Rant On

If you have not already done so, register for Moveon.org's PAC Primary. The folk at this website would probably agree that the 2000 election was hijacked by the Supreme Court, but they are not lingering in that past. They are "moving on" beyond that negativity.

Their straw poll is an innovative concept, and it will be interesting to see what impact it has — both in the general population and in the popular media. I suspect the more people who take part in this, the harder it will be for the media to ignore. Not to mention the Democratic party, and the potential candidates.

I personally endorse Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. He may be “as handsome as Lincoln”, but his words are also as moving & well-constructed as Lincoln's. Please take a few minutes to read his statement and the interview with him. I agree with at least 97% of his proposed policies.

The key to restoring our government to some semplance of sanity is for "we the people" to actively re-claim it. That means supporting a candidate we believe in (not just one who can win), but then voting for the person most likely to defeat King George II in fall 2004. If the Greens who voted for Nader in 2000 had voted for Gore, we might not be in the current mess. If more people in general had voted in 2000, Florida would have been an anomolous blip – rather than the linch-pin of the election.

One change I would make to the Electoral College is to eliminate the "winner take all" standard which currently exists in many states. If only 3% of the people vote for some candidate, their votes should still count for something. My state is a "winner take all state," and my vote for Gore meant nothing on the national level. Rather discouraging.

By the way — all you flag wavers and war supporters? If you didn't vote in 2000, don't waste my time preaching about patriotism. And you folk who were brave enough to march in opposition to the imminent war on Feb 15, 2003? Don't dare call your act patriotic unless you supplement by voting in 2004. Even better, work to support a peace candidate (like Kucinich), and work tireless to encourage everyone you know to vote in the next election.

Rant out.