U. S. Congress Subpoenas Karl Rove Again

In his June 2 blog posting, Josh Zaharoff expressed deep skepticism that Karl Rove will appear before Congress despite having received his second subpoena from Congress.

He bases this on the fact that (1) Rove has yet to testify under oath, (2) on the past history of Rove and others using supposed "executive privilege" to defy Congress and (3) on the past history of Congress failing to function as an effective check on executive power. He cites some hope because of the lead editorial in the June 2 edition of the New York Times in which they characterize Mr. Rove's claim of executive privilege as not only weak but shamefully cynical.

They state that  "It is time for Michael Mukasey, the attorney general, to stand up for justice by enforcing Congress's subpoenas. If he will not do that, Congress must ensure that its investigative authority is not thwarted. Mr. Rove seems willing to talk about this case everywhere except where he is required to: in Congress, in public, under oath. The American people, and Mr. Siegelman, are counting on Congress to find out the truth."

CC/CT: Connecticut Activists Rock!

In her June 2 blog Kim Hynes expressed gratitude about Connecticut having a large group of people dedicated to grassroots activity.  She describes how they have stood on street corners every Saturday for five years holding up signs to try and stop the Iraq War.  They come in droves to phone bank for campaign finance reform.  They knock on doors and drop off literature and attend rallies and marches.  In August 2006 they helped pull off an upset that sent signals around the nation when Ned Lamont beat Senator Lieberman in the Democratic primary.

In conjunction with CC National President Bob Edgar's visit, CCCT joined with Democracy for West Hartford to co-sponsor a forum that featured Bob Edgar and Ned Lamont. She writes that "the power in the room came not only from the two amazing and inspiring speakers, but from the room full of activists who are inspired to do a little bit each day to create positive change in the world."

CC/MN: Two Special Events

On June 4 Common Cause will kick off a new chapter in Minnesota with a free event that will feature special guests Bob Edgar, Common Cause National President; Mark Ritchie (Democrat-Farmer-Labor), Minnesota Secretary of State; and Al Quie (R), former Governor of Minnesota (1979-1983). They will address protecting courts from special interests, creating a fair and balanced redistricting process, and forming a more transparent state and local government.

The following day voting rights advocates, election reformers and other activists will be joining together in Minneapolis for Democracy Day in an all-day conference with workshops and panels. Democracy Day features speakers who are on the cutting edge of the fight for fair elections and improving democracy, including Amy Goodman from Democracy Now and John Nichols from The Nation. The event also is offering workshops designed to explore in greater depth the key challenges facing our democracy; i.e., ways to stop deceptive practices and dirty tricks which keep voters from exercising their right to vote in elections; fix voting machines so they are secure and reliable; how to expand ballot choices; ways to make voter registration easy and how to ensure its accuracy; address the need for public financing, proportional representation and instant runoff voting.