Mark C's latest LTE

Mark Crowley of Plum, a LTE Genius reported on LTE on Election Choices, not Counting Methods

I had a LTE printed today in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It was the one I shared earlier that promoted the LP and attacked the Rs&Ds for abandoning the few principles they had at one time. It was in response to this editorial
www.post-gazette.com/pg/08153/886158-109.stm from two Sundays ago.

They trimmed it down a bit, but kept the intent well intact. Oddly, they kept the part about Ron Paul not dropping out yet intact. I was expecting a call from them about that where I would have suggested, "...Ron Paul still hasn't endorsed the Republican nominee..." I guess they're really busy at the PG too.

Mark

PS -- Given this editorial, my LTE could have easily been crafted to promote the Voter's Choice Act. That's the great thing about LTEs, often you can go anywhere with them.

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Sunday, June 15, 2008
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08167/889852-35.stm

The voting problem

Fixing the election system with new counting methods ("Gaming the Vote" by William Poundstone in the June 1 Forum section) is like recataloging recipes while starving. In presidential election years, about 50 percent of the voting age population votes. The persistent silence of the other 50 percent is deafening.

Former Republican congressman Bob Barr is now the Libertarian presidential candidate. Former Democratic Sen. Mike Gravel is now a Libertarian. Former Democratic congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is now the Green presidential candidate. And the libertarian-leaning Republican, Ron Paul, still hasn't dropped out of the Republican presidential race. What's happening?

Republicans traded non-interventionism for a nation-building welfare program. They sold fiscal restraint for ethanol subsidies and a prescription drug program. They replaced tax-and-spend big government with borrow-and-spend big government.

"Little guy" Democrats embraced the Patriot Act's huge government expansion. It treats all little guys equally -- like they're all in sleeper cells requiring surveillance,
control and federal (real ID) papers. Privacy and incandescent bulbs joined gun rights on their ash heap.

It's not about counting strategies. It's about both parties sacrificing our individual rights to grow government.

And they say my Libertarian vote is a waste!

MARK CROWLEYm Plum