Sam Reed, Washington's Secretary of State, is about to leave office in a few weeks: good riddance. Despite his reputation as a mild-mannered nice guy, this guy is really a totalitarian-minded hack who did everything in his power to dilute the political leverage of anybody who wasn't part of the Political Establishment, or who didn't have money or financial backing from the Corporate Behemoth. In other words, if you were a poor, independent or third party candidate, Sam Reed didn't think you had any business being involved with electoral politics in any practical sense (like having a real chance to win), although he never came right out and said it, of course, because that would look too overtly anti-democratic. Not to mention that he wasn't too impressed with non-incumbents, either, unless you were backed by the Corporate Behemoth (for instance, why is it formatted in the state voters' guides to look as an omission if a candidate doesn't have electoral experience)? Sam Reed didn't have to state these things in some treatise, memorandum or press conference, because his actions did all the talking for him. Everything from trying to raise the minimum vote total, required to go from Primary to General Election, from 1% to 2%, to even, believe it or not, trying to twist elections so that, hypothetically, deceased candidates could be transferred from Primary to General Election. Is this bizarre or what? It just goes to show that politicians like Reed are not above having a sham election every now and then to make sure that their brethren (namely, Establishment politicians who didn't file for a particular election, initially) are not left out. Fortunately, the Legislature, in its wisdom on some matters, did not let Sam get his way on everything, including the aforementioned things.
After the U.S. Supreme Court let the "Top 2" Primary stand, "Nice Guy" Sam tried to change it radically after all his talk about how he supported it. Naturally, with his plan, third parties would've had to gone back to petitioning to get on the ballot. Also, sometimes -- or was it just about every time -- Sam managed to beg off printing a Primary edition of the Candidate Voters' Pamphlet, ostensibly, because of the budget. Guess which candidates desperately needed a Primary pamphlet to get the name recognition and statements to the People that had no chance of registering with the biased and corrupt Corporate Mainstream Media? That's right, independents, third parties, poor candidates and low-budgeted major party candidates. Are you beginning to get the trend of who gets the brunt of Sam's policies? You got it, commoners who are principled enough not to be part and parcel of the Establishment that Sam worships and that is sending our nation (and perhaps the world) to Hell in a handbasket for the sake of their own individualistic greed.
Originally published on "Commoner" on 12/13/12; revised on 4/21/12.
Copyright 2009 - 2012, Party of Commons TM
After the U.S. Supreme Court let the "Top 2" Primary stand, "Nice Guy" Sam tried to change it radically after all his talk about how he supported it. Naturally, with his plan, third parties would've had to gone back to petitioning to get on the ballot. Also, sometimes -- or was it just about every time -- Sam managed to beg off printing a Primary edition of the Candidate Voters' Pamphlet, ostensibly, because of the budget. Guess which candidates desperately needed a Primary pamphlet to get the name recognition and statements to the People that had no chance of registering with the biased and corrupt Corporate Mainstream Media? That's right, independents, third parties, poor candidates and low-budgeted major party candidates. Are you beginning to get the trend of who gets the brunt of Sam's policies? You got it, commoners who are principled enough not to be part and parcel of the Establishment that Sam worships and that is sending our nation (and perhaps the world) to Hell in a handbasket for the sake of their own individualistic greed.
Originally published on "Commoner" on 12/13/12; revised on 4/21/12.
Copyright 2009 - 2012, Party of Commons TM
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