Tyranny and the majority

In this representative republic, elected officials are supposed to govern by the will of the majority of the people. But after they use that majority to get into office, they’re disregarding the people’s will.

It’s a twist on de Tocqueville’s famous political observation about America, notes Fred Barnes in the WSJ.

“The Frenchman toured America in the 1830s and published his conclusions in the classic “Democracy in America.” He noted the powerful impact of public opinion. “That is what forms the majority,” he wrote. Congress merely “represents the majority and obeys it blindly” and so does the president. They are free to brush aside minority opinion, creating a threat de Tocqueville described as the “tyranny of the majority.”

“Democrats in Washington do have large majorities in Congress. But instead of reflecting popular opinion, they are pursuing wide-ranging initiatives in defiance of the views of the majority of Americans. This stands de Tocqueville’s concept on its head.

“The most striking example is health-care reform. It is intensely unpopular but was approved by the House in November and the Senate on Christmas Eve. Asked in a Rasmussen poll in mid-December if they’d prefer no bill to ObamaCare, 57% said they would. Only 34% said they’d rather ObamaCare be enacted.

“Yet Democrats are forging ahead as if the public actually approves of their health-care reform. Why, when Republicans are preparing to hammer them on the issue in next year’s elections, would they do that?”

Politics and fear.

But at this point, the politicians ought to at least worry about the populist activism growing amongst the electorate they’re betraying. This will be a defining year.