Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Former independent candidate criticizes Hoskins bill

Rep. Ted Hoskins' second effort to pass a law making it more difficult for independent candidates (on the Senate side it was started last year by Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, and Delbert Scott, R-Lowry City) was criticized earlier this week in The Turner Report. Today, I received the following e-mail from Michael Holzknecht, who mounted a solid campaign against Scott in 2006:

Dear Randy,

As usual, one of your responders makes the argument that it is only fair for Rep.Hoskins, Sen. Nodler, and Sen. Scott to try to change the rules on filing deadlines so that party candidates and independent candidates will then supposedly 'have the same filing deadline'.

What this oft-heard justification for accelerating the filing deadline for independents (but not for party candidates) fails to take into account is that under the current system the amount of time between one's filing deadline and one's election is ALREADY THE SAME for independent candidates as it is for party candidates: Party candidates have THEIR elections in August (THEIR PARTY's Primary election), and
the filing deadline for their August election is in March, FOUR MONTHS preceding THEIR primary election.

Similarly, because an Independent Candidate does not run in the August primary elections (which belong exclusively to the Party candidates), but rather runs in the November general election, his or her filing deadline is in July, FOUR MONTHS before THEIR election in November... PRECISELY the same time period, four months, as is allowed the party candidates between their Party Primary filing deadline in March and
THEIR primary election in August.

As one can see, four months and four months really are equal, and four months and SEVEN months are greatly UNEQUAL, so why all the fuss NOW to change the rule and make the time periods between filing and election so UNEQUAL?

It is obviously yet another desperate attempt by those who control the two major parties to rig the game to prevent any serious competition or challenges to their bipartisan, exclusive grip on OUR government. (probably the only truly bipartisan point of agreement between the Republican and Democrat Parties, which is why this law will undoubtedly sail through)

By way of background, following the 2006 elections it became apparent for the first time that a major party candidate could actually LOSE an election to an Independent, so it was critical that they go back and try to CHANGE THE ELECTION RULES in order to maintain whatever advantage they could maintain, as if years of campaign contributions
from the insurance, corporate health care, pharmaceutical, and other corporate special interests weren't enough. (Independent Kim Wright had received 32% of the vote against Sen. Nodler in the 32nd Senate District; and Mike Holzknecht, the former Hickory County Prosecutor, pro-consumer, pro-civil justice, conservative Republican running as an Independent in the 28th Senate District against 20 year incumbent Republican Sen. Delbert Scott received 43% of the total vote; actually won two counties; and surprisingly, lost by only 477 votes to Sen. Scott in his own home county). Those in power simply could not afford to allow this to happen again, so something needed to be done.

To see these three men (Repr. Hoskins, Sen. Nodler, and Sen. Scott), who have been so well-regarded by so many good people in their districts for so long, stoop to such 'rule-rigging' simply to preserve the tremendous advantage which they as Party candidates already enjoy over the likes of regular Americans like Kim Wright and Mike
Holzknecht, is truly disheartening. BOTH parties and their voters deserve better from their 'leaders'. That's what I think.

Mike Holzknecht (Stockton, MO)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is one of the most idiotic things ever written. Parties do not elect officials in their elections in August but select the nominee who will be in the election in November. A party candidate for an office filled with a November election must file in March 7 and 1/2 months before that election. They do not file again period. The august election is the event that gains them ballot space. An independent is allowed to file for that same election in November at a later date creating a violation of the 14th amendment equal protection clause in the U.S. Constitution. Just as a party candidate must meet a threshold for inclusion on the November ballot, so an independent must meet one. In the case of the independent it is not election in a primary but successful collection of sufficient voter signatures. The submission of those petitions is the same thing as a primary election. The assertion that the August primary is the election that the candidate has filed for is just wrong. Winning that primary does not elect you to anything. You file for an office only once in Missouri, that is not the same thing as gaining ballot space in the general election. You earn ballot space either by winning a primary or passing a petition, but filing for the office is only done once. The current system gives a different filing time for one class of candidates based on party affiliation and is clearly unconstitutional. This person should not be practicing law with such low regard for the constitutional rights of citizens!