What's next...
Asking God's..Almighty help..?
Michigan GOP Gathers Names for Nader
Fri Jul 9,12:01 AM ET
By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN, Associated Press Writer
LANSING, Mich. - Michigan Republicans are helping gather signatures to place independent Ralph Nader (news - web sites) on the presidential ballot in the battleground state, irritating Democrats who accuse the GOP of trying to pull votes away from candidate John Kerry (news - web sites).
"It's another example of state Republicans willing to try every unethical trick in the book to hold power," Democratic Executive Chairman Mark Brewer said Thursday. "This clearly shows that a vote for Ralph Nader is a vote to re-elect George Bush. The Republicans know that, and that's why they are desperate to have Nader on the Michigan ballot."
Greg McNeilly of the state Republican Party said the GOP is doing nothing wrong and hopes Nader will draw votes from the Democratic candidate. Republicans will make sure Nader has more than the 30,000 valid signatures he needs by July 15 to qualify for the Michigan ballot, McNeilly said.
"Unlike the Democratic Party, where 'D' stands for disenfranchisement, we want voters to have choices," he said.
Brewer sent a letter to Nader on Thursday asking that he refuse the GOP's assistance and any petition signatures collected by the Republican Party, its staff or volunteers.
"We're not out there focusing on getting Libertarians on the ballot," Brewer said. "If the Republicans refuse to stop their efforts and Nader accepts their help, we will have no choice but to oppose his petition effort, review every signature and challenge his petitions if they are insufficient in any way."
When Nader was denied a spot on the Arizona ballot last week, he accused the Democrats and Kerry of engaging in political "dirty tricks" by challenging his ballot access.
___
Voters are far more focused on the presidential election now than they were at this time in the 2000 campaign, says a poll released Thursday.
Nearly six in 10 voters, 58 percent, say they are giving quite a lot of thought to the election, compared with just under half who felt that way in June 2000, according to the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
Almost two-thirds, 63 percent, said it really matters who wins the presidential election, compared with 45 percent who felt that way in June 2000.
The poll of 1,426 registered voters was taken June 3-13 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
___
Sen. John Kerry's plans to host a Boston Pops concert on the city's Esplanade during the Democratic National Convention were rejected Thursday by officials from Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's administration who refused to issue a permit because of logistical and security concerns.
Katherine Abbott, commissioner of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, decided against granting the permit for the July 28 concert and fireworks show after state Public Safety Secretary Ed Flynn advised against it. In a letter to Abbott, Flynn said that with the convention three weeks away, there was not enough time "to properly develop a sound plan for public safety and security."
Kerry, the four-term Massachusetts senator, had planned the event to show appreciation to his hometown for hosting the convention, at which he'll accept the Democratic nomination for president. Jack Corrigan, Kerry's convention liaison, had no comment.
Flynn was appointed by Romney, a Republican who chairs the Bush-Cheney campaign in Massachusetts. Flynn said that the recommendation was not motivated by politics.
___
An Internet site that Indiana businessman Kerry Edwards started two years ago has become hot property.
Edwards, 34, of Indianapolis, started his kerryedwards.com Web site two years ago to show off photos of his toddler son. But interest in the site boomed Tuesday after Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry named John Edwards (news - web sites) as his running mate.
Calls have been coming into Kerry Edwards' bail bonds business from people asking to take over the site. One of the first inquiries came from John Kerry's campaign, who asked if the Indianapolis man would donate the domain name.
Kerry Edwards, who pays about $25 a year for the domain, says he won't give up the Web site for free and has received offers of up to $30,000 for the name.
He says he will probably place the domain name for sale on eBay. "I'll sell it if the price is right, that's for sure," he said.
___
Some congressional Democrats are asking the United Nations (news - web sites) to monitor the U.S. presidential election, saying they want to prevent a repeat of voting rights violations reported in the 2000 Florida recount.
The group, led by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, said they want U.N Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) to deploy election observers to the state.
"African-Americans, women and other U.S. citizens have fought too hard and too long for us to allow our votes not to be counted. We have to instill some trust and accountability back in the process," Johnson said.
The Florida recount helped President Bush (news - web sites) win the 2000 election. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights later found that the ballots of black voters in the state were disproportionately tossed out and the election was plagued by faulty machinery, among other problems.
The United Nations received a letter from members of Congress and has not replied, said U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe. She said the United Nations responds to requests from national governments, though not specifically from legislative bodies.
All requests for electoral assistance also require approval from the U.N. General Assembly, she said.
Several of the members who signed the letter to Annan belong to the Congressional Black Caucus (news - web sites).
Besides Johnson, the letter also was signed by Reps. Corrine Brown of Florida; Julia Carson of Indiana; William Lacy Clay of Missouri; Joseph Crowley, Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Edolphus Towns of New York, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, who is president of the black caucus; Danny Davis of Illinois; Raul Grijalva of Arizona and Michael Honda and Barbara Lee of California.
___
Associated Press writers Will Lester and Suzanne Gamboa in Washington and Karen Testa in Boston contributed to this report.
___ |
