Leaderless opposition

The United States is a representative democracy. Registered party members choose those whom they wish to represent them prior to an election open to all eligible to vote. So far so good.

Despite the flaws inherent in primaries such as ‘playing to the base,’ it’s a system that elects representatives at every level pretty much fairly and efficiently. It’s less good, however, at electing national leaders other than the President and has no role in electing government officials.

There is one particular elected role in parliamentary democracies which, in the United States, does not formally exist at all: The party leader. We have majority and minority leaders in Congress but no overall leader. Elsewhere, things are different.

It won’t have escaped anyone’s attention that the resignation of Justin Trudeau triggered a contest for the Liberal Party leadership in Canada. Mark Carney won and, as the Liberals were the governing party, also became the Prime Minister and will remain so until the General Election. The same happens in the United Kingdom, for better or worse, and in many other parliamentary democracies.

The purpose of these elections is to elect a leader, not just a nominee, either of the party and the government or of the party, or parties, of opposition. In the latter case the role of the leader is to represent the opposition and to determine the ‘shadow leadership’ that matches the cabinet and government departments on specific areas of policy.

That provides a solution to a significant shortcoming of our system. In the United States, we lack a structure that allows the opposition to properly co-ordinate their alternative approaches to taxes, tariffs, government efficiency, minority rights, immigration and the rest. If there was a Leader of the Opposition, maybe we would.

Imagine this. On the Monday after Thanksgiving 2025 the Democratic Leadership primary could begin. For practical purposes the ballot might be restricted to ten candidates, that short list being determined by a ballot among Democratic members of the Senate, the House of Representatives and incumbent Governors.

The process will culminate following debates and town halls with a Super Tuesday like vote in every state on the same day in February 2026. The election to be decided by the aggregate popular vote among registered Democrats. The winner will be the Democratic nominee for the 2028 general election and will lead the party through the 2026 mid-terms.

I may be in the minority, but I would relish the idea of a contest involving Beshear, Buttigieg, Cooper, Cuomo, Jeffries, Newsom, Shapiro, Walz, Whitmer and others. One winner and the potential for shadow cabinet of significant quality and experience. Importantly it would allow for the development of policy platforms for the whole of the electoral cycle and for the eventual appointment of a future cabinet of leaders who have been subjected to public scrutiny.

This alone is worth the effort, in many countries the idea of a cabinet comprising unelected officials would be absurd, more so if, in that same country, it was deemed desirable or necessary to elect the Town Clerk and the Sheriff. Perhaps the most attractive element of this proposal is that it represents real change that can bypass the sclerosis of Congress and the courts in order to allow a real voice of thoughtful opposition to emerge in this election cycle and every cycle in the future.

Rob Norman lives in West Cornwall.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Lakeville Journal and The Journal does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less