From: plmoses@unix.cc.emory.edu (Paul L. Moses)
Date: Thu, 12 Aug 93 12:08:28 PDT
To: ld231782@longs.lance.colostate.edu
Subject: Re:  On The Inherent Evil of Electronic Democracy
Message-ID: <9308121908.AA06721@emoryu1.cc.emory.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Regarding the Electronic Democracy idea, I vote with Tim May.  Look at the
way public opinion is molded today through CNN, Tom Brokaw, Connie Chung, 
Oprah Winfrey, etc.  One could even say that Clinton is the "Phil Donahue
president" (he 'cares') - just look at the second candidate debate last fall.
A talk show if ever there was one.  No, erasing procedural safeguards in the 
name of access by the masses is an *EXTREMELY* bad idea, because a lot of 
these archaic procedures still have use and serve a filtering function,
albeit one that may not be recognized fully until they are removed and 
drastic, undesirable, unwanted,and unintended consequences follow.
What we should be doing instead is focusing our analytic powers on 
the present bottlenecks and distortions in the system and resolving those
rather than opening ENTIRELY NEW "runoff channels".  For at the end of the
day, the only beneficiaries of innovation are the ones poised to exploit it.
And that certainly is not the "enlightened citizen" today.
What am I saying?  If we allow direct legislating power to go to everyone,
we will eliminate the concern with PLURALITY that the Constitution
protects.  If not sooner, then later.