The United States of America is the leader of Democracy, and freedom of speech. Many years ago when I was a child in India, there used to be a joke that an American and Russian got together and the American boasted "In my country, we are so free that I can stand on the lawns of the White House and question my President". And the Russian said, "So can I." That is how high America was regarded in India even so long ago, as the model Democracy for the world to follow.
That is our America, land of the free - even the Russian (that was in the cold war days) could stand on the lawns of the White House and question the American President.
We all know of the allegations of Vote Suppression in Florida when Al Gore was not elected the President of the United States. That's when the Voting Rights Institute was founded, so we could take action against intimidation, election errors, and disenfranchisement.
While campaigning for Bob McDonnell, Mike Huckabee told a crowd of Republicans in Virginia that if they know people who aren't going to vote for Bob, it's their job to "Let the air out of their tires" and "keep 'em home." He even called voter suppression "the Lord's work."
This is no joking matter. People died for the right to vote in our country, and America has made giant strides over the years. We have to protect this freedom with our lives if necessary, and certainly with our laws. Mike Huckabee seems to have lost his bearings and perhaps he believes these Virginia elections are being held in one of those countries where the opposition candidate is decommissioned by all means. He appears to have grown up with the belief - "All's fair in love and war, and politics". He appears to be oblivious that under our President Obama the rules have changed, and NOT all is fair even in War, and that is why some centers of American shame are being shut down. Huckabee wants to bring his nasty politics deprived of all values to Virginia. He does not understand that this is not Florida, and this is 2009.
Virginia is a value based politics environment, we will not be intimidated and corrupted by the likes and words of Mike Huckabee.
The General Assembly recently debated election reforms to help prevent voter suppression. But when Republicans on a House of Delegates Subcommittee voted to kill those reforms in a back room, Bob McDonnell sat in silence. Now, when one of his most public supporters is encouraging voter suppression, Bob is again sitting in silence. Do we want a Governor without the guts to oppose suppression of voter rights?
It's time for Bob McDonnell to do the right thing. Even only for a change. And all Americans, Democrats and Republicans, need to put the pressure on him.
Tell Bob McDonnell to Stand up for Voting Rights and Support Reforms to Stop Voter Suppression. Write to: Campaign@bobmcdonnell.com
The only way our Democratic system works is if we make sure people are not denied the chance to participate, and vote. That's just one of the reasons that in the wake of the problems we saw in Florida during the 2000 election, the Voting Rights Institute was founded - so we could take action against intimidation, election errors, and disenfranchisement.
But we need to do more to prevent voter suppression here in Virginia. To get the job done, we're going to need support from people on the other side of the aisle. That's why it is so important that you ask Bob to get on board with election reform today.
Please tell Bob McDonnell to Stand up for Voting Rights and Support Reforms to Stop Voter Suppression.
Write to: Campaign@bobmcdonnell.com