WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today
by Ralph Nader:
Memorandum
Representative Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Senator Trent Lott, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate
Senator Thomas A. Daschle, Minority Leader, U.S. Senate
Representative Richard A. Gephardt, Minority Leader, House of
Representatives FROM: Ralph Nader
P.O. Box 19312
Washington, DC 20036
202-387-8034
RE: National Advisory Referendum DATE: October 1, 1998
There is growing consternation throughout our country that the
prolonged impeachment inquiry/hearings/trial process will divide,
deplete and demoralize the nation no matter which way it turns out.
Both sides on this Clinton/Lewinsky matter are repeatedly referring to
the opinions of the people to justify their courses of action. The
Democratic partisans cite the polls as supporting no impeachment
process with the President remaining in office. But there are polls for
the Republican partisans as well, showing damage to the Democrats
running for election because of this scandal.
There is a way out of the inevitable incriminations, opportunity costs
and other unintended consequences that are harmful to the body politic
and to many important decisions that our government must make in the
coming months. The way is for the Congress and the White House to
enact legislation that provides for an advisory national referendum on
election day in November, when the polls are to be open for regular
elections, to decide the matter. The legislation would provide that
the two branches of government would agree to abide by the decision --
an up or down vote on President Clinton staying in office to settle the
controversy over the Lewinsky affair and the Starr Report's
allegations.
The advantages of the advisory referendum are (1) The subject matter is
not complicated and raises issues that the people are quite as
qualified as their representatives to decide. (This is not a matter of
complicated finance, technology or foreign relations; it affects the
most fundamental of ethical judgments on matters of human behavior that
are not unique and quite familiar to the millions of voters.) (2) The
materials are widely available to read, view and digest at no expense
to the electorate. (3) An advisory referendum will provide the
citizens of this country with a sense of participation in an age when
so many of them believe they are shut out or excluded from any voice or
impact on public issues.
Finally, there is an accepted decisiveness to a referendum that may
limit the recriminations and bitterness that will accompany a contested
deliberation stemming from personally-based misbehavior by the
President. This proposal need not be viewed as any precedent, first
because the legislation would just provide for one such referendum
pursuant to an agreement by the parties to abide by the results and,
second, because of the uniquely personal kind of behavior that is to be
judged. Were this proposal to be adopted, we can be assured of a date
certain to "put this matter behind us" on the evening of November 3,
1998. For the people, informed as never before, will have spoken in
numbers that will surely reverse the lower and lower turnouts at the
polls in recent decades. A reversal of that trend can only be healthy
for our democracy.
Please see the attached draft legislation. ------ National Advisory
Referendum Act
Procedures are established under this Act for the establishment of a
National Advisory Referendum.
(a) Statement of Purpose. Congress finds that:
(1) citizens are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the
extended inquiry into the Clinton/Lewinsky matter, and the allegations
contained in the report of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, which is
crowding out other issues of national import;
(2) the availability of a non-binding National Advisory
Referendum to appear on the national ballot on November 3, 1998 would
allow citizens to express their will and make elected representatives
more responsive to their wishes.
(b) Procedures:
(1) Congress shall direct any state, commonwealth or territory
receiving federal funds to place a non-binding referendum on the ballot
for the national elections to be held in November of 1998.
(2) The referendum shall pose to the electorate the following
question which shall be answered with a "Yes" or a "No": Should
President William Jefferson Clinton remain in office?
(3) The states, commonwealth and territories shall tabulate the
results of the National Advisory Referendum as soon as practicable and
transmit such results to the Speaker of the House of Representatives no
later than 7 days after Election Day. The Speaker shall, within 10 days
after Election Day, compile, total and publish the results.
(4) The National Advisory Referendum shall not be binding on any
branch or agency of government or any other person or entity. However,
it shall stand as a statement of the will of the people, and Government
officials and elected representatives should act to implement the
National Advisory Referendum results in exercising their duties.
*** end of story ***
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