Election Reform: An American Shadow Cabinet
The British Parliamentary system includes the concept of the Shadow Cabinet. The largest opposition party forms “Her Majesty’s Official Opposition” which is known casually as the Shadow Cabinet. According to the Wikipedia entry, a Shadow Cabinet “consists of a senior group of opposition spokespeople who… form an alternative cabinet to that of the government, and whose members shadow or mirror the positions of each individual member of the Cabinet. It is the Shadow Cabinet’s responsibility to scrutinise the policies and actions of the government, as well as to offer an alternative program.”
In other words, the Shadow Cabinet offers an alternative, sharing how they would govern, or handle a given situation if they were part of the administration. In American politics today, candidates for office often do this to a degree through their campaign, but more often, they simply criticise what the incumbent is doing without offering an alternative policy prescription.
While the American political system definitely has its differences from the British Parliamentary system, the concept of a Shadow Cabinet could be adapted to use in America. Because of the difference in governmental system, it would be difficult to maintain during a President’s term. When it would be easiest to use, and when it would also have the most attention paid to it, most likely, by both the media and the voters would be in the general election campaign.
After a candidate becomes the nominee of their party, they could announce their major cabinet picks. Then, for the duration of the campaign, this team would act like the Shadow Cabinet of the UK, outlining similarities and differences so that there would be more focus on policy.
These announcements could be made at the nominating convention, or they could be made soon thereafter separately. However, the sooner a Presidential Candidate put together and announced their team, the sooner the Shadow Cabinet would be able to begin drawing contrasts that would help voters make an informed decision in the course the candidates administration would plot.
Republicans and Democrats usually know their candidates going into the nominating convention, however, this isn’t always the case for the minor parties. The Libertarians for example, pick their nominee at the convention. Primaries and caucuses in states may guide their delegates, but because of ballot access and other issues, it is uncertain going into the convention who will come out of it as the nominee. It would definitely be more difficult to announce Cabinet picks at the Libertarian Convention, but the candidates could still have picks going into the Convention just in case. Even if they didn’t announce at the Convention, announcing a few weeks or a couple months later could help get them more media coverage and build on the coverage received during their Convention. Libertarian Presidential Candidate Kim Ruff has stated she will announce her Cabinet picks early on. Other candidates would be well suited to follow her lead.
An additional benefit from the perspective of the American people could be that the candidates might be more cautious in who they pick for their Shadow Cabinet because voters would then be able to take into consideration the types of people that candidate would nominate.
Individual candidates running for other offices wouldn’t necessarily have a Shadow Cabinet, but they could still outline how they would vote, or what policies they would support. An advantage of an individual candidate doing this, would be that they wouldn’t necessarily have to wait until they have the nomination. They could begin Shadow Legislating as soon as they announce. Let’s say Green Party activist Judy Stallone wants to run for a seat in the US House of Representatives. She announces her candidacy on December 1st. This would give her about 11 months until the General Election, and if she started Shadow Legislating immediately, she would have 11 months to identify and outline how she would vote on bills that make it to the floor for a vote, what bills she might co-sponsor, and what bills she would introduce herself. Outlining her legislative agenda and priorities in this instance would give Judy 11 months to draw distinct differences between herself, other candidates, and the incumbent. Even if the mainstream media did not pick up on this, her supporters could share her information on social media, and help get her message and policy prescriptions out that way. This could help reduce, even slightly, part of the advantage of incumbency.
One of the things voters usually say they scorn is the negativity of campaigns and politics in general. Mudslinging tends to dominate many campaigns. While announcing a Shadow Cabinet early would potentially present more people to sling mud at, it could also have the effect of allowing for more discussion of policy. If, for example, in 2020, the Democratic, Libertarian, Green, and Constitution Party Candidates all announced Shadow Cabinets in addition to their running mates, or as much of a Shadow Cabinet as they are able to, there would be more opportunities to get a policy platform out there and lead to more substantive debate instead of just mudslinging and personal attacks.
Another benefit could be that the members of the Shadow Cabinet could be considered higher ranking, more legitimate proxies out on the campaign trail compared to just some other politician who might make an appearance because they would represent the candidate. Someone who has been identified as the Shadow Defence Secretary for example, would be able to speak more authoritatively and representatively to a candidate’s defence policy and other policies than a local Congressman who has simply endorsed the candidate.
The Green Party, and Progressives more broadly, have made some attempts to put up a Shadow Cabinet in recent years to shadow administrations, especially the Trump administration, however, these efforts have not received much coverage, nor do they seem to have been sustained very well. Making the Shadow Cabinet a part of the campaign would give more opportunity to shine a spotlight on the Shadow Cabinet.
American elections have been stagnant for years. The two party duopoly has reigned since the era of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Increasingly, the citizens of the US are unsatisfied with the duopoly and leaving the two major parties. However, unfortunately, the two party system continues to dominate. The last few decades have been an era of disruption is technology, as well as other areas. Politics tends to lag, but it is past time for innovation and change in the realm of politics, especially elections. It is time for innovation, disruption, and change to come to the world of politics and elections. Amazon, Bitcoin, and Tesla have all been disruptive forces that have brought change to the economy. Voters are already leaving the two major parties. Candidates outside the duopoly can give them a reason to find a new political home instead of being politically homeless through innovation, disruption, and changing the prevailing political paradigm. It’s time for a new era in American politics, and a campaign Shadow Cabinet could very well be an important part of this revolution.
Garrett Leeds is the founder of the Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness Project
