In today's Globe, Jeff Jacoby
takes a whack at gay marriage supporters, accusing them of a "strong antidemocratic streak." He then calls that streak a key characteristic of modern liberalism. It's a bogus argument.
We live in a republic, not a democracy. We elect legislators to make decisions for us. Here in Massachusetts, the legislators we've chosen exercised their judgment at this year's constitutional convention, and acted to kill an amendment that would have replaced civil same-sex marriages with civil unions. If voters think their legislators betrayed them on this issue, they're free to kick them out next year. That's how our government works.
Jacoby's attempt to rewrite history in service of his argument is especially aggravating. Here's his take on some of the watershed moments in American political history:
"In an earlier era, liberalism and respect for the vote went hand in hand. Liberals fought to extend the franchise to women. They were leaders in the civil rights movement, raising their voices -- and sometimes laying down their lives -- for the right of Southern blacks to vote. A century ago, progressives championed the direct election of US senators, a movement that culminated in the adoption of the 17th Amendment in 1913."
If Jacoby thinks these gains would have been ratified by popular vote, he's kidding himself. The amendments he celebrates took effect because Congress and state legislatures did the right thing, not because a majority of citizens thought they were good ideas. And the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 didn't pass because a majority of southern voters (i.e., white southerners) or the national electorate thought it was a good idea. It passed because civil-rights activists successfully highlighted the brutal realities of the southern status quo, and the federal government finally stepped in to do what the states wouldn't.
The key advances in American democracy haven't been made by popular fiat. They've come when lawmakers and the courts (remember Brown v. Board of Education, Jeff?) drag the public in the right direction.