The commons as such is not quite on the agenda of politicians. Still, yesterday’s elections and ballot initiatives will have sweeping implications for all sorts of commons-related issues. Chief among them: media concentration, net neutrality, eminent domain, public lands management, economic inequality (e.g., minimum wage), and global trade. While it will take time to digest the full implications of the Democratic sweep of the House and (probably) the Senate, it is clear that the rampant corporate plunder facilitated by George W. Bush and congressional Republicans may finally be slowed if not reversed in many instances.
Now that Representatives John Dingell and Ed Markey will become Chairmen of the House Commerce Committee and Telecommunications Subcommittee, respectively, we should expect a significant shift in focus on media, telecom and Internet issues. The FCC may finally begin to get more serious oversight, and limits on media ownership will get a boost. TV broadcasters who have been hogging the digital spectrum for free, with no payback to the American people, may finally be pushed to accept some public interest obligations.
“Net neutrality” is also likely to get a boost under Dingell and Markey. This is the principle that cable and telcos should transmit all Internet traffic without discriminating against any type of content or charging for tiered quality of transmission service. Without net neutrality rules (the equivalent of “common carriage” rules that applied to telephone companies for decades), the Internet could be turned into the equivalent of cable TV – a medium dominated by a handful of media giants who marginalize newcomers and non-commercial voices.
It was gratifying to see so many eminent domain initiatives in western states fail. Libertarian property rights advocates succeeded in getting these initiatives on state ballots as a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling that allowed the City of New London (Conn.) to seize private homes for retail development. After Oregon voters approved Measure 37 in 2004, requiring government payment for “takings,” property rights advocates sought similar measures that would prevent government from limiting development.
In California, Proposition 90 failed by a 53-47 margin. In Idaho, Proposition 2 lost by a 76-24 margin. In Washington State, Proposition I-933 lost by a 58-42 margin. Only in Arizona (based on my quick review of election results) did an eminent domain measure pass. Prop. 207 prevailed there by a 65-35 margin. It’s worth adding that Rep. Richard Pombo – one of the most Paleolithic property-rights zealots in the House, who had advocated selling off public lands and national parks – was unseated by Democrat Jerry McNerny. Sweet.
Global trade policy may be moving in some new directions thanks to the election of Rep. Sherrod Brown as the new Senator from Ohio. Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch is having a press conference today to tout the success of several candidates from manufacturing states (Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, North Carolina), where Democratic candidates who challenged the orthodoxy of NAFTA and CAFTA beat their “free trade” opponents.
One of the most significant impacts on the commons from the election may be a new tone and attitude toward social cooperation and progress. In particular, three African-American politicians – Senator Barack Obama, Tennessee Senate candidate Harold Ford, and the newly elected Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick – pioneered messages of hope, inclusion and social uplift on the campaign trail. These messages were in stark contrast to the fear-mongering and divide-and-conquer tactics used by many Republicans.
It was a bit shocking to see the national TV networks linger on Deval Patrick’s acceptance speech for so long. It’s as if they couldn’t help themselves. Patrick’s tributes to his multi-ethic coalition of wealthy and poor, artists, disabled people, immigrants and others is a refreshing change after five years of terrorist-minded politics! While it remains to be seen how durable the “politics of hope” will be – and what types of policies it can enact – surely this is a new cultural chord being plucked.
Finally, one of the big wins for the commons in the 2006 elections was the rise of the blogosphere and people-powered media. As The New York Times wrote:
_Blogs of all political stripes spent most of yesterday detailing reports of voting machine malfunctions and ballot shortages, effectively becoming an online national clearinghouse of the polling problems that still face the election system. And in a new twist this year, many bloggers buttressed their accounts of electoral shenanigans with links to videos posted on the video Web site YouTube. That the blog now has a firm place in the choreography of national events – and in elections perhaps more so than in any other cultural exercise – is a boon to the democratic process, said Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Internet governance at Oxford University and a co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard. “In a lot of ways they’re helping to set the agenda for the mainstream media in fast-moving events like this,” Mr. Zittrain said. “They just need to be able to produce enough that’s credible quickly to give a lead.”
More people are turning to the Internet for political news, commentary and opportunities to express themselves, organize and participate. This is helping to break the hammerlock on politics claimed by political professionals and the mainstream media. It is enabling new voices and participation to emerge: an important victory for the commons.