Democracy

On Friday, I was at a conference on digital copyright issues.  At several points, speakers expressed the view that when wealthy content owners like Disney go to Congress to get copyright legislation that expands their rights, the public interest is represented by our Congress members themselves (as virtually no one lobbied on behalf of the public domain, until recently).  I heard myself involuntarily let out a snort.  Oy vey.  Congress members, remember that they represent the public, when confronted with greedy special interests?  You must believe in the tooth fairy, too.  
Then I snorted again, at my own extreme cynicism.  How sad.  
So last night I got to meet Ro Khanna, a candidate for Congress in the 12th District (California).  Ro is a progressive liberal whose views happen to be the same as most of the residents of the 12th district.  He opposes the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act and is a champion for civil rights, unlike his opponent who purports to be a democrat but sides with the President on every major issue.  Ro still believes in representative democracy and is ready to go to Washington to speak for his constituents, not against them.  go, Ro!