"Democracy entails not just majority rule, but protection of minority rights."

 – L. Paul Bremer III, Administrator, Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.

Paul Bremer made that statement after giving an overly optimistic yearend review of the American occupation of Iraq. The belated American allegiance to the protection of minority rights is an effort to keep Iraq’s Shiite majority from thinking too highly of themselves and demanding one man one vote - majority rule - in their multi-religious, multi-ethnic country. The need to satisfy the desires of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds is just one of the issues that was not thought out in America’s rush to establish new military bases and turn Iraq into a cash cow for Halliburton and Bechtel. Only painful desperation would entice a Republican to publicly declare that minority rights are sacrosanct.

Bremer also said, “In a country as broad and diverse as Iraq it is not possible for every interest to have all it wants.” That is good advice for the United States to follow as well, but you wouldn’t know it from past history. When Lani Guinier was nominated by President Clinton to serve as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights she was called “loony” and a “quota queen” for advocating what Bremer now wants for Iraq. The unfortunate Ms. Guinier was not attempting to create a compliant puppet government. She was talking about bringing justice to the electoral system of the United States, a nation whose majority does not always appreciate minorities making too many demands or even asking too many questions.

The controversy over Lani Guinier’s nomination came at an inopportune time for the new President. He was facing criticism over issues ranging from gays in the military to the timing and costs of haircuts given on Air Force One. Clinton decided not to squander any political capital on a black law professor who also happened to be a personal friend. Guinier was instructed not to respond to mischaracterizations of her writings, but she wasn’t defended by the administration either. The President spoke with her first in person and then on the phone to inform her that he had withdrawn her nomination.

Bill Clinton later learned a hard lesson about the forces he tried to appease by dumping Lani Guinier. A Wall Street Journal reporter coined the term “quota queen.” That paper never passed up an opportunity to weaken the Clinton presidency and led the charge for his impeachment. Lani Guinier may have gotten the last laugh when the right wing spared nothing in order to destroy the administration that had thrown her to the political sharks.

Bremer is in a tighter spot than an embattled new president. He needs the support of Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani for the June 30th handover of government to the Iraqis. The Shiite majority was suppressed under Saddam Hussein and is not inclined to let Americans lecture them about minority rights or anything else. Their suspicion is warranted and Bremer’s inept attempt at a civics lesson is useless to people who want to rid themselves of American occupiers.

Paul Bremer does make excellent points about the injustice that results from ignoring minorities in a democracy. Lani Guinier speaks of an American electoral system that discourages participation with a “winner take all” spoils system.

“We tell the person who comes in second, ‘You lost and you get nothing.’ That's fair as long as the person who comes in second has a reasonable shot at coming in first the next time. It's unfair when the person who comes in second or third is consigned to second or third status forever, permanently. They never have a shot at coming in first. We're basically saying in this democracy that some of the people can rule all of the time and other of the people don't get any power, ever.”

Ironically, when the Supreme Court handed victory to George Bush, the second class status of out-voted minorities was also bequeathed to the millions of Americans who voted for Al Gore. Bush defied the conventional wisdom that said he would have to govern from the center. He has done no such thing in carrying out policies far more conservative than his father’s or Ronald Reagan’s. To quote Lani Guinier, Gore voters, who out numbered Bush voters, lost and got nothing at all.

Paul Bremer is not the first American to advocate a political system abroad that he would never consider for his own country. “Majority rules” is the familiar taunt from children on a playground and the response to Americans whose votes are consistently outnumbered by others. In a master stroke of hypocrisy the same conservatives who pilloried Lani Guinier were in favor of reserving parliamentary representation for white South Africans.

Now that Paul Bremer has given his stamp of approval it is tempting to raise the issue of protecting minority voting rights here in America. If we can advocate for Kurds and Sunnis we ought to do so for Americans as well. On deeper reflection, perhaps Bremer is not the best person to issue a call for justice. His overly modest biography does not explain that as Chairman and CEO of Marsh Crisis Company he helped corporations protect themselves from crises ranging from natural disasters to terrorism.

Bremer is like the glass repair company that breaks a few windshields and then advertises its services. First we invade Iraq, destroy its infrastructure and put its people out of work. Then we hire someone who knows how to help companies turn a profit in the aftermath of the destruction we brought to that country.

If the Shiites act like Americans they will declare that the majority rules, take their marbles, and do as they please. That might not be helpful to Paul Bremer and the Bush administration, but their clique may have succeeded in teaching American political and business practices in a way they could not have predicted.

Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in .  Ms. Kimberley is a freelance writer living in New York City.  She can be reached via e-Mail at [email protected]. You can read more of Ms. Kimberley's writings at http://freedomrider.blogspot.com/

April 1 2004
Issue 84

is published every Thursday.