http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/opinion/15fri1.html?th&emc=th
Show Us the Money NY Times Editorial: February 15, 2008 As the presidential campaign narrows and its costs skyrocket, detailed disclosure of financial resources becomes ever more important. Of the leading contenders, so far, only Senator Barack Obama has released his full income-tax returns - a level of disclosure once routine for candidates after the political corruption of Watergate. Release of the tax returns should not be made conditional on winning the nomination, as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has made it. Both Senator John McCain, the Republican front-runner, and she owe it to their parties and to voters to promptly make available their Internal Revenue Service filings, and to respond to any questions about them. It is true that as senators, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain are required to file financial disclosure forms. But those forms present only general parameters of family financial resources, not the detail available on tax returns. The need for greater transparency regarding the income and overall financial dealings of candidates and their spouses was underscored by Mrs. Clinton's recent decision to make a $5 million loan to her campaign. Such borrowing is a permitted practice under the campaign laws. But the campaign said the money came from her share of the Clintons' joint resources, and that calls attention to the lack of information about their family finances. As a former president, Bill Clinton has been making millions annually giving speeches and traveling the globe. What is publicly known about his business dealings is sketchy, and clearer disclosure of them is required to reassure voters that Mrs. Clinton's candidacy is unencumbered by hidden entanglements. In the same spirit, the Clintons are obliged to make prompt disclosure of the major donors who have been backing the former president's library and foundation. It is not even clear whether Mr. Clinton would disclose his library's donors if his wife won the White House. Likewise, Senator McCain has yet to release his tax returns, a strange omission for a candidate with a record of supporting strong government ethics measures. A spokesman for Mr. McCain raises the prospect that he may hold back his tax returns through the fall campaign, saying that he would not decide whether to release them until he officially is the Republican nominee. That would neatly thwart the party-vetting process, even if he does finally make the returns public. In the meantime, questions are arising about the senator's fund-raising as it relates to his position as the former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and its regulatory powers over business. Participation in big-money politics inevitably runs the risk of encountering deep-pocketed benefactors who can become back-slapping embarrassments. Mr. McCain learned that lesson when he was caught up in the Keating Five scandal in the 1980s. The Clintons have also learned this lesson across the years, just as Senator Barack Obama rues what he calls "boneheaded" dealings with Antoin Rezko, a Chicago businessman indicted last fall for fraud and influence peddling. Mr. Obama felt obliged to return $150,000 in Rezko donations. Critics question why the senator had a favorable land deal with Mr. Rezko even after reports emerged of a federal investigation into Mr. Rezko's affairs. The reluctance of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain to reveal more about their finances ill-serves voters and the nominating process of both parties. It also sets a terrible precedent for future campaigns for important posts at the national and state level. *** http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/us/politics/15clinton.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1203067831-VY+eVj0f/VeUx2qrl4r7aQ Black Leader, a Clinton Ally, Tilts to Obama By JEFF ZELENY and PATRICK HEALY NY Times: February 15, 2008 MILWAUKEE - Representative John Lewis, an elder statesman from the civil rights era and one of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's most prominent black supporters, said Thursday night that he planned to cast his vote as a superdelegate for Senator Barack Obama in hopes of preventing a fight at the Democratic convention. "In recent days, there is a sense of movement and a sense of spirit," said Mr. Lewis, a Georgia Democrat who endorsed Mrs. Clinton last fall. "Something is happening in America, and people are prepared and ready to make that great leap." Mr. Lewis, who carries great influence among other members of Congress, disclosed his decision in an interview in which he said that as a superdelegate he could "never, ever do anything to reverse the action" of the voters of his district, who overwhelmingly supported Mr. Obama. "I've been very impressed with the campaign of Senator Obama," Mr. Lewis said. "He's getting better and better every single day." His comments came as fresh signs emerged that Mrs. Clinton's support was beginning to erode from some other African-American lawmakers who also serve as superdelegates. Representative David Scott of Georgia, who was among the first to defect, said he, too, would not go against the will of voters in his district. Click on the source site at the top for the rest of the story (Ed) *** From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From Work the Vote organizer Sherri Myers ... Despite a record-breaking turnout of 189,000 voters registered as "Decline-to-State" (DTS). Dean Logan, L.A.'s Registrar of Voters, is still refusing to physically hand-count these ballots, effectively disenfranchising 94,500 -- at least HALF -- of DTS voters. because they didn't fill in an extra bubble before voting for President. Who's responsible for the flawed ballot design? Dean Logan! LOS ANGELES DESERVES BETTER!! Come on, get outraged, and SPEAK UP!!! 10 MINUTES: 4 ACTIONS TO TAKE: 1)Sign the Courage Campaign petition to demand a real count. http://www.couragecampaign.org/ 2) IF YOU HAD A PROBLEM VOTING: Fill out the online incident report, that Work the Vote will analyze: http://www.workthevotela.org/incident-report-form.php 3) Call County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's office [(213) 974-3333 and voice your opinion. Demand that our County Registrar DO HIS JOB! ALSO Tell Zev it is highly inappropriate for Dean Logan to sign a 6-year contract with SOE SOFTWARE to manage our elections. Here's one of the many reasons why: SOE Software Creates Havoc in Palm Beach 4) Cut and Paste: Email or snail mail this letter (below) crafted by the LA California Election Protection Network. (Did you know the job hunt for a new Registrar was unnecessarily delayed, AND, that the job no longer requires a college degree? That's to administrate the largest county in the United States!) ************************************************************************* Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky 821 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration 500 West Temple Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 Dear LA County Supervisor In the wake of Los Angeles County's Super Tuesday's, February 5, 2008, primary election that resulted in at least 94,000 uncounted ballots, mass confusion over polling place consolidations, and vote caging that purged eligible voters from the voter rolls, I support the demands of the Los Angeles County chapter of the California Election Protection Network (CEPN) that you, a public servant, address this urgent matter: a) Immediately instruct the Interim Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters Dean Logan to, despite his public pronouncements to the contrary, publicly count all 94,000 uncounted double-bubble ballots given to Declined to States and American Independent Party voters. To do otherwise would constitute a violation of the California Constitution. (We can share with you a process for the count.) b) Ensure and monitor a nationwide search for an LA County Registrar of Voters with an unblemished professional history, free of conflicts of interests and financial ties to the election system vendors, committed to counting every ballot accurately as cast, and a demonstrated willingness to maintain an open dialogue with election integrity advocates c) Provide us with an explanation of the nearly-six week delay in the County's posting of the job for Registrar following the December 11, 2007 Supervisors meeting, at which it was stated that the job bulletin was close to being finalized. d) Work with the LA County Human Resources Department to follow up on requests that ensure the qualifications for LA Co ROV meet or exceed the college graduation requirements for LA County dog catcher e) Request the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office investigate criminal activity involving vote caging -- whereby voters are scrubbed from the rolls after failing to respond to voter registration confirmations disguised as innocuous junk mail solicitations f) Establish a county task force to study the voter suppression effects of polling place consolidations, to consider the implementation of protocols, such as focus groups, to guard against confusing ballot designs, and to recommend systems that will ensure quick and timely dissemination of key instructions to poll supervisors at work during an election I look forward to your immediate response. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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