Consumer Law

ThePopTort?s Combined Halloween/Election Special ? We Can?t Say Much But ?

By Joe Consumer

Or rather, we can?t say much because we actually respect the Internal Revenue Service that allows us to be a tax-exempt organization!  We don?t ?electioneer? unlike some groups, who shall remain nameless (but if you really want to know). 

Anyway, there are a couple things we can comment on.  First are voter initiatives.  We?re allowed to say to all Washington State voters: There?s a terrible initiative on the ballot ? I-1082 ? that was written and sponsored by the insurance industry.  It would allow private insurers into the remarkably efficient Washington State workers compensation non-profit public system, and then ruin it with greater costs for employers, smaller benefits for injured workers, and increased burdens on the state.  Check out Americans for Insurance Reform's report on this. Major editorial boards in the state say, "VOTE NO."  I think you know what to do!

Second, extreme-right corporate lawyer David B. Rivkin, Jr. and a really right-wing guy named Andrew M. Grossman have penned a truly reprehensible attack on former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in the Wall Street Journal. They attack her for her involvement in efforts to remove the grotesque amounts of money now flooding into judicial elections ? often from out-of-state corporate front groups - and supporting a Nevada voter initiative that would replace such a system with merit selection of judges.  

This kind of nasty piling on, driven by callous corporate interests, is gonna get a whole lot worse if people don?t come out to vote. And that?s a whole lot scarier than Halloween this year!  We?ll just leave it at that.

Full post as published by ThePopTort on October 29, 2010 (boomark / email).