Lets not breathe - or espouse - too much of this rarified and purified air! I do not care what political pedestal one wants to stand on but Rep. Kahn's transgression is hardly "obstructing democracy"! More like going 33 mph in a 30 mph zone. A violation yes, but not one that is going to threaten the safety or security of the republic.
For the record, Rep. Kahn has never, ever told us that we should have a "one party system"! Thousands of citizens happen to agree with Rep. Kahn that a new election for Minneapolis city council should take place in the next odd year following redistricting. Others obviously do not but what we have here is a disagreement - certainly not an "ethical defect" and not assault on the Green Party! The practice of "collecting" the opponents literature at the doorstep while dropping off that of your candidate has been going on for years around here(and elsewhere). Republicans do it, Democrats do it, and yes Greens do it too. I cannot say if it is widespread or not but it is certainly not an unusual occurrence. No candidate to my knowledge has ever expressly condoned it, but many volunteers of all political stripes seem to regard "collecting" as standard procedure when going door to door. I am not defending the practice. I do believe however, that Rep. Kahn has taken a lot more public flogging for this action than she deserves and that the accusations leveled against her in this forum have become gross exaggerations. Jim Bernstein Fulton -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 7:40 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Mpls] Phyllis Kahn: Obstructing democracy. People in this forum are missing the point. By lifting the opponent's campaign literature Phyllis Kahn obstructed democracy. That's a big deal, though I can see it wouldn't be to many of the democrats who use the courts to obstruct democracy---locally in trying to overturn the 2001 city council elections, and nationally in their efforts to keep Ralph Nader's name off the Presidential ballot. By lifting the opposing party's literature and calling for early city council elections to get the greens out (BTW, I'm not a member of the Green party), "Representative" Kahn is telling us that we should only have a one-party system. That, in my book, shows a serious ethical deficet. -----------Peter Schmitz, Downtown Saint Paul ________________________________________________________________ Get your name as your email address. Includes spam protection, 1GB storage, no ads and more Only $1.99/ month - visit http://www.mysite.com/name today! REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
