Call It A Comeback
Carl Nyberg not only post on Collective Interest, but also at Kos and From the Roots.
And a new blog Progressive Illinois
Both will eventually get up on the blog roll, but I’m a bit behind with the weekend….
And remember at From the Roots one can post diary entries on the Senate Races–a great place to post for Obama supporters who don’t want to fuss with their own blog.
Is to ensure that all get a fair chance to vote and have their vote counted. As I’ve often complained this has not been done well and in Illinois, it probably cost the Democrats the 1982 election—
Here are some probably more than fair use sections of an Eric Zorn column on the subject:
The tendency of punch-card balloting to underrepresent votes in low-income communities “could easily swing a close presidential election from a Democratic candidate to a Republican candidate,” said Joanne Alter, former commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
What distinguishes Alter’s prediction from those of other observers of the ongoing election mess in Florida is that she made it nearly 11 years ago.
Punch-card voting “has effectively disenfranchised poor voters by the tens of thousands,” she wrote in a 48-page report titled “Lost Votes.” The “disparities between the number of ballots cast and the number of votes counted for presidential candidates,” she wrote, “are vastly greater in poor and heavily Democratic areas of the county than in wealthy and heavily Republican areas.”
and more
A key finding in her report was that if the lost rate in city precincts had been the same as it was in the suburbs for the 1982 Illinois gubernatorial race, Democrat Adlai Stevenson probably would have beaten Republican James Thompson by 12,000 votes instead of losing to him by 5,000.
But aside from a 600-word story inside the Tribune, Alter’s crusade received little media attention and curiously little support from minority leaders. She finished last in the primary and has not run for office since. The reforms she proposed, including a full-scale study of lost voting, voting mini-courses in high schools and vastly improved signage at polling places, have gone largely ignored.
Because it would be too expensive and we still haven’t fixed the system. Some claim HAVA will fix the problem by 2006, but the reality is that most election officials are looking for the easiest system, not necessarily the most accurate and secure. While caustic in writing, I’m generally a friendly guy in person. Writing is always more direct than speaking, but a few weeks ago I was in a conference with a local election official who was primarily concerned with how hard his job was. Needless to say he didn’t like me and some colleagues were surprised by a guy who in conferences is known to laugh when criticized, actually got angry. The vote isn’t something to think of as a convenience and those officials who think it is need to find a new line of work.
I wanted to comment on McCarron’s piece from a couple weeks ago that suggests Liberals Got What They Wanted.
This liberal (generally) wanted Vallas because he would have dealt with long term structural problems unlike Blagorgeous running the damn state by press conference.
He’s also wrong on this:
Other progressives, perhaps despaired of reform at the state level, have absorbed themselves in the U.S. Senate campaign of Democrat Barack Obama. And why not? He looks like a winner and a highly principled man. Too bad he isn’t running for governor. He’d do more good here than in Washington, where he’ll be a back-bencher in the GOP-run gentlemen’s club that is the U.S. Senate.
All evidence points to a guy who can put together tough compromises like the taping of defendants in capital cases. The Senate is a small club and he’ll make quick headway–so go to the right and help him out!
Yes, I’m schilling again… Jeff Smith is having a fundraiser in Chicago next Tuesday. Please consider attending if you are able.
Daily Southtown:
Kerry 46
Bush 41
Nader 8
Kerry 48
Bush 43
Bush is hovering around 40 and Kerry is lower than in other polls, but given he is currently a non-entity in Illinois, that shouldn’t be surprising. Given Nader may not make the race, its hard to imagine this will even be a race.
The mistake in the article is the discussion of the effect of advertising-very little of it is even in Illinois.
I may have missed this becoming moot, but Michael Sneed reports 1992 and former GOP Party Chair Rich Williamson is in line to become ambassador to the UN. He’s been serving as a top aide to Negroponte.
Anyone is better than Negroponte, but the surprising thing is that Williamson was a McCain guy and most of McCain’s supporters are persona non grata in the Bush administration.
Phil Crane’s take on Medicare. Mind you, not the oft troubled Medicaid, but Medicare that provides health insurance coverage to an age group that would be unable to afford reasonable health care due to their age.
To be fair, that quote is from 1976, but his message hasn’t changed much. Crane isn’t a guy who looks to modify a program as much as tear it apart.
Of course, there is a realistic opponent out there–to the right is Melissa Bean’s ad–click on it and get familiar with her.
More evidence that National Taxpayers United of Illinois, headed by Jim Tobin, is off its rocker, the group sent a news release last week entitled “Rauschenberger: Same old tax-and-spend Republican.”
This is the same group that at one time said called former state Sen. Patrick O’Malley “a closet liberal.”
Does anyone meet this group’s criteria anymore?
Mike Lawrence makes the point about how much pandering Blagorgeous is doing…
Phil Kadner takes it up on education
And to be fair, Rich Miller points out a good shot that Blagorgeous gave Da Mare.
Even then, there is some juicy points about Blagorgeous
Blagojevich is not a well-liked governor among political insiders. I don’t care much for his leadership style, either, which has more in common with campaigning than actual governance. He is supremely self-centered. He constantly preaches reform, but spends most of his time hanging out with a few chosen lobbyists and other hacks who made their fortunes at the public trough.
Blagojevich also hasn’t grown much in the 14 years he has been in public office. He’s still the details-averse, devil-may-care goof that he was when he first arrived at the Illinois House, courtesy of his powerful father-in-law, Ald. Dick Mell.
While we often expect the Mayor to come out ahead, if the Republicans nominate a conservative candidate for Governor, the Mayor’s best choice will be Blagorgeous. And that will be a painfull pill to swallow. There aren’t any Jim Thompsons or George Ryans who are city friendly in the state GOP except Topinka and she is probably unable to win the primary.
Joyce Morrison often argues that private property is good for conservation. Then she argues its bad if it involves liberal groups owning private property.
Of course, her argument is that landowners know more about the land then others. But she says:
There are areas in Illinois that are highly wooded and have been a paradise to explore. The worst thing one would encounter is a chigger, tick or poison ivy. However, in some areas you have to watch for timber rattlesnakes usually seen in July or August, but that is about as wild as it gets.
Recently there have now been numerous reports of cougar and wolf sightings and people are getting a little more careful when they go into the woods. They are being told these animals are the act of irresponsible owners who had an exotic pet and find they cannot manage it, so they turn it loose it the wild.
Last week an Illinois school bus driver related seeing a bear on a very rural road bordered by a wooded area. The kids were ecstatic but the driver is still in shock.
Errr…all three existed naturally in Illinois until humans took away their habitat and frankly, with a little caution all of them are not that dangerous to humans.
Guns and schools make the rant as well. Why? Well, it’s Joyce.
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