A Bad Law

I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the rights of the people by the gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. -James Madison

So it is with the current Illinois legislature. As I write, there is on the Governor's desk a stealth bill to do just that. It would seem to me that any radical change in how the U.S. Constitution is manifest, should be by the amendment process outlined in the Constitution. That should certainly be the case if a law usurps enumerated Constitutional powers of Congress. Such is the case with HB 1685. The original short description of the bill 'ELEC CD-JUNIOR JUDGES', a bill to essentially allow high school students with an adequate grade point to serve as election judges, provided they met certain other criteria. That sounds good to me. The election boards have difficulty in filling all of the judge spots and it introduces young people to the election process. However, the bill was stripped of all of the provisions in the bill and amended to a bill that 'Creates the Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote Act.' People may not like the Electoral College provision in the Constitution, but it is the law of the land. If we as a people want to change it, there should be open public discussion of the pros and cons of the issue and then it should be amended as provided for in Article V of the U.S. Constitution. To do so behind the scenes in the formerly smoke filled rooms of the Illinois Legislature is flat out wrong!

As Abraham Lincoln put it: "I do not mean to say we are bound to follow implicitly in whatever our fathers did. To do so would be to discard all the lights of current experience-- to reject all progress, all improvement. What I do say, is, that if we would supplant the opinions and policy of our fathers in any case, we should do so on evidence so conclusive and argument so clear, that even their great authority, fairly considered and weighed, cannot stand." That is not happening in Springfield.

To mention a few of the problems:

1. It changes the commonly understood function of U.S. Constitution without going through the prescribed methods.
2. It amends the Constitution by fiat of as few as 11 states; a method contrary to the expressed and commonly understood 2/3 super majority of states to call for a change in the Constitution. (Though this Right has not been undertaken by any group of States since the Constitution was enacted.)
3. It usurps the enumerated powers of the U.S. Congress' role in the election of the President of the United States.
4. It would cause the Illinois electors to vote for the top vote getter even if that candidate espoused positions that would be detrimental to Illinois.
5. It causes Illinois electors to to vote for the person that received the most votes nationally even if every Citizen in Illinois voted for someone else!
6. It could very well send every election into the Courts, because every vote included or not included could change the election.
7. In the event of 3 or 4 strong candidates, the President could be elected with as few as 25% of the vote.

I could go on, but then I might never post this blog. It is a shame that the Press is not covering this issue, but for a dismissive comment by Eric Zorn.

NTRO Endorsements

The Naperville Township Republican Organization has endorsed the following candidates for this year's Primary on February 5th.

U.S. Senate: Dr. Steve Sauerberg
U.S. Congress: Judy Biggert
State Rep. 96th Dist.: Darlene Senger
County Board Dist. 5: Jim Healy, Gerry Cassioppi
Forest Preserve Dist. 5: Carl Schultz

That's Curious

Mitt Romney won a runaway victory in the Nevada Caucus today. That was not a surprise for most people, as the only other candidate that actively campaigned there was the distant second place winner, Ron Paul. A close third behind Paul, was John McCain (winner of today's South Carolina primary), who did not spend much time, money, or energy there. So what did I find curious?

That both Paul and McCain had more votes than Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Caucus winner.

NTRO Endorsement

Yesterday I received the endorsement of the Naperville Township Republican Organization for the Feb. 5, 2008 Republican Primary. It is nice to know that they appreciate my efforts, even with the fact that I am running unopposed.

Many groups only endorse contested races and some do not endorse in the Primary races at all. So I am especially grateful to get this public support.

THANK YOU NTRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some Thoughts On The 2008 Conventions

I love the political conventions. I get a kick out of the nominating speeches- "... The great Prairie State, the Land of Lincoln... the Home of the Puffer Kite... Illinois casts its votes for...." I believe that 2008 will give the United States of America something that it hasn't seen in a while.

There is still a long Primary season ahead of us, but it is looking more and more like the Republican Convention will actually be a convention. Mitt Romney is all but conceding South Carolina and Florida by pulling his ads from those States and dropping all of his eggs into his Michigan basket. If he doesn't win there, then it becomes very feasible that the 5 top contenders will split up the delegates, so that there will not be a clear winner by the time the delegates meet in St. Paul, Minnesota. Even Duncan Hunter (Anne Coulter's first choice) already has a delegate from Wyoming. If an apparent also-ran is pulling delegates, it is not a stretch of the imagination that the others will take their share. A candidate needs 1,191 delegates to win the nomination. That will be a hard number to reach, if there are 4 or 5 others grabbing them up too.

If John Edwards' campaign can pick up any traction, you might even see it at the Democratic Convention. If that is the case, then I think that he will throw his lot in with Barack Obama, as the candidates for change. Hillary will have to win it straight up.

On a practical level, what does that really mean to the 'man on the street'? That he pays attention to not only which person he wants to be the next President of the United States, but also to be sure to go down the ballot and vote for their delegates. The delegates have an obligation to vote the way their State has dictated at first. I am not sure of all of the Convention rules, but if there is not a winner, at some point the delegates are released from that obligation and can vote their own mind. That will make for an interesting Convention.

Election Office Open

For those of you looking for campaign signs, etc. for Republican candidates, the Campaign office for both the Naperville and Lisle Township Republican Organizations is now open Monday thru Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is located on Ogden Ave. in the building immediately to the east of the Dunkin Donuts store, near Portillo's. If you have an hour or two to volunteer this election, stop in and sign up. Or you can contact Pat Fee at trishfee@aol.com

Back Again

I am not given to New Year's resolutions. I think that one should resolve when necessary. So I will just say that it is my intent to blog more regularly. My recent hiatus was due to the holiday season, going out of town, blah, blah, blah... There will be plenty going on with the elections coming up and a New Year at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.

Check back regularly.