I'll donate $500 to any senator who authors a companion to HR550

[katinmn]

Who is with me? ($500 is a lot of money for me. I'm poor.)

We need meaningful election reform NOW!! How can we get a senator to sponsor this? If they won't listen to our begging, will they listen to money?

If we get a senate sponsor for the Holt Bill, we'll have something real to rally around. Without it, we are spinning our wheels.

H.R.550 : To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified permanent paper record or hard copy under title III of such Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Holt, Rush D. (introduced 2/2/2005) Cosponsors (159)
Committees: House Administration
Latest Major Action: 2/2/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
H.R.550
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005 (Introduced in House)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beginning
February 2, 2005

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
SEC. 2. PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECURITY THROUGH VOTER-VERIFIED PERMANENT RECORD OR HARD COPY.
SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE VOTER VERIFICATION MECHANISMS.
SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF ENFORCEMENT OF HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.
SEC. 4. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION.
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS BY HAND COUNT.
SEC. 6. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION FROM CERTAIN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.
SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL CERTIFICATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL SECURITY OF VOTER REGISTRATION LISTS.
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.550 :

[acmejack]

1. I can't even offer $500

But I will write (& send) 100 letters.

[katinmn]

2. I can't afford it either, but what can we do?

Letters and petitions aren't working.

They must believe that it will hurt them politically to support honest, transparent elections.
All we're asking for is peace of mind going into 2006.

[katinmn]

3. Kick!

[RJnAbbysNana]

4. Kick!

n/t

[hiley]

5. Wish I had somewhere, somehow to come up

with $500.00 to do this because it is well worth it.
You are right, they listen to the f#*king money.
I will send letters anyhow over and over.
peace

[katinmn]

6. I'm being a bit facetious

(we shouldn't have to pay twice to be represented) but it's almost 2006 and we are nowhere on reform. States, counties, and local governments are busily buying up Diebold machines to make the Jan deadline and we got nuthin.

Maybe if we had a corporation give them the money....

[kliljedahl]

7. I can help you reach your $500.00 goal

I can't do it on my own, much as I'd like to, sorry.



Keith’s Barbeque Central

[incapsulated]

8. Start a pledge drive

Since most of us don't have $500 dollars burning a hole in our pocket, ask for donations. People can pledge a certain amount to the Senator who sponsors the bill.

[katinmn]

9. They probably wouldn't take it for appearance's sake

And it's a pretty piddly amount compared to what corporations give for their pet legislation.

[incapsulated]

10. I don't know

You would certainly exceed that amount if all of DU was aware of it.

Lobbying groups play these games all the time (pledging "support" if certain legislation is passed). We should use their tactics.

[katinmn]

11. Citizen's Pet Legislation Fund Drive for Honest Elections!

CPLFDHE for short.



Slow news days coming up, maybe I will send out a media alert.

[incapsulated]

15. It's catchy, I like it!

Really, we do need a real lobbying group for this issue. It's the only way it seems anything gets done, anymore.

Sad commentary, eh?

[Jacobin]

12. Actually, that would be illegal

You can't pay a congresscritter for promising to vote for legislation. That would be bribery.

However, you CAN give money to him or his PAC after you've had dinner with his aid and find that 'you have common interests in public issuess' wink wink.....

[katinmn]

13. Exactly. It's illegal for citizens, but not lobbyists

[rman]

16. You can also set up a front-shop as a defense contractor,

to receive government contracts and provide kick-backs.

[hiley]

17. that's the ticket

[katinmn]

18. Hmm. Maybe I could get a lucrative PR contract

to improve America's image in France.

I've never been to Paris.

[rman]

14. LOL, the electorate bribing politicians

nice move, but i don't think lack of money is their biggest problem.

[katinmn]

20. Dang. I guess bribery is out.

[Freddie Stubbs]

19. That is illegal

What you are doing is offering a bribe.

[katinmn]

21. Tell that to the credit card companies.

[Freddie Stubbs]

23. Do you have any proof that they offered a bribe to anyone?

[katinmn]

32. Yeah, it's called the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005

Follow the money of that last two election cycles. But this is hijacking the thread. I'm going to focus on election reform in this one.

http://www.pcactionfund.org/withoutdelay/bankruptcy/ind...
Public Campaign Action Fund’s analysis shows:

• Among the top 15 recipients in the House of campaign cash from commercial banks and the finance/credit industry, 80% of the campaign cash went to Republicans, 20% to Democrats;

• These top 15 recipients, who make up just three percent of the membership of the House of Representatives, collected nearly one out of five of the dollars contributed to current House members by commercial banks and finance/credit card companies;

• Top donors to DeLay’s campaign fund and ARMPAC include some of the most profitable credit card companies in the business, including MBNA, BankAmerica, and Citicorp.

• The top five donors from commercial banks and finance/credit companies to DeLay’s campaign fund and leadership PAC account for more than half of the campaign money he has gotten from these industries—$320,050 out of $620,181.

• These top five donors earned more than $31 billion in profits in 2004 alone;

• DeLay has increased his take from commercial banks and the finance/credit industry over the years. In the 2004 election cycle, he collected $178,050, 76% more than the $101,300 he collected in 2002.

Commercial Banks & Finance/Credit Industries
Campaign Contributions,* 1989-2004, to
Members of the House of Representatives
Rank House Member Total
1 Richard Baker (R-LA)
$976,217
2 Michael N. Castle (R-DE) $898,223
3 Spencer Bachus (R-AL) $794,606
4 Michael G. Oxley (R-OH) $661,484
5 Pete Sessions (R-TX) $540,900
6 Deborah Pryce (R-OH) $463,516
7 Dennis Hastert (R-IL) $455,940
8 Rick Boucher (D-VA) $409,395
9 Bob Ney (R-OH) $408,540
10 Bart Gordon (D-TN) $383,691
11 Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) $369,150
12 Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA) $354,810
13 John Linder (R-GA) $353,694
14 David Dreier (R-CA) $340,048
15 Tom DeLay (R-TX) $337,150

*Includes Political Action Committee (PAC) and individual contributions of $200+ from executives and their families
SOURCE: Public Campaign Action Fund analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) data coded by industry by the Center for Responsive Politics (www.opensecrets.org )

[Freddie Stubbs]

36. You failed to provide any proof that

anyone offered any contributions for the promise of voting a certain way.

[incapsulated]

45. Here you go:

Money Talks

Campaign contributions from finance/credit interests correlate with Senate bankruptcy vote
By Steven Weiss

March 14, 2005

Judging by last week’s Senate vote on bankruptcy legislation, the millions of dollars in campaign donations contributed by the credit card industry over the years was money well spent. The finance and credit industry strongly supports the bill, which would make it more difficult to escape from debt through bankruptcy protection. After several days of debate, the Senate on Thursday night approved the measure by a vote of 74-25.

An analysis of the contributions shows that senators who voted to pass the bill raised an average of nearly twice as much between 1999 and 2004 from the finance and credit industry as those who voted against the bill.

The bill’s supporters received an average of $36,600 from the industry during the six-year timeframe, while the measure’s opponents raised an average of $20,221.

A breakdown of senators by party reveals a similar trend. The 18 Democrats who voted to pass the bill raised an average of $51,200 from the industry during the period studied, as compared to the $20,200, on average, collected by the 25 Democrats who voted to reject it.

*snip*

Contributions from MBNA, the nation’s top credit card issuer and the biggest political donor in the finance and credit industry, skew strongly toward senators who supported the bill. The company’s employees and political action committee contributed $1.1 million between 1999 and 2004 to the senators who voted "yes" on the bill, an average of $14,700 per lawmaker. Senators who voted to defeat the bill raised a total of $85,000, or $3,400 per lawmaker, from MBNA’s employees and PAC during that time.

http://www.capitaleye.org/inside.asp?ID=159

The breakdown:

http://www.capitaleye.org/bankruptcyfc.html

[incapsulated]

22. A bribe? In politics!

Heaven forefend! Banish the thought!

That's what lobbying groups DO for a living.

That's what we need for this issue.

Citizens for Election Reform.

The CER. Yeah, the CER as in "be CERtain your vote counted!!"

[katinmn]

24. Election reform groups, bless their hearts, have been lobbying

but like us, most are poor volunteers. Just citizens trying to make our votes count.

We don't have any power because we've been marginalized into the "left-wing extremists" group!

[incapsulated]

27. We need money

We need to pool our $$$ to get any response. And threaten them with aggressive withdrawal of support if they don't play.

I know there have been election reform groups around forever, but their message never resonated. Times have changed, though. I think we need a group that isn't afraid to back up their support with cold cash, like all the rest. The Christan Coalition, the NRA, they are just well organized citizens with an agenda. We need to get organized.

[rman]

35. Only thing we have is numbers,

but we seem to be scattered.

"Somos todos" as they say in Venezuela. But this is not Venezuela.

If 60 to 70% of people think the government is lying about practically everything, that's a lot of extremists, even though not all of 'm might be left-wing.

[Freddie Stubbs]

37. Bingo

That is why the NRA is so powerful. Not because of the how much money they donate to campaigns, but because they can mobilize their members to influence politicians with letters, office visits, and political activism.

[Freddie Stubbs]

26. Not usually

i used to deal with lobbyists when i worked on Capitol Hill. Not once was I offered a bribe. Some of the more crass ones would like to remind me of donations which they gave to my boss' campaign, but those guys were not the most effective.

[incapsulated]

28. C'mon

Using the word "bribe" is silly. Pledging "support" is a perfectly legal way of "bribing" office holders to push your agenda. This is how the game is played, you know that.

[Freddie Stubbs]

34. Interest groups usually support politicians who share their views

Take for instance the one Representaive I used to work for. He was usually a reliable vote for unions. And the unions would donate money to his campaign. But he didn't support union issues because of the campaign donations he recieved. He voted that way either because he believed it was right or feared pissing off his constituents. If he had voted anti-union, he could have raised just a much money from business interests.

[incapsulated]

46. I never said that the system was 100% corrupt

If it was I wouldn't bother involving myself.

Of course politicians represent their constituencies. They would never get elected if they didn't. However, the argument that you are putting forth, that money plays little part in the process, is silly and clearly false.

Especially with the bankruptcy bill which was so anti-consumer (you know, those constituents) that the only logical reason, aside from an extremely conservative economic belief system, for a vote in favor was... money.

[meganmonkey]

25. Shit - just call it a PAC, focus on one issue

and ta-da! Legal bribes!

Gotta love democracy

[Freddie Stubbs]

29. There cannot be quid pro quo

[incapsulated]

30. lol

They don't broadcast it, but there sure as hell is. How the hell do you think the bankruptcy bill was passed, because all those elected officials were losing sleep over the great injustice done to the poor innocent credit card companies and just had to vote their conscience on the issue?!

[sandnsea]

39. Pressure from small business

And local Chambers of Commerce, national Chamber, NSBA, and other main street groups. Not everything is ONLY about the power of the corporation. I think we forget that around here sometimes.

[Freddie Stubbs]

40. Credit cars companies were not the only ones who supported that bill

The credit unions were also in favor of it:

http://hffo.cuna.org/story.html?doc_id=1134&sub_id=1243...

[katinmn]

41. Ok, Freddie. American politics is squeeky clean.

Everything was above board.
It was a GREAT peice of legislation.
The corporate takeover of America is a myth.
Americans bitch too much.

[katinmn]

42. Dupe

[incapsulated]

43. Straight up questions for you

Did campaign contributions play a large part in getting that legislation passed?

Do lobbying groups representing corporations and others show their "appreciation" for supporting their agenda by donating millions of dollars every year to politicians who vote in a way that is beneficial to them?

[incapsulated]

44. Dupe part Duex

Server glitch.

[Czolgosz]

31. Have you tried "Duke" Cunningham? I hear he'll do it for $500.

[katinmn]

33. Support election reform? Doubt it. Any other ideas?

[Czolgosz]

38. You mean there's stuff Cunningham WON'T do for money? Where's the love?

[onenote]

47. two voting bills have been introduced in the senate

Neither is a "companion" to HR 550. Does anyone know the ways in which these bills differ from HR 550? The bills are

S.450 The Count Every Vote Act of 2005 (original sponsors: Clinton, Boxer, Kerry, Lautenberg, and Mikulski).

S.330 The Voting Integrity and Verificaiton Act of 2005 (original sponsors: Ensign, Reid, Burns, Feinstein, Nelson of FL, Chafee, Sununu, Durbin, and Dayton).

onenote

[katinmn]

48. Verified Voting has an analysis of all the legislation.

I think the main difference is that 550 is the only one that both requires random audits and strengthens HAVA whereas the others leave some holes.

http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?list=type&typ...

[onenote]

52. thanks

[lonestarnot]

49. kick!

[freedomfries]

50. kick and thanks for posting

I believe that Clinton-Boxer's S 450 is the best we've got in the Senate. Not as comprehensive and strong as H.R. 550 which mandates prohibition of secret software and internet connection, but still pretty good.
The Holt House 550 bill now has 159 co-sponsors. Please sign the petition and check if you Rep is a co-sponsor.
http://www.rushholt.com/petition.html

[katinmn]

51. Yup, mine's on there.

Yes, S450 may be it for this year.

[Cults4Bush]

53. k&r'd. n/t

[RJnAbbysNana]

54. Kick again!

n/t

[Cults4Bush]

56. welcome to DU!

[Stevepol]

55. I'll give $100