POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Sharpton protests Internet voting; Graham wants ailing

[Gman]

<snip>
Democrat Al Sharpton is protesting a plan to allow Internet voting in Michigan's presidential caucus and challenging rival Howard Dean to stand with him.

For the first time, the Michigan Democratic Party is planning to allow party members to vote for the party's presidential nominee via the Internet, as well as by attending the Feb. 7 caucus or mailing in a ballot.

Sharpton sent a letter to Dean Thursday, challenging the former Vermont governor to oppose the Internet voting plan. Dean's campaign has focused on building support from Web users.

"Perhaps it is due to the fact you governed a state with virtually no people of color living within its borders that you are unaware that this is a racially biased proposal," Sharpton wrote. Vermont is nearly 98 percent white.
</snip>

I wonder how Dean will respond to this. If Dean supports this Internet voting plan his credibility with Black voters will be shot. If Dean supports this plan he'll be branded a white elitist and rightfully so. Poor Blacks in Detroit don't have computers at home with Internet access. Is Dean going to participate in the disenfranchisement of Black voters in Detroit?

Is disenfranchising poor Blacks in Detroit Dean's way of "taking back" the Democratic Party?

Does Dean have what it takes to fill the shoes of the first Black president of the United States?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/09/12/national1637EDT0695.DTL

[HereSince1628]

1. Its an interesting question...

Maybe the Deanies could walk Detroit's neighborhoods with cell-linked laptops. Of course, that would have a certain look to it, too.

[davidinalameda]

2. I thought Clinton was the first Black president

someone said that--can't remember who now

[Gman]

3. Yes, Clinton was the first Black president

So the question is can Dean follow in the footsteps of the first Black president, Bill Clinton.

[Laughing Mirror]

6. Toni Morrison, the writer, was the first to say that

[PATRICK]

4. Dear God, no, NO

Isn't there a solitary single professional in those campaigns who does not know the dangers of Internet voting? Someone stop those IDIOTS from giving more legitimacy to such a threat to the vote. We already have 100,000 votes from overseas coming our way online through the SERVE program working with the Pentagon. Above the objections of rational people as is done with touchscreen voting.

Dean should ignore the racial divide slant and use it as an opportunity to educate (himself) the nation about the perils and unreadiness of the Digital Daley Graveyard about to be planted on top of our reeling democracy.

When it socomes to the vote, one person registering publicly his decision, the more toys, the more invisibilty the vaster and more invisible the fraud will be.

And don't think the goons can't screw with this bold experiment and falsify the primary either. They will if they want to.

[shirlden]

5. Michigan Duers man your battle stations

The Democratic Party seems to be in self-destruct mode on every issue. Are they all mentally challenged ?? Grab the phones, hit the faxes. Could we get some addresses to lodge our complaints ? It would be perfectly appropriate for any DEM in any state to protest this on the basis that it is very bad precedent at this time.

This Buckeye will root for Michigan Duers on this one.

Go Blue !!

:hi:

[KellyW]

7. Why didn't he say something before the rules were set ?

Hey, I have known about this for months. Why did Sharpton just discover it ?

Here in Washington State we have our caucues on the same day Feb 7.
No absentee voting. You have to be there to be counted.
We are getting major grief from the Jewish community for the 10:00am Sat. caucues time. But the folks in the eastern part of the state were not happy about driving in the Feb. snow on a Tuesday night.

You will never get a plan that everyone likes.

[Gman]

8. That's apples and oranges

Disenfranchising poor Blacks in Detroit because they don't have computers and Internet access is a lot different. You're talking about inconvenience. This is about the burdens of one's socio-economic status and race.