Disenfranchisement - meaning to deprive of the right to vote
Earlier this year the Arkansas House of Representatives passed H.B. 1339 which is a blatant attempt to render the vote of the people of this great state impotent. Totally without meaning. Put forth by Mr. Cooper of Melbourne, my state rep, this bill in a nutshell would give all of Arkansas' 6 electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote across the nation as opposed to the popular vote in the state. Pictured to the left is state representative Cooper.
Example. This past election the people of Arkansas voted some 60 to 40 percent for John McCain thereby giving him our electoral votes. Now if this bill which I understand is now in Senate Committee passes it means that had it been in effect at the last election, then Obama would have gotten Arkansas' 6 electoral votes. See the problem? Why would I bother to go vote? If Arkansas is simply going to follow the lead of the rest of the country, we do not need to be involved in the process. Everyone else will decide the election for us.
How can supposedly intelligent men give the power of my vote to all the other states? Why would they even think about doing so, much less actually doing it? All my adult life I have encouraged other people to become involved in the political process. I have preached it to Christians and sinners alike because I felt it was paramount to good government. Now the politicians want to take away the only real voice we have in government, our vote.
Our founding fathers, after long debate determined the electoral system to be the best way in which to elect the President. Since Senators and Representatives were elected by the states, likewise the President would be elected by the states. This system has served us well for over 200 years. Only once in history has the man with the most popular vote not won the White House and that was in the 2000 election. Al Gore lost the election to George Bush after days of recounting ballots in Florida. Many people still, to this day, say President Bush stole the election. No so. Since then there has been a concerted effort on the part of many to change the election process. To read actual HOUSE BILL 1339 CLICK HERE.
If you agree with me and would like to continue to see that your vote matters, then call your Senator, indeed all the Senators, if you'd like to speak with Mr. Cooper's office please call 870-368-4409 and express your desire to have this bill in the Senate defeated. Find out how your Representative voted and stand your ground. I demand to be heard. Do you? If you do, click comments below and leave your thoughts.
That's my take,
Lonnie Biggers
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