A voters’ holiday? What exactly would voters celebrate? According to Minnesota Green party gubernatorial candidate, Ken Pentel, only a two hundred year old tradition of commemorating our past, and honoring the ancestors that fought for a participatory, representative democracy.
At his press conference today at the State Capitol Office building, Pentel’s “family values” came through loud and clear in his “refreshingly clean” campaign call for a Voter’s Holiday.
Does anyone really need the extra day to catch up on the issues? To impart views and values to their children? Time to reflect upon a candidate’s qualifications and promises? Extra time to get to the polls? You betcha.
Imagine that teachers would likely prepare and educate their students—tomorrow’s leaders—about the importance of a Voters’ Holiday. July 4th celebrations have become largely a day of picnics and cookouts—with rarely a good old fashioned political debate occurring in a public park. Of course, families have less time for picnics and cookouts in general than they had in the past, so it’s only natural that folks jump at July 4th for a good time.
Political parties could even run education and training sessions for their members that coincide with the Voter’s Holiday. But in an era of increasing work hours that still don’t address the reduced purchasing power of many workers, many parents might simply enjoy having their children tag along to the polls so that the kids can actually observe them attempting to participate in government. These parents of the future aren’t as likely to feel (or to be) disenfranchised and by-passed by the political decision making process. Of course, we’ll presume here that the Federal Election Commission is too clean in the meantime to by-pass any federal election laws.
If you still doubt the role of money in the outcomes of the political process however, take a look at Dr. David Schultz’s (Hamlin University) report, “The March of Money: 2001 Political Spending Trends in Minnesota.” Schultz, who accompanied Pentel at today’s press conference, stated that centralized money in campaigns had:
- Failed to decrease the influence of PAC money
- Failed to restore the confidence of citizens in the political process
Pentel asserted that the focus of his administration would be to restore democracy in the hands and hearts of all Minnesotans, not merely those represented by large, centralized, special interests.
A Voter’s Holiday—it could be part of a “refreshingly green” administration!
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