Out with the old -- progressive Midland, Texas, government wants to demolish old courthouse

A small group of conscientious citizens have banded together for a petition drive to try to stop the city council from demolishing the 50 year old court house. It's a David vs Goliath battle, and the odds are against the citizens.

If the past is any guide, once the council members make up their minds on something -- tax hikes, expenditures -- it's a done deal. Citizens have a voice. But that's all they have, and aside from a few web posts and maybe a few letters to the newspaper editor, its a weak weapon against a progressive political establishment convinced they know what's best for us.

The city council has all the power. With a complacent electorate and a compliant news media, there's little to stop them.

They were elected to represent the citizens, but there's a phenomenon that afflicts elected officials. At some point after getting elected they become convinced that they aren't representatives but leaders and that they are their constituents' "betters." Only they know what's best for the people.

Throw in record levels of tax revenue, and the cocktail of money and power is intoxicating. At some point their objective becomes less about representing the people than about leaving a mark. So when faced with the question of how to make life better for Midlanders, their answer was to give the old, newly acquired county courthouse to a developer how would replace it with a skyscraper.

The only way to sober them up is to vote them out of office. But there we are back to the David vs Goliath scenario. Incumbents get so much free publicity that once in office each subsequent election is a cake walk. Term limits just mean they rotate chairs every once in a while.

What's the solution? I don't know. When Goliath is sitting on your chest and giving you a thorough beat down it's hard to come up with anything.

Post Script. The photo was taken Christmas day 2011. The other day the morning paper said the statue in the foreground has already been carted away. Before too much longer photos will be all we have left of this piece of Midland history.