Oregon Votes
In this age of dunderheads, when a bellicose rich boy is having a field day massacring presidential politics; when doing, saying, and being a decent human being has virtually gone the way of the dodo bird, a small set of voices of reason is singing a sweet song of virtuosity. It is coming from the land of destinations where Lewis and Clark pushed our vision to the Pacific just over 200 years ago. It is appropriate that in November 1805, their party voted to move their camp to the south side of the Columbia River near modern Astoria, Oregon; where Sacagawea, and Clark's slave York, were both allowed to participate in the vote, so this may have been the first time in American history where a woman and a slave were allowed to vote and to make their presences felt for all time.
The vote. It is the sacred sound and the trumpeting fury of freedom. How ironic that today an entire group of people, inundated in a godless ideology, are doing all they can to kill the vote among those who need it most, those with the fewest resources with which to mount a counter offensive. This is where we stand in yet another moment in history when we can all make a difference. We all need to follow the lead of the great state of Oregon and make the sacred duty of casting a vote become a lot easier to do in every state, not a lot harder.
It is no secret that the Republican Party has set about making the right to vote a fight for survival. In state after state Republican legislatures and governors have been busy gerrymandering the landscape within their borders—putting large numbers of Democratic voters into a small number of districts, while putting a small number of Republicans in a large number of districts—thus giving them a hugely unfair advantage in elections. But even that is not good enough for them. They have also set about the task of making eligibility to vote a lot more difficult for the poor, for the lesser educated, and for immigrants—the same people who are most likely to vote against them.
Their modus operandi is quite simple: Lie, cheat, steal, corral, push, harangue, double-deal, dirty-deal, and become filthy pigs in an all-out effort to win elections at any cost.
Earlier this year Oregon became the first state to automatically register eligible citizens who request or renew a driver’s license through the DMV. They are sent a card informing them of their registration status and are given 21 days to opt out from the voting rolls. The burden of registration shifts from the individual to the state.
What a breath of fresh air. What a voice for freedom!
Now the bastards on the right (not all over there are bastards, just the bastards are bastards, and we know who they are). We need a federal law much like the Oregon law so that everyone of voting age is automatically registered to vote.
Anyone up to starting a petition?
Since gerrymandering favors the party in power, it hasn't been prohibited by legislation. My Congressman, Tom Delay, saw the shift in population happening in Houston and got busy with Texas state legislators to make sure that he retained power and became Speaker of the House. I was no longer in his district, so I couldn't vote him out of office.
There is much controversy over voting rights and voting fraud. Since people with a political axes to grind collect the data and cherry pick it, I'm having a hard time discerning whether people are being disenfranchised or just being prevented from voting illegally. I'm with Jan on allowing have served their time in prison be given the right to vote back, along with some other rights like a fair chance at a job.
For some reason, a large number of people don't vote unless there is some very urgent issue (or candidate) that propels them to the polling place. Opening up voting to the Internet could probably eliminate fraud and bring a lot more of the people into the election process.
Ron
Love ya!
Jane