Michigander
Member
I'm not sure how current this article is or if it has been posted here at THR, but it's the "Ghost Voting" that got my attention. Is this really that common in California? Does it happen everywhere? Michigan? I already knew most of our gubmint was a farce, but so blatently!? Wow! Just wow!
________________________________
Do-Overs and a Ghost Runner on Third...
There is apparently no limit to the insanity in California. For the umpteenth time in the long and sordid tale of AB-50, the California Assembly voted on the bill and the bill lost by a 35-36 margin. That was voting by the rules.
But the rules seem to matter very little in Sacramento. Shortly after voting to send the fifty caliber ban to a well-deserved grave, California Democrats called for a "re-vote" and we watched as a handful of Democrats pressed the vote button at their own desk, then calmly walked to the empty desk of another member of the Assembly and voted a second time. This, we learn, is what California Legislators call "Ghost Voting." Nobody there is shocked because "they do it all the time." Ah, I see...
As an American who'se last "do over" was somewhere around the third grade, I was stunned. What they casually call "ghost voting" seems to me like a complete abrogation of the whole voting concept. So who gets two votes? Does anybody get three? What can California residents hope for when their fundamental system of government has been reduced to a series of childish games?
These questions will boggle the rational mind until Californians decide to trust the reins of government to those who believe in silly, outdated ideas like rules and procedure, or "one equal vote for all." That matter is beyond our hands. What is before us is the last step on AB-50s road to becoming the greatest farce put into state law.
We are turning our attention to the new Governor of California, called to office by Californians sick of the status quo and "politics as usual." This will be a chance for the Governor Schwarzenegger to step up to the plate and put the fiscal needs of every tax-paying citizen ahead of backroom deals and wink-wink do-overs. We know he is strong, sharp and savvy. Let's see if he is faster than AB-50's ghost runner on third base.
If you have been waiting for the "right moment" to take action, this is your last chance. If you have fought tirelessly to defend your rights in California, it's gut-check time.
Please contact the office of Governor Schwarzenegger by email,
fax or by phone and urge him to VETO AB-50.
________________________________
Do-Overs and a Ghost Runner on Third...
There is apparently no limit to the insanity in California. For the umpteenth time in the long and sordid tale of AB-50, the California Assembly voted on the bill and the bill lost by a 35-36 margin. That was voting by the rules.
But the rules seem to matter very little in Sacramento. Shortly after voting to send the fifty caliber ban to a well-deserved grave, California Democrats called for a "re-vote" and we watched as a handful of Democrats pressed the vote button at their own desk, then calmly walked to the empty desk of another member of the Assembly and voted a second time. This, we learn, is what California Legislators call "Ghost Voting." Nobody there is shocked because "they do it all the time." Ah, I see...
As an American who'se last "do over" was somewhere around the third grade, I was stunned. What they casually call "ghost voting" seems to me like a complete abrogation of the whole voting concept. So who gets two votes? Does anybody get three? What can California residents hope for when their fundamental system of government has been reduced to a series of childish games?
These questions will boggle the rational mind until Californians decide to trust the reins of government to those who believe in silly, outdated ideas like rules and procedure, or "one equal vote for all." That matter is beyond our hands. What is before us is the last step on AB-50s road to becoming the greatest farce put into state law.
We are turning our attention to the new Governor of California, called to office by Californians sick of the status quo and "politics as usual." This will be a chance for the Governor Schwarzenegger to step up to the plate and put the fiscal needs of every tax-paying citizen ahead of backroom deals and wink-wink do-overs. We know he is strong, sharp and savvy. Let's see if he is faster than AB-50's ghost runner on third base.
If you have been waiting for the "right moment" to take action, this is your last chance. If you have fought tirelessly to defend your rights in California, it's gut-check time.
Please contact the office of Governor Schwarzenegger by email,
fax or by phone and urge him to VETO AB-50.
