23 March 2005The last word on ballot accessActually, it probably won't be, but I doubt anyone will say anything much pithier than J. M. Branum's commentary in this week's Oklahoma Gazette. Money quote:
If our state legislators think Oklahoma voters are too stupid to choose from more than two choices, they should have the guts to go on the record and say so. HB 1429 should have had a fair hearing before the Rules Committee with a roll-call vote. Instead, though, the bill was killed outside of public scrutiny in a process that seems more like how they do things in the People's Republic of China than in a free country.
Speaker Hiett talks a lot about making state government "open and accountable"; I'd like to see him account for what happened to this bill. Posted at 7:39 PM to SoonerlandA disgrace to Oklahoma. We will remain the only state in the country with the two state-sanctioned (and funded) parties as the only choices on the ballot. Too often it's not even a choice, simply an echo of the elite. This fight must continue. Thank you Charles, for continuing to follow this closely. Posted by: Mike Swi... at 7:54 PM on 23 March 2005 |