The Time has Come to be Brutally Honest About Our Failing Political System

The Time Has Come to be Brutally Honest
About Our Failing Political System

By Thomas Coffin

 Note: This essay was published in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.  Read it here.

As some of us manage to live through another day of mass shootings (now averaging over two per day), while others add to the growing list of victims claimed by our national religion which sacrifices the innocent upon the bloody altar of the god of guns, it is manifest that there is only one solution this obscene ritual—the universal rejection of the myths that created such a demonic power. 

The path for doing so is similar to those for conquering other harmful addictions, beginning with brutal honesty, embracing the truth, taking responsibility, and making the difficult but right decisions necessary for recovery.

I begin with the genesis of our national gun violence addiction. It is fair to describe it as such, because we collectively know it is harmful, even fatal, yet we refuse (through our political leaders who are our representatives) to take action designed to eradicate the violence. Even more detrimental, Congress passed the PLCAA in 2005 to protect the arms industry against lawsuits based on the industry’s promotion of the weaponry it sells that injures or kill the victims of these lethal implements. 

One has to ask why Congress as a body ignores and even subsidizes the harm being wreaked upon the citizens with the commercial trafficking of these firearms, including military grade firearms developed by our own armed forces. The answer lies in significant part on the fact that another branch of government—the Supreme Court—has ruled that corporate entities have a right under the Constitution to contribute funds into the campaign coffers of candidates seeking election to office in our political system (the Citizens United decision). The Court euphemistically termed the donations “speech” protected by the First Amendment.  Others may find that description a stretch— is a bag holding 30 pieces of silver really just a form of “speech” to the recipient or does it not come with quid pro quo expectations? And while on the subject, isn’t it worrisome to discover that at times spouses of Justices presiding over looming cases before the highest court in the nation have likewise received compensation from parties with an interest in the litigation?  (Justices shield spouses’ work from potential conflict of interest disclosures.)

A recent case in Ohio shatters to smithereens the flimsy cover of speech applied by the Roberts court. Evidence currently being brought out in a federal court trial is exposing what is described as a billion-dollar bailout bribery scheme among energy executives and Ohio’s most powerful Republican politicians including the current governor, attorney general, and secretary of state as well as the former house speaker, public utilities commissioner, and Ohio Republican Party Chair. (Ohio’s billion-dollar bailout bribery trial showcasing rampant arrogance, corruption, enabling.) Recordings introduced at trial quote a lobbyist stating to undercover agents that “Based on a Supreme Court decision businesses can do this [bribery] and nobody can do anything about it …Politicians can get a bunch of money and say ‘I didn’t know.’”

That Supreme Court case referenced is Citizens United. The “bunch of money” is “dark money”, e.g. cash into campaign funds. The “I didn’t know” is due to the lack of any trace to the donor. The lobbyist goes on to instruct that the contributions should be calculated to get the public official’s attention—“…chunks of $15,000, $20,000, $25,000, or more.”

Common sense alone should warn us of corruption or certainly the appearance of corruption in these practices. The sting operation in Ohio is direct proof. The overwhelming conclusion is that lawmakers’ primary duty to the people is being sacrificed to further the profit margins of their corporate benefactors in exchange for the continuation of the financial support.  The end result is mounting distrust in the integrity of the institutions that must have the trust of the people to be able to govern effectively or to decide disputes impartially.  That erosion of faith is itself potentially fatal to our democracy, which depends on the faith and support of its constituents. When even our own Judiciary is deemed susceptible to such “I didn’t know” wink and nod tactics, our checks and balances safeguards are effectively nullified.

We must ask ourselves what is the real cost of such a betrayal of the people—nothing less than a forfeiture of rights enshrined in the Constitution, including the right to assemble, go to churches, synagogues, mosques, schools, and other forums where the public gathers in safety, and the basic rights to life and liberty for themselves and their posterity.

These are also the consequences of the devil’s bargain that has been made to elevate so-called gun rights above even the most fundamental rights that the people formed its government to honor and dutifully protect. The fictional basis for arming gun buyers with even military grade firearms is self-defense. But who is the enemy? We are outfitting Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Wolverine Watchmen, and other criminal organizations, rather than “well regulated” militias, and the “enemy” is the American people, with tens of thousands already murdered with these weapons. In addition, as I have attempted to demonstrate, the gun rights divide is but a small part of the greater threat to our social compact that is the essence of our nation’s history and greatest strength—our incredible diversity woven into our binding glue of unity and the integrity of our leaders.

As the title of this essay states, we have to be brutally honest before we can recover from and reform our failing political system. Quit pretending that the Second Amendment was amended when it never went through the amendment process but instead was altered by a dubious version of historical context. Call out Citizens United for the corrupting influence it has, as opposed to speech, which only has the force of the reasoning in its content. Recognize that the Supreme Court has in reality become a partisan institution through the political appointment process and reform that process as well as its most important role as the last and final decider in disputes before the Court. I am not proposing a shrinking of its authority, but rather reforms related to the appointment process, requiring the Senate to promptly act on the nominees, requiring a Code of Ethics for Justices, disclosure by the Justices of potential conflicts including financial interests or other ties, and procedures for litigants to move for recusal of Justices for cause.

Finally, the perhaps most brutally honest assessment of our political system: The Nation’s democratic model of government is under siege by a determined movement to replace democracy with an authoritarian model of governance. This movement is well-financed and the signs are unmistakable. We are witnessing voting suppression of minorities, efforts to control curriculum in schools, attempts to breach the supposed wall between church and state, flirtation with theocracy, and the inching ever closer to a de facto Christian nationalism State that is foreign to our heritage. We cannot afford to be spectators during this time in history. We even have a candidate for president that has expressly voiced contempt for our Constitution and has tried already to overthrow it. I am not Chicken Little. We are living through the greatest threat to freedom in our storied existence, and passively observing from a distance is not an option. Get involved. We are still a democracy; it’s up to us to pass it on to our grandchildren.

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Thomas Coffin was the keynote speaker at the Blackberry Pie Society’s Political Party in February, 2020 and at Politics and Pie in October, 2022.  He is a retired federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and a former professor at the UO Law School. Thomas retired in 2016 after 24 years on the bench, prior to which he had a career as a federal prosecutor spanning 21 years. He is married with 7 children.  The Blackberry Pie Society is pleased to include a collection of his essays on our website.  We will post them as they become available.

posted 2.23.2023