Much happening at the moment. Hopefully details to come later today/tonight.
For the moment, I’ll point you to Kathy Gill’s coverage at About.com of my proposal for the “LET AMERICA VOTE ACT” (LAVA), a call for a federal Emergency Paper Ballots mandate at all polling places this November. I originally proposed the idea, asking Congress to pass this measure immediately here. A follow-up, including suggested legislative language for the very simple act was posted here yesterday.
The LAVA legislation seems to be generating quite a bit of buzz right now in certain sectors on Capitol Hill. Hope to have more details for you later. But with just about 5 legislative days left before the pre-election recess, please continue to make noise about it, contact your Congress members and let’s save whatever we can this November!
I sent everybody in my address book (Media and government) a stinging rebuke for not addressing Voter Transparency. Brad I sent them your address, Asking them to come over to educate themselves about LAVA and Robert Kennedy’s new article. I told them I expected them to contact me back about what they were going to do about it. I can only send it out once an hour from my e-mail acct so I will keep doing it once an hour!
Brad,
It seems to me that pointing out the efforts of the GOP to pass a voter ID bill provides an opportunity to ask why we aren’t addressing voter fraud in a comprehensive manner. It seems a little suspicious that this newly passed bill doesn’t address the lack of a paper trail for the millions of votes cast in numerous precincts across the country.
Unfortunately, that leads me to conclude that those supporting this voter ID bill are simply pushing legislation that they feel would be beneficial to Republican candidates on two fronts. One, it may suppress Democratic voter turnout and it is also being spun as a means to “strengthen border security and crack down on illegal immigration”…a position the GOP feels will benefit them in November.
Here’s my problem. There is little doubt that the GOP has not been motivated to provide effective border security or the means to prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants. The failure to enact and enforce measures and methods to combat illegal immigration has been a concession to the business community, which has been the beneficiary of hard working, low wage employees. The system in place for employers to verify employee eligibility to work in the U.S. is a virtual joke and it is so by choice…which makes the current voter ID legislation all the more disingenuous and wholly political.
Sadly, it appears that the GOP doesn’t see any advantage to including these paper trail provisions. It is situations of this nature that lead to voter cynicism in their elected officials as well as the entire political process. Ironically, while we are in the process of exporting democracy to other regions of the world, we have U.S. politicians that prefer to manipulate our democracy for partisan advantage. This and other inconsistencies in the application of democracy simply undermine the potential for other nations to believe that the United States is actually an agent for democratic principles.
Read more here:
http://www.thoughttheater.com
We’re exporting “American style democracy” alright – complete with cooked election results so that the candidate with the ties to American corporate interests wins.
Daniel said:
Of course the GOP bill for Photo ID is political, cynical and despicable and meant to disenfranchise millions of democratic-leaning voters.
As it’s not likely to pass both houses right now, and as it wouldn’t kick in anyway until 2008, and as I’m doing all I can for the *moment* to fight for 2006, it’s maddening that I haven’t been able to give the Photo ID scam more coverage at the moment. But there will be much more on that to come in the future. Promise!
Consider them contacted. One small voice that is.
Everything sane people want will flow like a river if the “Let America Vote Act” is successful.
GO AHEAD congress, don’t pass it!
MAKE MY DAY!
~Clint Eastwood
By the way, what DOES Clint Eastwood think about honest voting?
Clint?
Heston?
Hollywood?
Comment #7:
Someone from Bradblog (er how ’bout blogger Joy) should try and get an interview with former Mayor Eastwood. Maybe he can get Clyde (orangatang from the movie “ANY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE” or someone in Clyde’s family to post.
Grizzley
Hopefully not Clyde Bush!
GOOGLE “Let America Vote Act”
29,900
GOOGLE LAVA
28,900,000
This is NOT ENOUGH folks!
Work, Work, Work!
i set up an easy way for us to email our senators and reps at the secretary of state project (http://www.secstateproject.org)
Just click here to automatically generate emails asking your senators and member of congress to introduce (or if introduced co-sponsor) the Let America Vote Act.