Learning About Politics

With the election just around the corner it is time for political junkies to get excited. Actually it's way past time. Some of the candidates and those who feel strongly about amendments are already calling each other out with broadswords. Fortunately we have gone past the days of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.

I wonder how many people in the state of Colorado have read every one of the 105 pages of the blue book issued by the Legislative Council of the Colorado General Assembly. It is full of vital information, but it is really pretty dull.

The League of Women Voters, however, issues material which is much more interesting to read and just as accurate. They study the issues thoroughly and are non-partisan in their information on candidates. The State League's little pamphlet on Ballot Issues 2002 prints them all and gives arguments for and against each. And the League's insert in last Friday's Daily Sentinel added information about the candidates and local issues. So there are is no possible way to say, "I can't vote because I don't know what's going on."

But if you really don't understand, ask your kids. Kids Voting Mesa County provides year long opportunities for students to learn about active citizenship. It provides a curriculum for kindergarten through 12th grades to the schools at no cost to them. This exciting civics education program begins in school and then gives opportunities for students to take classroom knowledge and apply it to personal hands-on experiences. You'll see them voting in their own area on election day. And Middle School students are writing analyses of issues and candidates' positions which are being printed in the Sentinel. Who knows, maybe a United States Senator in 2040 is taking involved in the Kids Voting program in Grand Junction today.

I asked my coffee klatch pals one morning to vote on the most important political issue for me to write about. In one voice they said, "The War." Think I'll pass on that one, though, since they didn't specify which war. We did all agree emphatically that two headlines which appeared on the same day said a great deal about our country.

The first was "President Bush awarded war power by U.S. Congress."

The second, "President Jimmy Carter awarded the Nobel Peace Prize by the world."

It does make one wonder what kind of a nation we have become.

I let the League do most of my research. The Amendment that they are supporting most actively is number 27, campaign finance reform. This amendment will ban direct corporate and union contributions to candidates, thus reducing the influence of wealthy special interests. As Molly Ivins said last month. "It won't cure everything, but it's a start."

I think the strongest argument for that amendment is the series of vicious, nasty, personal ads we have been subjected to on TV in the Allard/ Strickland race. I wish they had run out of money a month ago.

Amendments 28 and 29 would make some major changes in our electoral procedures. 28 requires mail ballots after 2005. I had some misgivings, but It has to be better than Florida's system. And 29 would eliminate the caucus with its long, sentimental history. That's a tough one.

There are two candidates I am especially interested in. One is a Republican, which will come as a major shock to many. Gayle Berry has earned a right to go back to the Legislature. She has worked hard and intelligently, not only for the western slope, but for the entire state and has earned a strong leadership role in the legislature. And I really want to see Rollie Heath be our next governor. He is competent and well informed and an experienced administrator. And he would never, never announce to the world that Colorado is on fire.

The old saw is still true, "If you don't vote, you don't have a right to bitch."