In the summer of 1814 General Prevost attempted to invade the US and push down the Hudson River valley and cut the US in two. He was defeated at the Battle of Plattsburg by forces under General Macomb, after Prevost’s naval squadron was smashed on Lake Champlain by a squadron led by Lieutenant MacDonough. Earlier in the summer (in August) the British had occupied Washington, burned the Capitol and the White House (it is white now, instead of off white, because it was painted in 1815 to cover up the burn marks), then attacked Baltimore.
Why is this significant? Because while all this was going on the nation had elections for Congress. Similar and arguably no less dire elections were held in 1862 and 1864 in the midst of the Civil War. And why is all this significant? Because we have a governor – an elected official – who just a few days ago called for suspending elections in 2012 so Congress could focus on the economy. On the 27th, at a talk she gave at a Rotary Club, Governor Perdue suggested:
"I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover."
Apparently the governor is claiming that the situation is more dire than 1814 or 1862 or 1864. But wait, now the governor and her aides say she was just engaged in sarcasm.
There are many times when sarcasm or hyperbole can be effective tools for bringing clarity to an issue. But an elected official suggesting that it’s time to suspend the democratic process is neither humorous nor appropriate under any circumstances. When some suggested that New York City’s elections be suspended for several months after the attack of September 11th they were roundly – and rightly – condemned.
This is and should be a sensitive issue because it is the one thing that truly keeps government responsive to the people: the elected officials have to get re-elected. If you take that away you end up with a tin-pot dictatorship and the old saw ‘one man, one vote, one time.’ We as a nation have held elections on time no matter what else is happening – storms, wars, flooding, influenza, depression. There are some things that are beyond the pale – ask Governor Allen and his remark when running for Senate a few years ago. One remark ended his campaign. I would suggest that those who speak so cavalierly about suspending the very essence of democracy should be treated at least as badly as those who spew forth remarks of any other kind. We have a guaranteed freedom of speech in this country, but it is guaranteed by the Constitution, that document that the governor swore to defend and yet seems so nonchalant about ignoring.
Just as a reminder, per Article 3, Section 4 of the Constitution of the State of North Carolina the governor shall take: “an oath or affirmation that he will support the Constitution and laws of the United States and of the State of North Carolina …”
