The Procedural Scheming of Boxer-Jones

Frank Salvato

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) did something remarkable Thursday, something that hasn’t been done for 36 years. Both Jones and Boxer objected to the certification of the State of Ohio’s 2004 electoral votes. The action caused a delay in the formal declaration of President Bush’s second term – if only for a few hours – in favor of invoking a little employed procedure – per Congressional rules – that mandated both chambers recess in order to “debate” the issue; the issue at hand – voting irregularities.

I was born and raised in the Chicago area so when I hear that Democrats are concerned about “voting irregularities” I tend to chuckle. Growing up in the land of the Daley’s and the Jackson’s, the phrase, “Vote early and vote often,” many times wasn’t a joke. In fact, Chicago is famous (or infamous) for being the city that had the most dead people voting in a municipal election. Combine that with the “alleged” time-honored Chicago political machine tradition of soliciting votes from those who aren’t registered and sometimes aren’t even documented citizens and we can see how the Democratic machine in Chicago maintains its iron-fisted “blue state” status.

So, to hear Boxer’s explanation of why she and Jones would choose to waste not only the Congress’s time but also the taxpayers’ money on a political stunt – a scheme – that had no hopes of achieving anything but resurrecting the political divide of this most recent election, I immediately had to wonder if they had spent any time in Chicago under Daley tutorage.

Boxer, after having expressed that she was “moved” by Jones’s concerns about reported election irregularities in Ohio, is quoted as having written to Jones:

"I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election."

There are so many things wrong with that statement I hardly know where to begin.

Boxer contends that invoking the “debate” among those of the Congress was “the only immediate way to bring these issues to light.” If Ms. Boxer truly believes this then she has either been living in a cave on the Island of “Lost” since November of 2000 or is so out of touch with what is actually happening in this country she should be removed from office for dereliction of duty.

The issue of voting irregularities and election reform has been one of the most heated topics since the 2000 election. The issue is from where the Help America Vote Act was derived. I know Florida is all the way across the country from California but in the age of 24-hour news one would have thought it to be impossible not to hear, at least once, about the outrage that South Florida Democrats went through in 2000. Note to Babs: that was about voting irregularities.

While well within her constitutional rights as a member of Congress to object to the certification of Ohio’s votes, ethically an eyebrow should be raised by every Ohioan with regard to Boxers accusations of ineptitude. With her objection to Ohio’s electoral vote certification comes the inference that their voting process, the subsequent legal battles courtesy of the “Bush-Haters Club” and their certification process were absolutely flawed, that the people of Ohio were incapable of executing a successful election. I suppose it’s a good thing California exists in such a state of perfection otherwise Ms. Boxer wouldn’t be able to overlord the people and the government of the State of Ohio.

And finally, Boxer says she had to stop the electoral vote certification process, “to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election." It begs to be asked: when do we get to see transcripts from this vital debate that took place during the two-hour delay? Will they be issued in paperback?

The tactic employed Thursday by Jones and Boxer can be described as both political grandstanding and usurping the scheduled agendas of both chambers of Congress. Election reform is an issue best left to the sovereignty of the states, sovereignty that should see as little federal interference as possible. The floors of congress should be reserved for the direst of needed actions where this matter is involved.

Perhaps Boxer’s and Jones’ actions can best be described as an unethical, albeit constitutional, narcissistic desire for attention and political divisiveness. Their politically motivated actions were an abuse of the power vested in them by their constituents and a maneuver that comes very close to usurping the State Rights of Ohio. After all, they are Ohio’s electoral votes to certify and with no legitimate legal proceedings outstanding Boxer and Jones had no real need to waste Congresses time or our tax dollars.

###

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant, a freelance writer from the Midwest and the Managing Editor for www.TheRant.us . He is a contributing writer to OpinionEditorials.com and AmericanDaily.com. He has appeared as a guest panelist on The O’Reilly Factor and his pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com and occasionally featured in The Washington Times as well as other national publications.

oped@therant.us