When it’s suggested by John Kerry that the U.S. doesn’t actually have a legitimate international coalition on the ground in Iraq, the President likes to point to Tony Blair and the people of Great Britain. As most of you know, however, a majority of Brits, despite what either Bush or Blair might assert, are not behind our efforts in Iraq and they do not support our current administration. In illustration of this fact, the UK’s Guardian today announced the launch of a new on-line tool that would allow its readers in England (and elsewhere) to find the names and addresses of swing state voters here in the US so that they can begin correspondences. All people have to do is log-in here to get the contact information for a registered voter in Clark County, Ohio. It remains to be seen how much impact, in any, a piece of mail from England saying, “Wake up, Betty and Tom Milcrest of 527 Maiden Lane — Bush is makin bloody arses of you” might have, but I think you have to agree that it’s inspired. The component of the Guardian project that I don’t find so inspired is the part where they show people how to take advantage of loopholes in order to contribute money to those American groups actively working against Bush’s reelection. I know it happens, but I don’t like the idea that foreign funds can impact our elections, regardless of who they support. Here’s a clip:
At G2, that sounded like fighting talk. Where others might see delusions of grandeur, we saw an opportunity for public service – and so, on the following pages, we have assembled a handy set of tools that non-Americans can use to have a real chance of influencing the outcome of the vote. We’ve identified ways to give money to help your preferred candidate, even though direct campaign contributions from foreigners aren’t allowed. There are ideas for making your voice heard in the influential local media outlets where it could really count. And at the core of it is a unique scheme to match individual Guardian readers to individual American voters, giving you the opportunity to write a personal letter, citizen to citizen, explaining why this election matters to you, and which issues you think ought to matter to the US electorate. It may even be a chance to persuade somebody to use their vote at all.
3 Comments
don’t forget about poland! by the way, the polish gov. is planning to pull its troops out by spring———what does dubya have to say about that? oops sorry, he doesn’t read newspapers or anything else for that matter.
I often wonder if the French regret giving us the Statue of Liberty.
I’d just be curious to know what the response in Ohio is going to be when they start getting letters from foreign nationals asking them to vote for Kerry. I think that it very well might work against him…. especially if the letters are coming from those snivelling little cowards, the French.