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Sanders lost, but is not defeated
So Sanders lost New York. At least he fought like hell to win. As Gandhi said, “Full effort is full victory.” This campaign has always been about more than just election results; Sanders has systematically exposed how the American political system is no longer truly democratic.
For instance, it broke my heart when my wife texted to say that she could not vote because she is registered as an Independent. She was confused, bummed, and a little annoyed. It pissed me off, too. Don’t we live in a country that has a Constitution written by the people and for the people? I thought I read somewhere that voting is one of our most sacred enterprises as free citizens?
The brutal truth is that the system has never been fully democratic. How long did it take African Americans and women in general to finally harness the power of the ballot? My wife felt an aspect of that long and terrible struggle.
Why can’t a native citizen of legal age register at any time she pleases? Right up to the polls closing, why can’t she register to vote? Is this America or not?
I cannot accept that this is the best we can achieve with our opportunity to model democracy for the rest of the world. It will never be ideal, but it does not need to remain broken. Shame on all of us for taking so long to realize how dysfunctional the system has become.
So, yes, Sanders lost New York. But that does not mean Sanders lost. No man who speaks so much truth to power, and is so totally uncontrolled by the corporate and political elite can ever be defeated.
GEORGE C. PAYNE
Founder, Gandhi Earth Keepers International
End on-demand scheduling
Another big problem with low-wage jobs, especially in the food service area, is on-demand scheduling (“Project looks at perils of low-wage work,” April 20).
For example, one place that I work doesn’t post the week’s schedule until Thursday for the week that begins on Saturday. That leaves no time to plan for child care, family events, etc.
I have complained, but was told that the law doesn’t apply to food service workers. There are many studies which prove that on-demand scheduling is very stressful for workers.
The state has gone after big retailers such as Target and Walmart for this, but there seems to be no help for food service workers.
WOODSY33
Put casino in High Falls
A center city casino is not a bad idea, but rather than Main Street, I believe that a better location would be in High Falls, on the site of the former power plant, Beebe Station.
The location could be deeded to the Senecas, and the casino and the accompanying theater and parking would be a powerful draw to the neighborhood. High Falls needs more people, and this could strengthen the planned redevelopment of the Pont de Rennes and further the nearby stadium and Brown Square neighborhood.
ROCHESERRAY
This article appears in Apr 27 – May 3, 2016.
“my wife texted to say that she could not vote because she is registered as an Independent. She was confused, bummed, and a little annoyed” I’m very curious as to why two people who seem quite politically engaged as you and your wife appear to be, didn’t know this fundamental and well-known policy of primary elections in NY state — that members of a party vote in the primary elections — not non-party members. We can like or dislike this policy, but it’s been around a long time and should be known by anyone interested in politics.
Amen, Rochester Musician. And actually, you don’t go far enough. Where, oh where in our Constitution does it mention even one word about political parties, let alone primary elections? (Recall the original Constitution allowed only white, male, property owners, over the age of 21 to vote. And even then there was no direct voting for President.) We expect eighth graders to know these most basic facts.
If you want to vote in the Democratic or Republican primary, then join the Democratic or Republican party. It really is that simple. Extra credit: The 1972 Democratic primaries, in “open” states: what happened that to this day justifies “closed” primaries?
Guys…give him a break… the rules are wrong if they don’t meet his needs. He doesn’t care that there have been primary rules long before he came around…he is just upset that is wife couldn’t vote for the self proclaimed socialist. Just don’t tell George that Sanders must not have put in his full effort….because he definately didn’t have a full victory…..it was a loss in NY and the final nail in his Presidential Coffin
I’m a registered voter. I’ve never been affiliated with a political party, but this year I wanted to do my part to help Sanders. So I looked up the rules. I wasn’t going to be allowed to vote in this year’s primary. I guess they don’t want people to join a party just to vote for one person in one election. Oh well. I didn’t want to be a Democrat anyway.
In response to reader George C. Payne’s anger that this wife could not vote in the democratic primary because she is registered as an Independent. This has been the way elections have been run for decades in what he describes as “one of our most sacred enterprises as free citizens”. Yet, he and his wife are just now realizing how the system works which shows me that either a) his wife just moved here within the past year, or b) they have not been participating in the “most sacred of enterprises as free citizens”.
According to the website of the organization he referenced , he graduated from a Rochester college, which takes multiple years, had workshops in Rochester for over 5 years after that, and this is the first time he is learning the rules for voting in a primary that has been in place for multiple decades?
His answer is to be able to walk in and register the day of elections, never mind someone would have to cross check to make sure he isn’t doing this at multiple sites around the city.
This is just another case of an uniformed citizen that wants to blame everybody else for their problem, not take any responsibility for their own failure to follow the procedures in place and then blame the man for keeping them down.
Get out and vote every year, and you will not have these problems.