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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2004)
TO THE EDITOR last election — fraud. Besides the tens of thou- sands of eligible voters banned from the polls in Florida and in other Southern states, writer Greg Pallast has recently stated that there were one million uncounted votes. The corporate media constantly uses Ralph Nader as the ex- cuse for what happened. At the Nader conven- tion in April in Portland, the R-G and Oregonian focused their stories entirely on the few protestors outside, instead of the 700-plus supporters inside. Why? To distract our atten- tion so that we won’t think about the dangers of electronic voting and the way that black and brown people are treated in this country. It can be scary to hear the truth. Once you know what’s happening, you can no longer pre- tend that you don’t. On Nov. 2, vote your con- science. Loren Asrael Eugene MARK OF A LEADER The morning of 9/11 provided President Bush with an unfortunate test of leadership and character. On that fateful day, after being in- formed that a plane had crashed into the South Tower, our president proceeded to a presched- uled visit to an elementary school classroom. While there, he was told a second plane had struck. President Bush did nothing for seven minutes. Weren’t there phone calls to make, or- ders to give, advisors to consult? Wasn’t it im- perative to be apprised of the unfolding tragedy second by second? His excuse that he wanted to appear calm does not fly. I prefer substance over appearance. Meanwhile, flight 77 traveled un- detected for 36 minutes before striking the Pentagon. Perhaps a more responsive reaction could not have stopped the third strike, but we’ll never know. In my opinion, President Bush failed the ultimate test of leadership character. Contrast the reaction to crises (or lack thereof) of Bush, to that of John Kerry. On the Bay Hop River in Vietnam, Kerry was told that a man was overboard. John Kerry turned the boat around, headed back into ambush, and with his uninjured arm, pulled James Rassmann aboard to safety. This is the split second deci- sionmaking that extols the leadership and char- acter I expect in a president. On Sept. 11, when Bush’s motorcade sped away from the school to Air Force One, it ini- tially headed in the wrong direction. In my opinion, the Bush administration has continued 6 JULY 22, 2004 in the wrong direction. We all want responsive leaders of character and courage for this great country. My hope is on the Kerry/Edwards ticket, where I see a proven embodiment of those qualities. Debbie Parker Eugene PREFERENCE VOTING There’s a lot of talk these days about the “lesser of two evils” (7/8 letters Paul J. Green “Nader helps Bush” and Bob Watson “Uncompromising Nader”). I find the idea in- teresting, however, that a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush and the apparent reality of this predicament. Is it really American to not vote for the individual you are most in favor of due to the fear of the individual you are least in favor of winning? This seems to me to indicate a fundamental flaw in the electoral process itself. It’s amazing to me how few people know about the voting technique used in most other democratic nations around the world that is often termed “preference voting.” This tech- nique would allow a voter to rate the candidates on a scale of least to most favorite and would eliminate the either/or, “lesser of two evils” sce- nario. In this way you could vote Kerry or Nader first or second and still vote Bush as third (or not at all). A vote for Nader would not be a vote for Bush and would reflect the people’s true opinions. The fact of the matter is that a Democrat would typically rather see a Republican as would a Republican rather see a Democrat get the election than a “liberal” or a “green” and the suggestion of this voting technique has perpetu- ally been downplayed and buried, thereby maintaining the either/or, “lesser of two evils” scenario. As was suggested in the Natural Resistance article (7/8), “Breaking Three Hearts,” there is a tendency of those in power to want to limit al- ternatives that are seen as threats to their reten- tion of power. The crucial distinction between a dictatorship and a democracy is the absence or presence of processes that allow alternatives to enter public discourse. Preference voting is one of these processes. So how ya gonna vote people, remocrat or depublican? Rob Brown Eugene
