Local Government
Johnny Koremenos ·
August 30, 2011 at 12:51am
On college campuses student government affects the lives of students more directly than municipal, state, or federal government. At the University of Wisconsin the student government is controlled by students with strong, progressive, liberal ideology. As good conservatives we always preach about local control and local governing, but why does it always seem the most simple forms of governments, e.g., school boards, city councils, planning commissions, etc. are controlled by the left? Do conservative candidates frequently lose at these lower level positions, are liberals better at governing local, or are we just missing the boat altogether? Your thoughts are appreciated.
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Re: Local Government
At my alma mater, student government had virtually no affect on student lives. Sure they had money to spend on programs and activities, but turnout to these student initiated programs was typically embarrassingly low. At U. of Wisconsin, what are the responsibilities of student govt?
And then to directly address your question about why local forms of govt are so often controlled by the left...I think I disagree with your premise. Maybe in Madison, that's the case. It certainly is here in San Francisco, too. But I imagine in deep red areas of the country (and there are lots of them), it's very much the opposite.
Re: Local Government
Most conservatives have very little interest in politics as such. Liberals, because they are intent on running other people's lives, do have such an interest. Nationally, the conservatives win only when the liberals do something egregious and there is a furious reaction on the party of ordinary folk. Witness the history of the Tea Party.
For fun, you should identify something egregious that the student government has done on your campus. Then, run for student body president with a platform calling for the abolition of student government. Years ago, shortly before, as a freshman, I arrived at Cornell University, somebody did just that -- and he very nearly won.
Dec '10
Re: Local Government
Deep red parts of the country do not face the same kind of activist liberal that city councils and mayoral offices of urban cities do, but I don't think conservatives are as driven to those positions. In the very small, very rural and deeply red area of the country I'm from, the local gov't (3 council members and the mayor) is still made up of moderates.
I think conservatives are best on lofty ideas like individual rights, but at the local level you're not merely presiding over principles, you're presiding over your neighbors. I think there is some self-selection in those positions, and liberals have less objections to ruling over their neighbors since they can cloak their intentions in the community/society's "common good."
Edited on August 29, 2011 at 10:50pmDec '10
Re: Local Government
Out of curiosity Johnny, what percentage of your student body votes in the elections of your student government?
Re: Local Government
Beasley
I think conservatives are best on lofty ideas like individual rights, but at the local level your merely presiding over principles, you're presiding over your neighbors. I think there is some self-selection in those positions, and liberals have less objections to ruling over their neighbors since they can cloak their intentions in the community/society's "common good." · Aug 29 at 1:14pm
Very interesting point. Yes, this strikes me as being spot on.
Re: Local Government
You raise an interesting question. Tocqueville was impressed by how America (unlike France) was run mostly by local, self-governing associations, most of them not a function of government. Today these associations are mostly governmental, and they are looking for handouts from the federal government. I can comment on school boards. On the face of it, every school district in the country is run by an independent board of elected officials. In reality, school boards are made up of retired teachers, former union activists, spouses of career teachers, and liberal politicians. And these boards are highly deferential to the superintendents, who are simply mouth-pieces for the system. Whenever a rare conservative reformer does get on a school board, he (or she) is either outvoted or coopted under the false guise of decorum and "working together." Thus, every district in the country is following the same bad ideas. To run a campaign against such a system is to invite the teachers' unions to march against you and to face the prospect of being labelled "anti-teacher." Most local politicians do not want to be hated in their own communities. The bottom line is, liberals play for keeps.
Re: Local Government
Only about 14% of students on campus vote. In College Republicans we try to drive out the vote and I'm working on unifying the Greek Community (pretty conservative by nature) to vote for better representatives.
Re: Local Government
I would tend to agree with you, but in my home county, Waukesha County, which tends to be one of the most conservative in the nation, we have a lot of school boards and city councils being run by liberals. For example, the Menomonee Falls School Board passed a contract with teachers without using the tools given to them by Governor Walker's restructuring of collective bargaining.
Apr '11
Re: Local Government
Wait! Student governments do things!! I just thought they were a place for they were kind of like a club for self-important people to pretend like they matter. I do dimly recall student government campaigns at UIUC, were I went to undergrad, but really I spent my whole time there avoiding any official administration like body. The reason I avoided it is because I could never get up enough will to care about the things student governments cared about or deal with student government types.
Apr '11
Re: Local Government
Back during the days I went to the U of O, it wasn't the elected student government that mattered as much as it was the Fees Committee. In fact, an independent student publication of conservative bent was the first source of news that began to turn me away from a liberal mindset towards a conservative one mostly by demonstrating the egregious examples of poor stewardship of student fees practiced by said panel. The biggest revelation I discovered was that part of our yearly tuition hike was covering the deficit caused by the Incidental Fees panel's excesses.
Even learning that, changing the Panel to those of more conservative bent was a herculean task. The "youth vote" the media seeks every year proved just as apathetic towards their own student boards as they do towards national elections. Turnout tended to be abysmal. When I shared my findings from the Oregon Commentator, I was met with shock and surprise. I was one of the few readers, and few readers seemed willing to go out and campaign and share what was going on with the Fees panel.
Aug '11
Re: Local Government
As Paul noted, I think the basic truth is that conservatives tend to be happy to live and let live while the left rather empirically believe their views should be imposed. As such, their ideology necessitates that they hold power.
May '10
Re: Local Government
Think So
As Paul noted, I think the basic truth is that conservatives tend to be happy to live and let live while the left rather empirically believe their views should be imposed. As such, their ideology necessitates that they hold power. · Aug 29 at 4:40pm
I agree with both of you and will add a point:
Very often, I think, liberals try fill the vacuum left in their souls by the loss of traditional religion and moral principles and values with political activism. It lends transcendent meaning otherwise lacking in their lives--gives them a sense of moral seriousness and purpose.
It's also a great way to climb the social ladder and make business and prestige connections.
But there are sincere and good liberals too--people who want to "give back" to their communities by "public service."
Edited on August 30, 2011 at 2:35amAug '11
Re: Local Government
You know, this is why I often try to differentiate between "liberals" and "leftists" (or Democrats for that matter). I've met too many nice liberals like the sweet ladies at the Lutheran church where my kids went to preschool. (ELCA, of course). They're all about peace and love and helping others and going green and all the usual liberal stuff, and they love Jesus, too. I rarely hear them advocating for bigger government and greater federal control. They're just the "peace, love, and understanding" liberals.
Leftists, on the other hand . . . I have no use for them.
And the only thing worse than a leftist is a Democrat.
May '10
Re: Local Government
DrewInWisconsin
You know, this is why I often try to differentiate between "liberals" and "leftists" (or Democrats for that matter). I've met too many nice liberals like the sweet ladies at the Lutheran church where my kids went to preschool.
Same here. I know some liberals whose humanity and generosity put me to shame. I have a cousin who turned down an $80,000/year starting-salary-job offer fresh out of law school to work for half that for a firm into green causes.
Unlike some other environmentalists we might mention, he means it. He makes personal sacrifices for his convictions.
Oct '10
Re: Local Government
I don't know why the schools and education for the most part are run by libs either. Hollywood used to be a Republican town in the 40s, 50s and 60s, but in 2008, 94% of those working in the industry supported democrats.
Feb '11
Re: Local Government
"Do conservative candidates frequently lose at these lower level positions, are liberals better at governing local, or are we just missing the boat altogether?"
Channel surfing, a while ago I happened to stumble across a talk being given by the mayor of my city to the local Rotary Club or some such. Nearly every sentence was about obtaining federal permission and money for this, or court permission for that.
So I have a different reason as to why conservatives aren't interested in local office: Why bother? Nearly every bit of power has been usurped by the Feds or the courts, and what's left is often just begging to a bureaucrat or asking a lawyer for permission.
No thanks.
In important ways the American people are no longer self-governing, alas.
Feb '11
Re: Local Government
katievs
Same here. I know some liberals whose humanity and generosity put me to shame. I have a cousin who turned down an $80,000/year starting-salary-job offer fresh out of law school to work for half that for a firm into green causes.
Unlike some other environmentalists we might mention, he means it. He makes personal sacrifices for his convictions. · Aug 29 at 7:03pm
Ugh. This is the sort of ideologue who files lawsuits to block the construction of any sort of industrial facility in the US. So they get built in China, with no environmental controls at all. Humanity and generosity isn't how I'd describe it.
However, it is interesting that this popped up in a thread about local government. The Sierra Club sues to block the construction of every coal-fired power plant no matter what. I recall a hotly contested rezoning election in South Dakota to build the first new refinery built in the US in decades. Refinery proponents won, but opponents told their supporters not to worry because they would block construction by other means.
The opinion of the locals and their governments simply don't matter. Alas, again.
Feb '11
Re: Local Government
There is a fatigue factor involved in the process. Often, local elections are off-year and turnout is very low. I am a volunteer coordinator for a city council candidate in Westminster, Colorado (a city of 110,000 people in the Denver metro area). While knocking on doors, it amazes me how many people do not know that an election is coming up in November. Several people have also commented, "It's election season AGAIN???" These people do not realize that the local governments tend to have the most microregulatory powers via code inspections and planning processes for work on one's own dwelling or business (always including an appropriate fee, of course) until they experience it firsthand.
Another problem we have is that all local elections are "nonpartisan". Therefore, the voters do not have the political shorthand of "R" or "D" next to the candidates. Without the easy party label, it is time-consuming to research all of the candidates, and most people just do not take that time to do so. Remember, that we, the politically involved, are not normal.
Feb '11
Re: Local Government
To the author's point, it is possible for some to do good from in a student government. The College Republicans at CU Boulder won a majority in their student government last year. Their signature accomplishment is that they reduced mandatory student activity fees at the campus. That is at least an improvement on the margins.
Feb '11
Re: Local Government