Musings from Brian J. Noggle: Convenient Technicalities

Convenient Technicalities

The November ballot in Missouri won't be quite as crowded after Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced Thursday that two proposals can't go before voters because of faulty petitions.

Carnahan tossed out proposed state constitutional amendments to limit the use of eminent domain and to restrict state spending. She cited technical problems with the petitions, each signed by about 200,000 registered voters, and an inaccurate financial summary attached to the eminent domain petitions.

Never fear, gentle reader, the spokespeople are out to assuage your fears:

Carnahan spokeswoman Stacie Temple said the decision to toss out the petitions was based solely on law, not Carnahan's personal or political views.

How convenient that Carnahan tossed out government-limiting ballot initiatives that would cap state spending and limit eminent domain, but that the following ballot measures--sometimes whose petitions were circulated by the same people as the aforementioned rejected petitions--are still on the ballot:

Stem cell research.
Tobacco tax increase.
Minimum wage increase.
Medicaid Reform, by which we mean adding 90,000 people removed from the Medicaid roles back onto the public dole.

I'm sure that the two conservative ballot items were removed for valid legal reasons. I also think we have too many technicalities and byzantine legalities from which a determined public servant can pick and choose to advance his or her own agendum within the nebulous framework afforded by an inattentive constituency.

- posted by Brian J. @ 8:45 PM