On the Immigration Front

Good Morning!

And here is a blog on an issue that a fine Wyoming voter is interested in hearing more about.

The immigration issue is on many voters list of important items this election, and rightfully so. Like so many other issues, there are a lot of angles to be considered.

Historically, we are a nation of immigrants, although it is true that most of them came legally. Of course the laws regarding immigration have changed over the years as well, the USA has accepted many more in the past than it does now.

I'm sure I have read that at one point in our history, after a large wave of immigrants from Germany came over, that fully 30% of the U.S. population spoke German as their first language. If true, that is an astounding statistic.And something to keep in mind.

I do believe that we have to control our borders, all of them, because that is one of the basic responsibilities of a national government. It's a darn good thing there are not all that many actual terrorists trying to get into the United States, because with the Southern border situation they certainly could have gained entry by now.

There are an estimated 12 to 15 million illegal residents of the U.S. currently. We are not going to be able to deport them, that is just the fact of the matter. There should be a reasonable and prompt path to citizenship for those folks. We would be much better off as a nation to have them in the fold legally. And it would be better for them as well.

If they were legal, they would be paying all taxes and otherwise participating in our society. As it is now, they have to live the life of a semi-fugitive.

There also should be a reasonable guest worker program so that workers could come to our country to work for a while, and then go back home after the work runs out. Right now, they are afraid to go back because of the increased security at the border.

For many years, the border with Mexico was intentionally left porous. Corporations needed the workers for cheap labor, the workers needed to support their families and there was no work back home. These folks may have broken the official law of the land, but for the most part they are not criminals.

As a final thought, we need to think about our own futures for a minute. Our governmental insurance programs such as Social Security and Medicare depend on young workers paying in for the solvency of the programs. Therefore we need to consider that by adding all of those illegal workers to the roles of legitimate taxpayers, we are actually helping ourselves.

Wyoming Tough versus Wyoming Smart

Good morning Wyooooooooming!

 

The issue of money in politics is huge, no positive change can come without a reform of the way that money controls the debate.

 

Wyoming Democrats need to be smart about the way we go about addressing our inherent and long lasting deficit in this area.

 

We will never be able to equal the fundraising efforts of the majority party, that is a given. So, if we can't compete on their playing field, we must change the field.

 

The way to change the field is to reject special interest money completely, and proceed with a voluntary limit on individual contributions. I use the limit of $100.00 because almost any Wyoming citizen who wants to achieve the maximum limit can do so. No citizen, no matter how wealthy, can have more than $100.00 worth of influence.

 

Wyodems used to run successful statewide races for under $100,000. That should be the standard we strive for, along with new tactics and strategies. In that way we will have a template and a process for willing candidates to buy into, and more people would be willing to make a statewide race.

 

It is ignorant and shortsighted to try to compete with the majority party on their own terms. Candidaes who do so will rarely succeed.

 

We as Wyodems must be smarter.

A Separate Identity for the Wyodems

Good morning Casper and Wyoming,

I attended the local meeting of the Natrona County Democratic Party (NCDP) last night, and came away with a couple of thoughts, neither of them new,

The first thought is that we are really lacking in young people and young participation. The average age of the local Dems who attended was somewhere close to...to...to...MATURE! Yea, that's it. Nothing against mature people of course, but the youth is the future, and right now the NCDP is lacking a future.

The actual political fountain of youth in this area is the Casper City Council. After the new appointee, Joel Burdess, get sworn in this month, we will have 4 Councilpeople who are right around the age of thirty. That's a darn good thing.

The other thought was on the issue of special interest money in politics. I advanced the notion that the best way to create a separate identity for the Wyodem organization was to completely repudiate special interest money, and advertize the fact to high heaven. The ocean of special interest money is corrupting our entire system.

This thought went over fairly well, except for those who have a direct connection to people oriented special interest money, teachers and public employees and unions. Some of them seemed to take my political suggestion as a personal insult, as if a negative comment about the system that they are an active participant of, was directed directly at them.

That is unfortunate. All of us need to have the ability to take a step back and have an objective opinion of all things political. The amount of money that comes from 'people PAC's' is tiny compared to the money that comes from 'corporate PAC's'. The Wyodem organization would be much better off to just take a big breath, take the big leap, and figure out how to succeed with a new way of doing things.

That's all for now. It's time to go do that 'work' thing again.

Candidate Keith

Money Ain't Everything!

    

Good Morning Wyoming!

   

    A most interesting piece of political news from our great neighbor to the north, the state of Montana, has come to my attention.

 

    In a three way race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House seat, a candidate by the name of John Driscoll won by a pretty hefty margin. Of course I do not recall the exact numbers, being somewhat detail impaired, but it was something like 70,000 to 59,000 to 30,000.

 

    Their Primary Election is the first part of June, and so this is not exactly breaking news, The real news is that a guy by the name of John Driscoll won the race without spending ANY MONEY. At least that is what the campaign video said. They had to spend a little I would think, at least the filing fee and such.

 

Go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6epXKGTXsk

 

    That is amazing news really! To think that a candidate from a major party could win a statewide primary race without spending money is revolutionary, is it not?

 

    It gives me some encouragement for my race. For twenty years I have been practicing my own version of campaign finance reform. I accept no money from special interest groups, and I only accept a maximum of $100.00 from any one person.

 

    It now appears that I am actually a moderate in this area!

 

    This is an area where the difference between conventional politics and progressive politics is stark. Conventional politicians from both parties yak about how Congress should do this and that to reform the campaign finance laws, but what are the chances of that ever happening anytime soon? Candidates like myself, and John Driscoll from Montana, look at the issue from the grassroots up, and take action.

 

    We just do what we think is right, and work to succeed with our self-imposed limitations, in the hopes that the electorate will take notice and respond in a positive way.

 

    It could work in my race as well!

 

    If you are reading this, and want to help make my campaign a success, go to www.goodenoughforsenate.com and donate.

 

Thank you Wyoming!