🚀 go-pugleaf

Marianne Goodland <mgoodlan@odin.cair.du.edu> wrote in article
<565vhb$24c@hermes.cair.du.edu>...
> In article <55t400$sb8@news0.rain.rg.net>,
> Lynn Turriff     <lynnt@mail.oregon.com> wrote:
> >Chris, does it not occur to you that if enough people feel strongly
enough      
> >to propose a Constitutional amendment on this issue that perhaps there
is      
> >some merit in it?   
> 
> Actually, that's not true. The people of Colorado did not
> propose this amendment; it was shoved down our throats by
> Of the People, Inc. a Christian Coalition affiliate in
> Virginia.  They PAID petitioners to gather signatures,

[ ... chop ... ]

> Its drubbing on Tuesday was well deserved. Citizen initiatives
> belong to the people of a given state, not to special
> interest groups
[ ... chop ... ] 

Sigh ... I was gonna stay out of this, but... 
	1) Nearly every amendment that gets on the ballot, in Colorado or any
other state, gets there only with the help of paid signature-gatherers.
Some attract almost no unpaid volunteers at all. This  amendment was
notable only in that it did *not* have a lot of big-money support like many
land-use, anti-environment, anti-tax, and labor initiatives do. Can you
name a single large contributor to 'Of The People'? I can't. I would be
willing to bet that far _less_ was spent to promote A17 than to oppose it,
and less than is spent to support most initiatives. 

	2) These supposed furriners(i.e., non-Coloradans) raise their money
coast-to-coast and spend their money coast-to-coast. So did the opponents
of the bill.  Of The People raises money all over the US, including
Colorado, and spends it all over the US, including Colorado. You would
think they were spending Klingon currency from all the hollering about
'national groups' &c. 

	3) The opponents of the bill were just as guilty of spending 'foreign'
money as the supporters. The biggest cash donors for the opposition were
the Colorado branches of the NATIONAL teacher's unions. So they had the
prescence of mind to open a local office, transfer the money from the
national office, and spend it under local auspices. What difference does it
make WRT where the money came from? None. The money that bought the
baby-beater spots was raised from union dues from teachers all over the US.


	4) Most major media outlets were rabid in their opposition to A17,
contributing to its defeat. Most major media outlets are mostly owned by
furriners. 

	5) Who really cares where the money came from anyway? Why not support it
or oppose it on it's own merits? 

	6) This was not 'shoved down people's throats'. A lot of people read
about, thought about it, and voted for it, myself included.