O/T: An Observation

[Swingman]

Actually, the "right" of 'everyman' to vote, no matter their contribution to society, therefore enabling the ability to divide by those seeking to further political power/agendas, and to then pander to those divisions for political gain, was the very first, albeit subtle, nail in the coffin of our democratic republic.

You can gasp, rail, gnash your teeth, and cry foul over the obvious result of a supposed cherished belief, but history is proving it to be so ... and that one tweaking of what the founders originally set up will continue to preside over the rapid diminishing of a once unique democratic republic.

[Larry Blanchard]

While I'm sure it will amaze Keith, who's convinced I'm somewhere to the left of Mao, I agree with you.

But going back to "white male property owners" seems a bit much. So what should the criteria be? Federal taxpayers only won't fly, it would disenfranchise a lot of the seniors and the temporarily unemployed.

I'd like to see some requirement to demonstrate knowledge of how the government works in order to register to vote. No more "motor voter". But how do we ensure the test won't be used to keep out minorities as it was in the past?

One thing is for certain in my mind. We need to do away with mail in voting except for justified absentee ballots. If someone can't be bothered to go to the polls, they shouldn't have a vote. I'm in WA where vote by mail started a few years ago and I hate it.

And we need to diminish the power of the two major parties -they've made it very difficult for other parties. And no more gerrymandering - use census blocks for precincts.

Oh, yes - corporations are *not* people!