Gambaro = a Democrat in Name Only

In the curious race for the 4th Missouri Senate District, it'll be a heated battle with four (of five) strong candidates.

But one thing for sure is that Mr. Gambaro isn't even a centrist Democrat. He makes Joe "Joe-mentum" Lieberman look slightly liberal.

Gambaro supposedly backs the President's privatization scheme for Social Security, he opposes stem cell research (Wash U is in the 4th District), he supports a voucher system, and on and on and on.

It's also been intimated by various sources that he's taken money ($25K)from folks who almost always back GOP candidates in Missouri.

Even worse is that some of his backers have been doing an ridiculous phone campaign that implies that Mr. Smith is gay. This is similar to the "black baby" strategy that Bush used against McCain in South Carolina.

Pathetic.

Voters in the 4th District deserve better than this. Let's talk about issues and which candidate will actually listen to and work with his constituents.

A Proposal for Missouri and other states

Because Missouri and other states are what the pols consider "swing states," it makes sense to move to what Nebraska and Maine have done: go to a Congressional District method where electoral votes are apportioned according to who votes for whom.

http://www.fairvote.org/e_college/me_ne.htm

This would benefit both Republicans and Democrats. If the congressional districts in St. Louis and KC vote for the Democratic candidate and the more rural or GOP dominant districts vote for the GOP candidate, the electoral votes more accurately reflect our votes, as opposed to the winner-take-all method that has gone on too long.

What this means for Missouri and other states is that your vote counts more in reality. And the state's political profile is heightened by this method--a chance to get some votes even if a candidate doesn't carry all of the districts, more stops in our state to hear our voices/demands/complaints. Maine and Nebraska have implemented this; however, their political profiles haven't risen much. That's probably due to the fact that they traditionally vote a certain way and they don't have a lot of electoral votes. Missouri doesn't have a ton of electoral votes, but they're substantial enough to garner quite a bit of attention.

From my experience from voting in a presidential election in the Deep South, my trip to cast my vote for Gore in '00 was an exercise in futility. That can also be said for GOP backers who live in "blue states."

"The people of this country, not special interest big money, should be the source of all political power. Government must remain the domain of the general citizenry, not a narrow elite... This means that the values and preferences of all citizens, not just those who can get our attention by waving large campaign contributions in front of us, must be considered in the political debate. One person, one vote--no more and no less--the most fundamental of democratic principles."
-Senator Paul Wellstone

Zinn on Patriotism

Linked is an essay by Howard Zinn that provides a perspective on patriotism that we rarely see anymore: patriotism as questioning one's government and taking part in the agora of ideas, not blindly supporting "American" causes out of nationalistic pride or fear-mongering by our so-called leaders.

http://www.alternet.org/story/38463/

"When it shall be said in any country in the world, my poor are happy; neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them; my jails are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars; the aged are not in want; the taxes are not oppressive... when these things can be said, then may that country boast its Constitution and its government." -Thomas Paine

Besides the Other Obvious Reasons...

why we never should have gone to war in Iraq, why we never should have considered the rationale for pre-emptive war (the "best defense is a good offense" bs), and why we need a definite exit strategy beyond the tired hokum of "When the Iraqis are ready to stand up, we will stand down," here's an article that relates the economic costs of this ill-conceived boondoogle:

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/38013/

And strangely enough, the GOP painted the Dems as people wanting to "cut-and-run" in Iraq, but then a few days after the "debate" in Congress Gen. Casey provides a proposal of how to cut and run right around election time. Coincidence? I think not.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/columnists/molly_ivins/14928392.htm

Support the troops by bringing them home NOW.

Have a great Fourth of July.

"There never was a good war or a bad peace." -Ben Franklin