Today’s post is based on the entrepreneurial principles of market disruption and risk/reward.

It begins with the assumption Joe Biden will not run for a second term. An open contest for the top spot gives the eventual winner total control over his/her running mate. The following is why I believe it makes sense, both politically and for post-election governance, for that person, regardless who wins, to add Liz Cheney to the ticket.

During the current election cycle, Democratic candidates claim the future of a democratic America is in the balance. If the Trump-beholden GOP controls either house of Congress, governorships and state legislatures, all those 2022 candidates who claim the last election was rigged or stolen will show us what a truly rigged election looks like. But inflation has shoved that message off the front-burner. Fortunately, Democratic control of the White House during the next session of Congress is more likely to create a legislation stalemate than a codification of the GOP’s authoritarian wish list.

All bets are off if Trump or one of the MAGA wannabes win in 2024. If Democrats honestly believe democracy is on the brink it is time not just to talk the talk, but truly walk the walk. And the best way to do that is with a unity ticket. And not any traditional Republican fills the bill. It must be Liz Cheney.

First, if the Democrats want to run on the preservation of democracy, who better than someone who sacrificed her leadership role and her House seat for the cause. Equally important, she has become a role model for young, educated Republican women, a constituency the Democrats need to win. Amanda Becker describes her appeal as follows.

Through all of the tumult, Cheney, who consistently during her political career criticized what she saw as the reductive “identity politics” of the left, has leaned on her gender, and her view of what it means to be a woman leader, to find allies and make the case that it is women who are brave enough to meet this tenuous moment in our country’s history — even if there is a cost for their courage.

Bloomberg News/August 12, 2022

She has also become a prolific fundraiser. Becker continues:

Cheney has raked in record fundraising hauls, with a lot of money coming from out of state, and even from Democrats who believe supporting her is a way to stop the broader spread of Trumpism.

And finally, her presence on the ticket would make GOP efforts to peg the Democrats as “socialists” or even “communists” laughable. Cheney could put that issue to bed in her convention acceptance speech.

I know, you are probably asking what happens after they win. Only good things if the Democrats adopt a governing philosophy which I call “Socratic democracy.” The principles are not new. It is central to the continuing debate between disciples of John Maynard Keynes and Adam Smith over the best way to stimulate an economy. Or Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas over slavery. Sadly, deliberation over serious alternatives to solving the nation’s problems has disappeared in this era of tribal partisanship.

If the Democrats want to revive substantive debate and compromise, they should not expect or wait for the Republicans to return to their senses. They can prove its value by creating that Socratic forum WITHIN the party. When there is agreement on the problem or goal, let Cheney, Evan McMullin (if he wins the Senate race in Utah) and even Joe Manchin participate in finding the solution. If “team crazy” wants to sit on the sidelines, ignore them. My bet is the electorate will also start paying less attention to them.

Yesterday, I went after Washington Post columnist Henry Olsen for suggesting Liz Truss failed because she did not sell her policies of tax cuts and deregulation. But, the most frustrating thing during the current election cycle has been the inability of Democratic candidates to deliver the message they are the ones who support policies which have the approval of overwhelming majorities of American voters on topics like women’s rights and gun safety. That task is much easier when the message comes from unexpected voices.

Let me close by returning to my opening theme. The current political market is inefficient. It begs for disruption. Just look at your smart phone. You have unlimited ability to communicate with anyone in the United States in multiple ways for less than $50 a month. Compare that to your rented phone, a land line and cost-per-minute long distance calling. At that time, breaking up Ma Bell was considered risky. But the rewards proved to be priceless.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to take a similar risk in the public sector.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP