Another diary that was too long for a comment....
Frankly, even though I was engaged for several weeks, the "argument" over Ohio and related issues has grown to really bore me (that is, the meta stuff bores me, not the subject). However, I do have one thing to write on the subject of election reform tonight that I feel people seem to be missing. No matter who you are, or what you believe on this subject, I can assure you that you do not want election reform to take place at the federal level anytime over the next two years. In all seriousness, I can think of few pieces of legislation that I would find more disturbing.
Georgia10 writes:
It is imperative that we document every single case of intimidation, every instance of "vote hopping", every registration form that was torn because only then can we go to Congress, with a fucking truck full of documents and affidavits and say "Look at this mess! Now fix it!"
Oh God no. Please do not do that. Seriously, stop and think about what you are doing for a second. Do you really want to agitate them enough to the point where they actually try and "fix" it? I think you don't. Spend a little time thinking about what else they have "reformed."
Remember various pieces of tax reform legislation passed by Congress over the past two years? Did you like them?
Did you like environmental reform passed by this Congress, otherwise known by certain Orwellian names?
Did you like the foreign policy reforms that have been implemented of late? That invasion of Iraq has turned out real well.
Was it the successful Medicare reform passed by the current Congress that encouraged you to encourage them to take on election reform?
They seem to have some nice budget reform going. Its almost as good as their attempts to reform marriage.
That was some sweet education reform that they passed.
The national labor relations board seems to have been nicely reformed over the past couple years.
Speaking of federal election reform, how's that Help America Vote Act working out for you?
Should we also encourage them to go forward with their planned Social Security reforms?
Do you think that their media reforms worked out?
I have always been a fan of Republican trade reform, nearly as much as I have liked their judicial reforms.
No, wait--their energy reforms were even better.
Perhaps we should encourage them to go even further with their reforms of our civil liberties while we are asking them to reform our elections!
* * * *
Look, we all want election reform, but I think we should all wake up and realize that any positive reform on this subject will never come from a Republican Congress. I don't want this Congress to fix me a grilled cheese sandwich, much less our election system. Election reform is not, and never has been, a bi-partisan or non-partisan issue. That is an extremely naïve belief. In a country where nearly every board of election is controlled by partisans, the only way we are going to get positive election reform is to take over as many county and state boards of elections as possible, period. Alternate route might include ballot initiatives that take the power out of partisan hands altogether. However, with Republicans in total command of Congress, even if all 44 Democratic Senators stood up and challenged the results on Thursday no positive piece of election reform legislation would ever come out Congress as a result--at least over the next two years. Even if the entire District of Columbia were buried under four feet of sworn affidavits concerning the problems of our election system, this Congress would never pass good legislation on the subject. I don't want to tell this Congress to fix our elections. I'm not even sure if I want to tell them what we think is wrong with it, because then they will probably be better clued in on how to better wreck it.
So please, by all means, keep fighting for election reform, but do not tell Congress to fix it. Seriously--you do not want that.