[360] in libertarians
Get OUT and VOTE!!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Vernon Imrich)
Mon Nov 7 21:14:34 1994
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 94 21:02:04 -0500
From: vimrich@flying-cloud.mit.edu (Vernon Imrich)
To: libertarians-announce@MIT.EDU
Cc: libertarians@MIT.EDU, objectivism@MIT.EDU
*** The Last Official Voting News ***
Several have posted with their questions regarding the candidates and
questions on the MA ballot tomorrow. I'm afraid I do not have the
official text of all ballot questions but I will include the latest
libertarian analysis that I've seen from LP people. As for the candidates,
the polling data is from memory and the conglomerate residue of the media
I injest daily.
We have no official plans for a victory party as yet. There is at least
one gathering on election night close enough for some car-poolers to
get to (the Yes on 9 gathering in Cambridge). Stay tuned for more. If
we do something it will be impromptu.
The Candidates: (ONLY the statewide races count for ballot access)
----------------
Senate:
(D) Ted "gimme another bottle" Kennedy - looks like a lock by 8-15%
x? (R) Mitt "I'm not Pat Boone, really" Romney - peaked and fallen
X? (L) Loralee Dozier - another shot at ballot access
Governor & Lt. Governor:
(R) Weld/Celluci - was up to 65% in latest polls, easy win.
(D) Roosevelt/Massie - down to 25%, trying to look dignified.
X (L) Cook/Crawford - a safe vote, do it to help us get ballot
access. Weld can easily spare the 3% needed.
Secretary of State: controls voting issues, ballot laws, reporting, etc.
(D) Galvin - another easy winner
(R) can't even remember his name, he's got no chance.
X (L) Peter C. Everett - ran a good campain
These are the big races. The general scoop is this. ALL the incumbent
candidates in MA are CRUISING to re-election. The Kennedy/Romney race
has shown some tightening (if the polls margin of error combines with
some odd turnout a Romney vote might be worthwhile, I'm still hedging
personally).
There are several other statewide races; e.g. Treasurer and Auditor that
still need your Libertarian vote. The incumbents are are locks to win
according to all indicators. You should have at least five chances to
vote for the Libertarians on the statewide ballot. There is no excuse
for not using at least three of those chances, I reccomend at least four.
Just for fun:
-------------
8th Congress: U.S. Representative
(D) Joe Kennedy - no opposition, he thinks...
X (L) write me in!
Vernon Imrich
345 Cardinal Medeiros Ave. #2
Cambridge, MA, 02141
Ballot Questions:
-----------------
These are all VERY close. 1,6,7 seem to be falling fast which
is good, but they're all so dangerous they need every nail in
their coffins. 8 and 5 seem to be passing but neither are a lock.
I think 3 is failing, but I'm not sure. 2 looks to be going
bad for our side by a lot. The most important ones IMHO are
4 (term limits) and 9 (anti-rent control) which are both in
statistical dead heats (4 edging to our favor slightly more).
I will personally come and KILL you if you forget to vote on
these important issues!
First my simple version, then a somewhat longer version. I
know that both Barbara Anderson of Citizens for Limited Taxation,
Chip Ford of several petition campaigns, and Jerry Williams of
WRKO radio have come down exactly the same as these posititons.
1 - NO (do you like censorship?)
2 - NO (do you like the state legislature?)
3 - YES (do you think Ralph Nader has become a demagogue?)
4 - YES (are career politicians dangerous?)
5 - YES (do you like to shop whenever the hell you want to?)
6 - NO (do you like getting reamed?)
7 - NO (with a cold sharp object?)
8 - YES (do you like smooth roads?)
9 - YES (does the free market work?)
*Everett for Secretary of State * P.O. Box 2610, Boston, MA 02208 617-426-4402*
* For Immediate Release *
Date: September 26, 1994
Contact: Peter C. Everett, Candidate 617-398-5241 <pce@world.std.com>
EVERETT CREATES LIBERTARIAN GUIDE TO BALLOT QUESTIONS
Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State, Peter Everett of Hanover, has
created a voter guide to the nine statewide ballot questions from a Libertarian
perspective. Voters who seek a less expensive and less intrusive government,
and more participation by ordinary citizens in the political process will find
Everett's guide useful.
"The best way to choose state-wide candidates is to find out exactly
where they stand on the issues," said Everett, "Ballot questions are valuable
not only as a way for the voters to enact laws, but as a yardstick against
which the candidates can be measured. I want every voter to know where I stand
on these nine important issues."
* Regulating Spending on Ballot Question Campaigns #1 NO
Its proponents make it seem like it would increase the influence of ordinary
voters by decreasing the influence of so-called "big money". What it would
really do is limit the ability of private citizens to argue against increases in
taxes and regulations, while placing no limits on public-sector influence.
Question 1 violates the spirit if not the letter of the First Amendment,
vote NO.
* Seat Belt Law #2 NO
Buckle up by choice, not by force. The voters have already made their wishes
clear, why doesn't the legislature get it? Vote NO - again.
* Changing the Law Regarding Student Fees #3 YES
Certain lobbying groups have arranged to have their funding hidden in the
tuition bills of public university students. This practice should never have
been allowed in the first place, end it by voting YES.
* Term Limits #4 YES
Our American system of government was never intended to include career
politicians, and now that we have them we can see the result. Open seats
create more choices for voters, not fewer, while the best elected officials
can move to higher office. Term limits will re-vitalize the Founder's vision
of a citizen-legislature. Vote YES.
* Opening Of Retail Stores on Sunday Morning And Certain Holidays #5 YES
Our blue laws are outdated, anti-competitive and bad for the economy.
Repeal them with a YES vote.
* Graduated Income Tax #6 NO
* Personal Income Tax Changes #7 NO
Our state constitution forbids a tax scheme that would pit one income
group against another using graduated rates. Questions 6 and 7 would
remove this important check on the state's taxing power. In essence,
it is a bait-and-switch scam that attempts to give a majority
of voters a temporary tax cut while enacting a system of unlimited tax
brackets and rates. The legislature could then 'pick-off' one bracket at a
time, each time increasing the taxes of a minority, but eventually raising
everyone's taxes. Voters who see through this cynical trick will vote NO
on 6 and 7.
* State Highway Fund Changes #8 YES
Gasoline taxes belong to the people who pay them - drivers. The ten cent
per gallon tax increase was passed with the understanding that the revenue
would be used to maintain the roads. This law forces the legislature to
keep their promise to give the taxpayers what they paid for. Vote YES.
* Prohibiting Rent Control #9 YES
Everyone who has studied rent control honestly knows that it is a sham,
however well-intentioned. While purporting to increase the supply of low
income housing, rent control destroys houses and hurts the very people it
was intended to help. It forces property owners, rather than the community
at large, to bear the full cost of subsidized housing. Under rent control,
thriving neighborhoods are replaced by decaying buildings. Home ownership
is part of the American dream, but rent control destroys that dream for
thousands of Massachusetts property owners. The Fifth Amendment of the
Constitution was supposed to protect us from having our property
confiscated for public purposes. A YES vote is a vote for the Bill of Rights.
Summary:
Question 1 No
Question 2 No
Question 3 Yes
Question 4 Yes
Question 5 Yes
Question 6 No
Question 7 No
Question 8 Yes
Question 9 Yes
