[PAA-Discuss] Democratic Caucusing in Precinct 443, 798

[Ron and Kris Graham]

The powers that be aren’t interested in IRV or range voting, A.A. They
couldn’t care less about saving taxpayer dollars by doing away with runoff
elections. They like things just as they are. They also like the fact that
third parties have to work their asses off to collect an inordinate amount
of good signatures just to be able to get on the ballot. I don’t foresee any
changes to business as usual in this state. We are just going to have to get
out and work like mad dogs to collect the needed signatures. I agree that
Republicans crossed over to vote for Clinton because (1) they see her as the
weaker candidate against John McCain and feel that McCain can beat her
(along with some Republican election shenanigans) and (2) they sought to
squelch the voices of black voters who spoke LOUDLY yesterday by coming out
in droves to vote for and caucus for Obama. 

 

We have to convince black voters especially that they STILL have a choice
come November if we are able to get the Greens on the ballot and if Cynthia
McKinney garners the Green nomination for president. That is a choice we can
ALL live with and love.

 

Kris

 

  _____  

From: Alán Alán Apurim [mailto:apurim at gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 3:42 AM
To: Progressive Action Alliance forum
Subject: Re: [PAA-Discuss] Democratic Caucusing in Precinct 443, 798

 

Congratulations, Bill, on getting the resolutions going.
However, what I say below applies state-wide, and may or may not 
have been a factor (e.g., maybe for or five stealth crossovers in the
fifty-one) in your precinct.
   IMHO, Republicans conspired to cross over.  Because they see Clinton as a
weaker candidate 
against McCain, they crossed-over to vote for her.  There's no way to stop
this in Texas politics. 
It's also unfair that the two big parties conspired to make this so:
third-party attempts to get 
on the ballot would be with "left-over" voters AFTER the Dems and Reps had
first-shot at them 
by staging the primaries BEFORE the third parties are allowed to get
petition signatures. I'm go-
ing to repeatedly bring this issue of unfairness up with the major broadcast
media (radio/TV) 
until they start discussing it.  I'm also going to criticize them by
repeatedly calling them to ask 
why they're going along with the 20th-Century tradition of runoff elections
at taxpayer expense 
and "spoiler" candidates.  Neither is necessary; other states and places
have Instant Runoff 
Voting.  I give them http://rangevoting.org <http://rangevoting.org/>  as an
example, or tell them to search for keyword 
"IRV."  They are happy to report "no majority" in such-and-such race, and
that so-and-so will 
be in a runoff election in April, but they ignorantly miss the opportunity
at that moment to ex-
plain to listening voters that EXPENSIVE RUNOFF ELECTIONS ARE UNNECESSARY,
and 
by "ranking" the candidates (voting 1st, 2nd, 3rd choice, etc.) people can
vote for their favorite 
without worrying it will take away from the probable winner (who might get
their 2nd- or 3rd-
choice vote anyway if their favorite is not a top vote-getter and is
eliminated, in the IRV system).
   Though we have less chance with fewer non-primary-voting registered
voters "left over" to 
sign petitions to put the Green Party on the ballot, I am in hopes that we
will at least use the 
effort to gain additional publicity and name-recognition for the Green Party
in the general 
voting public's minds this year, and if we spearhead adaption of IRV as an
issue to save tax-
payers money and bring more fairness to politics ("No 'spoiler' candidates
will be possible, vote 
to rank your favorites"), we will finally be recognized as bringing
something useful and neces-
sary to politics (even though the public is slower to value the other
positive things we're for).
   Voting for Cynthia in June — http://runcynthiarun.org
Alán Alán Apurim   713-868-3945   apurim at gmail.com
1434 Nicholson Street, Houston, TX 77008-4134

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