Vince Bzdek’s Gazette piece on James Fishkin’s experiments in deliberative democracy is an interesting read, though the very factors that produced its results — balanced information, expert moderation, and structured discussion — are what everyday politics lacks, and precisely what make these experiments so difficult to scale (“Can deliberation save democracy?” March 8). The processes essentially take place in a greenhouse where the environment is controlled. Outside of that environment, it’s a jungle.

For over two decades, we have designed, facilitated, and managed deliberative processes in Colorado, from the first statewide conversations on TABOR and Amendment 23 to whether GMO-containing products should be labeled. We’ve seen the evolution of processes and technologies, from the tried-and-true Post-It note method to online or text surveys. One of us even co-founded Balancing Act, the online budget simulation referenced in Bzdek’s piece, giving us a firsthand view of both the promise and limits of digital civic engagement tools.

Dr. Fishkin’s proposed solutions, a national Deliberation Day, online deliberative platform, and citizens’ assemblies are intriguing, but they rely on agreement about what constitutes balanced information in an ideologically polarized environment, and raise a harder question: would any of it reach beyond activists and the chattering class?

A greenhouse and a jungle operate by different rules. If we want deliberative democracy to take root in the real world, we need to change the terrain. Here are four places to start with a focus on Congress:

Expand the House of Representatives
The House has been fixed at 435 members since 1929, when the U.S. population was 123 million. It is now nearly 342 million, triple the size, meaning each representative serves roughly 785,000 people. Smaller districts would allow representatives to build more meaningful relationships with their constituents. With Congress’ approval rating hovering around 15% and power increasingly shifting to the non-deliberative executive branch, reforms that expand representation and discourse are imperative for a more deliberative democracy.

Yet a larger House does not solve the problem some incumbents occupy those seats for decades.

Federal term limits
Not the short six- or eight-year limits proposed, which can strip members of institutional knowledge, but longer limits that allow time for seniority and sustained policy work while guaranteeing new voices eventually break through. Applied to the House, that balance would help prevent the calcification of power without sacrificing the depth of experience deliberative lawmaking demands.

Incorporating a Jeffersonian spirit
Thomas Jefferson advocated for all laws and constitutional provisions to expire every 19 years, arguing laws should evolve with knowledge and current generations should not bind future ones. Though implementing a pure Jeffersonian approach today would be unwieldy, imbuing a Jeffersonian spirit into the culture of lawmaking could help participants in deliberative processes believe their participation to be more meaningful and relevant. 

Train elected officials in deliberation and public engagement
An elected official’s job description is long: policymaker, negotiator, strategist and problem solver.  While trained in rules and procedures, they are trained in public engagement, facilitation and communication. Many avoid in-person meetings altogether, retreating to controlled surveys and online forums to sidestep difficult questions and lately, angry constituents. That’s understandable, but it’s also the job they signed up for. The public needs to behave better too, but our leaders must model that behavior first.

Our work over two decades proves Coloradans are capable of getting into the policy weeds, finding nuance, and reaching compromise when given half a chance. With structural reforms like expanding the House, imposing term limits, and training our leaders to genuinely engage the public, we can start making the federal jungle a little less wild.

Brenda Morrison

Denver

Phyllis Resnick, Ph.D.

Executive director, the Colorado Futures Center

Lafayette

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