The Voter ID Amendment – Just Deceptive Politics

Voters in many states, particularly in my native Minnesota, are being bombarded with advertisements promoting or opposing constitutional amendments to require voter identification cards as a condition for being allowed to vote. The sole justification for this requirement is the prevention of voter fraud, and most ads cite various anecdotal evidence of some irregularity that has occurred and which might theoretically have been prevented had there been a voter ID law in place.

The thing that I find most perplexing about this debate is why it is so partisan--Republicans pushing the amendment and Democrats opposing it. If there actually is significant evidence of voter fraud, why doesn’t everyone, Republicans and Democrats alike, want to curtail it? Does anyone really believe that Democrats are actually in favor of voter fraud and only Republicans stand on the ethical high road?

The Presidential Debates – Who Won?

I am always perplexed by the incessant media and internet traffic focused on who won the last debate. Really, why does anyone care? The one and only time the president of the United States engages in any debate is during election season. Never once does he debate against anyone as a part of his official duties. So why do we care whether we elect a president who is good at debate?

Who appeared more confident? Who appeared more “presidential?” Who was more aggressive? Who was more in control?

Voter ID – Balancing Competing Evils?

Although there is little doubt that some voter fraud occurs in American elections, there is very little evidence that the fraud is substantial or that it actually influences election results. Very few elections are decided by small margins. In order to alter an otherwise honest result, the fraud would have to be very substantial – involving many people – and not isolated instances where some felon shows up to vote when he should not have done so. It is very likely that major fraud is going to be detected because with many people, leaks are a virtual certainty. There is also no proof that requiring voters to show IDs will eliminate voter fraud. Does anyone believe that minors who show up in bars with photo IDs of their 21-year-old friends are never served alcohol?

Why Can't There Be Campaign Finance Reform?

I can’t remember the last time I spoke with anyone who actually likes our current system of campaign financing. Truthfully, the only people who actually support allowing virtually unlimited money to flow into election campaigns are the special interest groups. They have large amounts of money to spend and want to spend it for the sole purpose of influencing legislation that is favorable to their cause -- in other words, people who want the right to legally bribe elected officials. Bribery truly is the correct word here. While the money goes to the campaign’s bank account and not the candidate’s personal bank account, that’s a difference without significance; the candidate needs both accounts flush with money to save his job.

So, if the majority of Americans want to end legalized bribery of elected officials, why doesn’t it happen? Why does virtually every law that is passed to correct this enormous problem get ruled unconstitutional? Believe it or not, the answer our Supreme Court gives us is that these financial contributions are protected by the First Amendment right of free speech. The notion is that if the public does not have the right to spend money to speak their peace, their right to do so is abridged.

But is the right to spend money to speak the same thing as the right to speak?

Same-Sex Marriage – A Political Game

I’ve never understood why Republicans tend to oppose same sex marriage and Democrats tend to favor it. What is it in the political credos of these two parties that require them to take these positions? Actually nothing. The primary focus of American politics today is not about what’s best for the American people; it’s about retaining or gaining power. In the very troubled economic times we live in today, why is same sex marriage such a big deal that there is media coverage of the issue virtually every day? A vote one way versus the other won't give us more jobs, reduce the national debt, or increase gross national product. Why do we focus so much energy on issues that have nothing whatsoever to do with the main issues of the day? The answer is simple, the politics of power.

Sure, the economy is more important than same sex marriage, virtually everyone agrees with that. But there are no solutions to our economic woes that will get anyone elected or help anyone stay in power. To solve our long term economic woes, we either have to raise revenues (i.e. more taxes), reduce spending (i.e. cut funding to all the grand entitlement programs that got most of our national leaders elected in the first place), or, heaven forbid, a little of both. No matter which side a politician takes, he alienates half the American voters, and if he’s dumb enough to advocate the one solution most likely to do good, a little of each, then he alienates everyone. Taking a stand on the economy is simply bad politics, unless all one does is talk in absurdly vague generalities.