Open Government Brainstorm Defies Wisdom of Crowds

theodp writes "In May, the White House launched what it called an 'unprecedented online process for public engagement in policymaking.' Brainstorming was conducted in an effort to identify ways to 'strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness by making government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative.' So, what were some of the top vote-getters? Currently near the top of the list are Legalize Marijuana And Solve Many Tax Issues / Prison Issues (#2) and Remove Marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (#3). For those who remember Obama's earlier Online Town Hall, it's deja vu all over again."

Comments

Democracy isn't perfect.

[tygerstripes]

All sorts of people wiser and more eloquent than I can help to explain why such decisions should not be left open to public vote. A good recent example is Clive James' commentary on democracy which just finished it's run over on the Beeb.

It comes down to the fact that most people don't really know what's best for society, which is why we grant stints of power to those who (we hope) do. When dealing with complex issues such as law-making and governance, we need to locate and consult suitably educated experts to make these decisions.

Re:Democracy is the problem

[goldaryn]

The problem being illustrated is with the concept of 'democracy', an idea our Founding Fathers was aware of and not only discarded it was a notion they took great measures to prevent [...] This created the Rule of Laws instead of the Rule of Men. We had divided and limited government. But we threw that away and now have the Rule of Men and our civilization is declining.

You are wrong. A bunch of dead white men from several hundred years ago don't know what's best for 2009.

Re:Painful to Watch

[blind biker]

The problem is, despite pressing the law for their deus ex machina, they don't know shit about the law.

In the case that something happens to the president, the vice president takes power. This happened when Kennedy was assassinated, and it happened when Nixon was impeached. If something were to happen to the vice president, the speaker of the house takes power -- Nancy Pelosi. This deus ex would basically have to be, by far, the biggest scandal in the history of American politics for the Republicans to get someone in the presidency.

So what? I don't care about the consequences, I still think that the president of a country should come clear about where he/she was born, if that is pertinent to his/her eligibility to run for the presidency.