Defining the public interest
In all probability, viewers tuning in to the debate of 2016 Democratic presidential candidates at 8 p.m. Saturday will be seeing and hearing the next U.S. president. Fortunately, all three candidates – Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley – are well-qualified for the job. Two factors make a Democratic victory next fall nearly certain: the field of Republican candidates; and high public interest promising a large voter turnout.
The public interest and who determines it will be voted on in this election. A sixth mass extinction and climate change make global social and economic justice imperative, not only to address the root causes of terrorism, poverty and ill-health, but also to preserve habitats and lifeforms, including humans.
A Democratic president in 2017 with a Republican-dominated Congress would see a continuation of the status quo and gridlock of the Obama administration, with corporate interests and media defining the public interest. A Democratic president and Congress, with corporate interests and media still defining the public interest, is a distinct possibility. But this election offers voters the opportunity to define the public interest themselves.
Jim Greenwood
Washington