty mean gamble: that the people would rule themselves. That means a willingness to devote scarce time and effort on politics. Without an active, and actively engaged, populace, the system would fail or revert to tyranny or oligarchy and the whole chaotic mess would once again ensue. Plato’s old saw basically boils down to “if you refuse to participate in the politics of your community, you condemn yourself to rule by jackasses.”
The rule “by the people, for the people” requires more than the element of voting once in a while (though it’s not much without it) — it requires people that are willing to take upon themselves the burden of service itself to run for office. Without these folks, voters have nothing to decide. We’re far too big to make decisions — as the Athenians did — on a random hill, so we elect people to represent our interests.
We’ve just come through the primaries in Florida, and a good word needs to be said about the losers. Not the winners — the losers. To decide to run for elective office in the current dramatic atmosphere takes internal fortitude, dedication to a public role, and a willingness to draw out your opinions and have them tested in the public space. That’s courage.
To one day wake and set down the cash for qualification takes an act of faith — faith in the system, faith in your beliefs and faith that your candidacy represents some measure of your community. Even if you lose, you win because you’ve done something that makes an unmistakable statement about your belief in the efficacy of government and become a role model to others. You’ve been able to have your say, and have it tested.
Respect, please.
Even though the political panorama is a bit overheated these days, if candidacy is a measure of confidence in the system, we’re doing just fine. The newly drawn (and likely competitive) 15th Congressional District of Florida attracted 10 candidates: five in the Republican primary and five in the Democratic primary. The winners in these primaries garnered no more than a plurality rather than a majority, and the stragglers at the bottom of the balloting drew less than 10 percent of the vote. In my local polity, no school board incumbent went unopposed. There was a contested open seat, several were very tight races, and one of them will actually go to a runoff.
Our system hates legislative stagnation. Term limits apply in most offices these days for the very reason that Americans do not like folks to get too comfortable as incumbents - to level the playing field a bit, and to give anyone and everyone a chance to run. New candidates set “constitutional adrenaline” at a good high pitch, keep the ideas coming, and can create the conditions for better problem-solving.
In the breathing space between the primaries and the general elections, let’s take a moment to recognize those folks that throw caution to the winds and take a chance on this crazy system.
And if we are ruled by jackasses, we have only ourselves to blame.
R. Bruce Anderson is the Dr. Sarah D. and L. Kirk McKay Jr. Endowed Chair in American History, Government, and Civics at Florida Southern College and Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science. He is also a columnist for The Ledger and political consultant and on-air commentator for WLKF Radio in Lakeland.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Primary losers deserve respect for courage, dedication to run
