Recently in Voting & Democracy Category

GOPUSA has emailed a campaign advertisement letter from Carly Fiorina (R), running to unseat California's Senator Barbara Boxer (D). The ad is an insult to voter's intelligence, and Fiorina is doing the insulting, herself. Before analyzing this ad, let it be said now, that this type of insulting ad is typical of politician's ads from both the major and third parties. Fiorina however, should know better than to insult voter intelligence in a bid for their vote.

The Supreme Court, a conservative court on the belief that money is protected speech as far as elections are concerned, overturned a century of precedent and laws moving in the other direction. Republicans continue to sabotage America, even after being deposed from majority power to rule, via their Supreme Court activist judges. As usual, Republicans say one thing and do the opposite. For appearances they rail against activist judges, all the while appointing their own activist judges to the federal benches.

The details in some of the polls now show 12% of Republicans intending to vote for Barack Obama. This reflects an anti-incumbent target bigger than individual incumbents, aimed selectively at the Republican Party itself. Given Republican control of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007, where all spending and tax law finds its beginning, and control of the Senate from 2001 to 2007, in addition to a Republican President from 2001 to the present, and given the dire economic condition of the country and world economy today, it is no great surprise that voters would focus anti-incumbent sentiment on the Republican Party and its incumbents primarily.

We get our politicians from our culture. That is to say, over time, the character and quality of our politicians will reflect the character and quality of our people.

There are people like this person claiming to be Russian by thename of Akif G. Agayev now linking Obama to Communist spies in Hawaii. There are no doubt Americans who will believe these absurdities.

This holiday season most Americans are fortunate. Though a few hundred thousand of our soldiers and their families will experience some anxiety and separation this holiday season, mixed with their love and warm thoughts of loved ones, the vast majority of Americans enjoy peace and civil calm here at home. We should give thanks.

Though a few hundred thousand in America may die for lack of shelter, or go hungry for lack of food, or lack awareness of it even being a holiday season for lack of psychiatric care, the vast majority of Americans are bountiful in creature comforts and wealthier than most in the world today. We should give thanks.

David Weller, former national press secretary for Ross Perot's Reform Party USA, has joined the all volunteer Vote Out Incumbents Democracy (VOID) organization which is working to rally voters to vote out incumbents in future national races. VOID will be launching a public awareness effort to its cause in the next couple weeks.

On C-Span's Washington Journal program this morning Greg Palast, journalist and author of the book, "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy", was interviewed. One of his central topics was voting in America and how the Civil Rights Commission has produced damning reports about trashing American votes. One million Black votes were thrown into the trash in 2000, and nowhere near that number of white votes were thrown out.