Mike Huckabee recently peaked my curiosity when he started discussing the concept of vertical politics. At first glance it is an uplifting message full of promise. Seriously, don't we all want to be above the "horizonal" plane of left, right, etc.? By making our policies vertical, we can move issues from the bottom to the top keeping government responsible to the people.

I like the idea. A lot.

My concern is how most bottom-up organizations seem to actually work. What begins as a great ideal soon falls prey to the human condition. It is often the case that it easier to do than listen. Faster to act unilaterally than gain consensus. This most often leads to the exact inverse of the vertical ideal: top-down decision-making.

I hope the concept of vertical politics is carefully reviewed and digested. I think the idea is good and discussion continued. My hope, though, is that we don't become so enfranchised by the title that we lose the ideal.