European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 08, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday november 8, 1994 commentary the stars and stripes Page 13 civic a  government David s. Broder this has been a mean spirited arid almost unrelieved by negative Campaign. Few mourn its termination not the candidates not the political reporters and certainly not the voters. It is easy to blame the Campaign consultants and the candidates who hire them for the plague of negative ads that have filled the airwaves and the to screens. They cannot shirk their responsibility. But they Are not hallucinating when they say that the attack strategy was dictated in Large part by the cynicism of the Public the voters impulse to discard anything candidate might say about his other own record qualifications policies or goals. Much of the dysfunction in american democracy clearly stems from the distemper of the voters themselves i am not a voter Basher. To the contrary Over the four decades i have Cov ered politics i have seen repeated demonstrations that the common sense and Good judgment of the american Electo rate provide the bulwarks of democracy the founding fathers believed that the would. A /. A i when a wave of assassinations an riots afflicted the nation in 1968, and when a president provoked a constitutional crisis in 1974, the vast majority of the american people showed the re i site civility sen discipline and Fidelity to first principles to keep the wheels from coming off the Wagon of representative government but the past generation has taken a toll on civic understanding and responsibility. The problem is not new. It really goes Back two decades when voters properly disgusted with Vietnam and watergate began to give politicians License to run against Washington and the political  then americans increasingly have settled for a cheap populism of the right and left that flatters their Virtues while encouraging them to a Liik the responsibilities that Are inherent in Demor cratic citizenship. Specifically m and fewer and fewer of us vote and now Many of us Are prepared to re now Nee the e responsibility  popularity of term limits reflects the prevailing anti politician  it is also a convenient rationalization for evasion of the Basic duty of Cit  founders wisely established the principle of rotation in office but they set out to achieve it by frequent elections. This generation of voters prefers the effortless Guillotine of term limits to themore exacting task of deciding who should be retained and who should be voted out of  and fewer of us contribute either time or Money to making politic work. We complain about big Money and special interest influence in Washington but the volunteers who once filled Candi dates Headquarters and walked precincts Are disappearing. Campaigns exist mainly on  Public s reluctance to make mod est amounts of taxpayer financing Avail Able to candidates forces them either to dip into their own savings or to indulge Ina distasteful Money Chase to pay for their. Even those who do vote rarely recognize the fact that the voting Booth is no just the place where the Campaign ends but where government is supposed to begin. " if i May quote again my favorite aphorism to govern is to choose. Elections Are supposed to make the fundamental choices of governmental direction. But increasingly Over the last Genera Tion voters have refused u choose be tween competing parties and programs opting instead for divided government at both the state and National Levels in Only six of the last 26 years has a democratic president been Able to work with a democratic Congress never in 40 years has a Republican president enjoyed the partnership of a Republican con Gress. No one is to blame for that except the voters. ,.,  is easy to Scapegoat the politicians. But let me assert unfashionable that there Are far fewer Hacks in Public office at All Levels local state and National than there were when i started cover ing politics in Illinois and Washington , in the 1950s. Second the parties in govern ment Are More clearheaded and coherent about the alternatives they Are offering than was the Case Back then. Nationally democrats Are no longer divided by the regional and racial Gulf held Over from the civil War republicans have enough agreement that 350 of them members and Nomi nees for the House signed a 10-Point contract with the american people i september outlining measures that they would bring to a vote if Given a majority. In most districts in most states vote shave been offered a real Choice in this election. A. " the Campaign has been ugly but the difference in direction Between president Clinton s democrats and the Gingrich Dole republicans is not hard to  s see How clearly the voters  Washington Post taking. -.-. -. " -. Several civil rights organizations announced last week that they have established a toll free hot line to handle complaints of voter intimidation. I have a different suggestion. Maybe they should hire someone to interfere with our right to vote. Perhaps then we d take it  perverse thought is prompted by news reports that Blacks Are expected to stay away from the polls Innear record droves this a ear. They Don t see any Candi Date they can get excited  Here s the irony Black americans Are elated that their South african Brothers and Sisters finally have the right to vote not Only because they have managed to elect a particularly attractive president in Nelson Mandela but also because its right. They Are proud of their own role in securing democracy in South Africa by their protests their Boycotts their de mands for disinvestment their Success in imposing a  embargo against apartheid. _ but millions of these lovers of democracy abroad will spend the Post halloween season masquerading As empty voting Booths. Relatives of these no voters Are serving with the us military in Haiti to assure haitians the right to vote Here they Don t see anybody Worth voting Lor. It s a special problem in a problem Laden Yea Ruf a democrats who normally can expect to claim the bulk of the minority vote. But it s also a problem for minority voters who wish to be taken seriously. I to in sympathize with their disappointment both in the Quality of the candidates and in the platforms these candidates espouse. The anti incumbency fever sweep ing the land is turning a lot of elections into Amateur night the pandering to voters fears has candidates All ing Over one another with promises of tougher Law enforcement longer sentences More jail cells and of course tighter welfare restrictions. Minority voters who in fact May also be worried about crime and dependency tend to see such campaigning As anal minority. And with democrats and republicans alike doing it staying Home starts to seem a reasonable if negative , maybe we should consider another possible response. As the announcement of the voter intimidation hot line should remind us Vot ing is a precious right dearly won. Southern Blacks who die for the right to vote were not dying to vote for the usually awful candidates then on the ballot. They were dying for themore Basic right of self determination. It was like the sit in demonstrators who got their Heads beaten at segregated restau rants throughout the South not because they were hungry for whatever happened to be on the menu but because they understood that Only Aspa trons would they be in position to help determine the  May be the hardest thing to remember in these times when we take Access to both polling places an places of Public accommodation for granted. The rationale for pursuing the right to vote even at William Raspberry excruciating Cost was not merely so minorities could participate in a corrupt or indifferent system but so that by participating they could make the system less corrupt and indifferent. Increasingly the minority View these Days is first make the system responsive then Well participate. It does t work that Way. Political parties May sometimes reach out to outsiders by promising to address their concerns so Long As those concerns Are not different from the parties Core values. But political organizations first meet the con Cerns of their own actively participating members. Black voters complain that republicans ignore them and democrats take them for granted. True no doubt but so is this you Don t get served if you re not there the a act and other Black and hispanic organizations say they have evidence of voting irregularities and voter intimidation from around the country. I almost want to say Good not that i Don t take voter intimidation seriously. But if it becomes Clear that there Are those who Don t want us to vote who will break the Law to keep us from voting maybe Well take voting seriously too. C Washl Nifon Post the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government