Friday, September 09, 2005
Stretch!
Mark Massoud is really reaching to turn the legislature into "the people."
Here are the reasons why Prop 22 shouldn't be considered as representing the "will of the people."
First, the people of California have a right to change their minds.
Okay. Did they? How about another Prop to see?
Second, some people may have voted for Proposition 22 inadvertently. The rhetoric of "equality" and "protecting marriage" that was deployed by the proposition's proponents made voters not want to choose the alternative.
In other words, some people who voted in favor of Proposition 22 in 2000 did not realize that their vote would ban gay marriage, and might have voted otherwise had they known.
Yeah, I voted 'Pat Buchanan' on Prop 54 a few elections back.
You see, when proponents deploy 'rhetoric,' the vote doesn't count. Only those propositions that passed while supporters argued in a rhetoric-free manner should count. I believe that includes... uh...
Third, many Californians simply abstained from voting for or against Proposition 22. Perhaps they didn't think their vote would count, or they didn't care either way.
Still others disdain the California referendum process. As those arguments go, Californians elect and pay people to go to Sacramento to make laws so that the rest of us don't have to—so that we can focus on our jobs, our hobbies, and our families.
Some people who voted for their representatives in the last election did not realize that their vote would allow gay marriage, and might have voted otherwise had they known. Therefore, by the second point above, the idea that representatives represent should be considered incorrect. In fact, there is no way to know "the will of the people." Therefore, all votes should be conducted by coin flip.
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