What would you say if you heard that in some banana republic somewhere the national government came in and canceled a local election? Sounds like a dictatorship, doesn’t it? Well, it happened last year in America.
A group of citizens in Washington, D.C. went through all the legal requirements to put an initiative on the ballot. They drafted a statute, collected thousands of signatures and campaigned among their fellow citizens for a change in policy.
Then, just days before the election, our Congress ordered city officials not to count or report the people’s votes. Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia led the charge to strip the citizens of Washington, DC of their voting rights. Now that the prohibition is about to expire, Mr. Barr wants to extend it.
The ballot issue is a controversial one: allowing sick patients to use marijuana if prescribed by a doctor. Doctors and politicians disagree strongly on this matter though it should be noted that in the 11 statewide elections, voters have endorsed the use of marijuana for medical purposes every time.
U.S. Term Limits, my group, certainly takes no position on the Medical Marijuana Initiative. But we do have an opinion on politicians arrogantly denying voters a chance to have their votes counted and reported. We’re against it.
Career politicians think they can dictate to us as if they were our rulers, instead of our servants. But for cryin’ out loud, this is America! Let’s count the votes.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.