January
7, 2005
- Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) and
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) did something remarkable Thursday, something
that hasn’t been done for 36 years. Both Jones and Boxer objected to the
certification of the State of Ohio’s 2004 electoral votes. The action caused
a delay in the formal declaration of President Bush’s second term – if only
for a few hours – in favor of invoking a little employed procedure – per
Congressional rules – that mandated both chambers recess in order to
"debate” the issue; the issue at hand – voting irregularities.
I was born and raised in the Chicago area so when I hear that Democrats are
concerned about "voting irregularities” I tend to chuckle. Growing up in the
land of the Daley’s and the Jackson’s, the phrase, "Vote early and vote
often,” many times wasn’t a joke. In fact, Chicago is famous (or infamous)
for being the city that had the most dead people voting in a municipal
election. Combine that with the "alleged” time-honored Chicago political
machine tradition of soliciting votes from those who aren’t registered and
sometimes aren’t even documented citizens and we can see how the Democratic
machine in Chicago maintains its iron-fisted "blue state” status.
So, to hear Boxer’s explanation of why she and Jones would choose to waste
not only the Congress’s time but also the taxpayers’ money on a political
stunt – a scheme – that had no hopes of achieving anything but resurrecting
the political divide of this most recent election, I immediately had to
wonder if they had spent any time in Chicago under Daley tutorage.
Boxer, after having expressed that she was "moved” by Jones’s concerns about
reported election irregularities in Ohio, is quoted as having written to
Jones:
"I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the
only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a
two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's
election."
There are so many things wrong with that statement I hardly know where to
begin.
Boxer contends that invoking the "debate” among those of the Congress was
"the only immediate way to bring these issues to light.” If Ms. Boxer truly
believes this then she has either been living in a cave on the Island of
"Lost” since November of 2000 or is so out of touch with what is actually
happening in this country she should be removed from office for dereliction
of duty.
The issue of voting irregularities and election reform has been one of the
most heated topics since the 2000 election. The issue is from where the Help
America Vote Act was derived. I know Florida is all the way across the
country from California but in the age of 24-hour news one would have
thought it to be impossible not to hear, at least once, about the outrage
that South Florida Democrats went through in 2000.Note to Babs: that was
about voting irregularities.
While well within her constitutional rights as a member of Congress to
object to the certification of Ohio’s votes, ethically an eyebrow should be
raised by every Ohioan with regard to Boxers accusations of ineptitude. With
her objection to Ohio’s electoral vote certification comes the inference
that their voting process, the subsequent legal battles courtesy of the
"Bush-Haters Club” and their certification process were absolutely flawed,
that the people of Ohio were incapable of executing a successful election. I
suppose it’s a good thing California exists in such a state of perfection
otherwise Ms. Boxer wouldn’t be able to overlord the people and the
government of the State of Ohio.
And finally, Boxer says she had to stop the electoral vote certification
process, "to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's
election." It begs to be asked: when do we get to see transcripts from this
vital debate that took place during the two-hour delay? Will they be issued
in paperback?
The tactic employed Thursday by Jones and Boxer can be described as both
political grandstanding and usurping the scheduled agendas of both chambers
of Congress. Election reform is an issue best left to the sovereignty of the
states, sovereignty that should see as little federal interference as
possible. The floors of congress should be reserved for the direst of needed
actions where this matter is involved.
Perhaps Boxer’s and Jones’ actions can best be described as an unethical,
albeit constitutional, narcissistic desire for attention and political
divisiveness. Their politically motivated actions were an abuse of the power
vested in them by their constituents and a maneuver that comes very close to
usurping the State Rights of Ohio. After all, they are Ohio’s electoral
votes to certify and with no legitimate legal proceedings outstanding Boxer
and Jones had no real need to waste Congresses time or our tax dollars.
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