Open Letter to Governor Howard Dean (National Democratic Party Chairperson)
March 7th, 2008
SUBJECT: Open Letter to Governor Howard Dean (National Democratic
Party Chairperson)
Dear Honorable Governor Dean,
My name is Shannon VanWagner and I am writing to share my opinions(as well
as others whom I know) on a few issues that I hold extremely important and
given the fact that this subject is deeply rooted in our American way of life,
I believe that you should feel the same.
Please consider these issues with as much severity as required by a
representative in government office that is responsible for ensuring that the
Constitution of the United States is upheld. Millions of Americans are
depending on your better judgment in ensuring a fair and meaningful race
to move proper Democratic Presidential candidate forward to the general
election, while preserving the rights and intent of the individual voter.
The first issue I would like to point out is the caucus process:
As a country that strives so constantly to be on the absolute leading
edge of perpetual “Political Correctness”, it is completely beyond my
logical and moral comprehension that we can have something so
completely unfair as the Caucus process. The problem with the Caucus
is that it targets specific demographic groups by restricting the Caucus
voting pool to select groups. It’s sort of like making a TV announcement
that says, “OK we’re going to be picking the next presidential nominee
at the grocery store at 2PM today. If you want to vote, you have to
drop everything and get down there. Oh and as for everyone else,
well I guess your vote didn’t matter anyway.” This is not the America
that our founding fathers envisioned.
As for me, I was fortunate enough to have been both physically capable
enough, and having a break in my busy working schedule(these two items
working in unison is a rarity for many of today’s busy America) to attend
the half-hour Caucus. My wife attended the Caucus with me as well and
we also took our children. Had either of us parents been scheduled to
work that day, chances are that we wouldn’t have made it to he Caucus.
Several people we have talked to since the Caucus have not been so
lucky as we were and didn’t make it to the Caucus. We have a friend(an
older woman who used to be a school teacher) that was hospitalized with
walking problems after February 1st(the cutoff date for excused absence
to the Caucus) and so since she did not physically appear at the Caucus,
she was not given the right to vote. How is this fair? My wife works as a
nurse and can name several people that couldn’t physically be at the
Caucus, either because of physical capability or work schedules. Do we
really live in a country where immobile persons and the working public is
denied the right to vote? Impossible! So all the Emergency workers,
nurses, doctors, highway workers, high-visibility project workers, state
employees, etc., etc., who may not be granted time off to attend a
Caucus do not get to vote? This is UN-American! Washington state also
had paper ballots that were mailed out to voters but that DIDN’T COUNT
for the Democratic selection process in Washington - it’s like a trick to
make people think they were able to perform their American privilege
of voting, but their ballots don’t count because WA delegates are only
selected by Caucus! Please end this Caucus conundrum immediately!
The Caucus so unfairly targets only people that can clear their work
schedules and be physically capable of moving themselves to a
half-hour meeting in a place that may not be close to their homes.
This unfairly targets entire demographic groups for making the decisions
that are so important for our nation. In a recent article I read that
typically only 10% of the voting populous arrives to Caucus. It is
absolutely unfair and UN-Democratic that 10% of the voting populous
gets to make the choice for so many others concerning the Democratic
nominee. These caucus participants make up the demographic groups
of students and white-collar workers only, and not the working class,
the poor, and other demographic groups. This is UN-American! Please
fix this broken system immediately, our future as Americans depends
on it!!
I was a soldier in the United States Army and I received the Armed
Forces Expeditionary Medal for my duty, and thinking back, I cannot
fathom that I would have been freely available enough on a particular
Saturday to attend a ridiculous half-hour Caucus event just in order
to cast my vote for presidential candidate. Imagine that? One who
defends the Constitution not getting the opportunity to exercise the
rights of being an American! This is so unfair! Please review what I
have said very closely!
The second issue that I would like to present is as follows:
Michigan and Florida MUST be allowed to participate in the Democratic
nominating process. These states should get to vote, period. Please
consider the common American citizen voter on this issue. The American
voters in Florida and Michigan aren’t at fault for their Democratic
parties “breaking the rules” and therefore they should not be
“stripped” of their right to vote. How could this happen? The
individual voters in Michigan and Florida should not have to lose
their voting rights as set forth by our great Constitution of The
United States of America just because the people that are appointed to
their state’s Democratic party cause some problems with the rules that
are enforced by the national committee. Please consider the individual
voter, their rights MUST prevail on this issue. Michigan and Florida
must be counted, it’s the only way it will be a Democratic and
American choice.
In closing, I’d like to point out that the Democratic nominating
process should not be forced to “be over” until all voters have had a
right to cast their vote. No amount of media spin and/or favoritism
should allow one nominee or the other to pressure the other nominee to
close out of the race when they still have a fighting chance and until
all of the American people have had a chance to vote for their
candidate.
Furthermore, please understand AS SOON AS POSSIBLE(so as to correct
immediately) that it is entirely unfair to continue to let the Caucus
decide the candidate for Democratic Presidential nominee. Caucusing
doesn’t pull from the “Grass Roots” voters, it unfairly targets ONLY
certain demographic groups to make the decision for all of everyone
else. This is undemocratic and entirely UN-American!
All of these problems are starting to make me wonder if the Democratic
party (no specific decrement to any one candidate intended) is really
the right group to select a President to stand for me as an American
in these great United States. I don’t plan on voting Republican in
November but perhaps they at least take voters more seriously in terms
of how they are handling their candidate selection process.
America as a whole should be deciding who the next Democratic
Presidential Candidate should be, NOT a specific set of demographic
groups that typically only represent 10% of the voting populous in the
Caucusing process.
Sincerest Regards,
Shannon VanWagner
American Voter - voting for our next President
Seattle, WA
———————————————————————————–
Thanks for your thoughtful email Shannon. You made some really good points. Personally, I think caucuses are inferior to primaries in selecting delegates. I think voters in Florida and Michigan should get a second chance to vote in primaries. The problem is paying for them. The state governments should foot the bill but it will be difficult in both states. Michigan is basically broke. Worst economy in the nation. Florida state government is completely controlled by Republicans who will try to exploit the cost issue to help their candidates.
Would you like me to post your letter on the Democratic Talk Radio Blog?
Thanks,
Stephen Crockett