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Al Sharpton on Government Reform

Reverend; Civil Rights Activist; Democratic Candidate for President


Need to monitor touch-screen voting machines

Q: How "safe" would you say the touch screen voting machines are for the upcoming presidential election and would you favor a hard copy (paper) backup to each vote as a safeguard?

A: I do not know how safe it is. We intend to really monitor that. A hard copy backup sounds like a step in the right direction. What the Sharpton campaign ultimately will propose we have not finalized.

Source: Concord Monitor / WashingtonPost.com on-line Q&A Nov 5, 2003

Count the DC primary like other primaries

Q: What do you say to some of your opponents who are ignoring the Jan. 13 2004 DC primary, and what would your winning that primary say?

A: It would say that we start with a momentum and it would also be a statement to the nation that DC residents cannot be ignored: they want DC to vote like everyone else in other early primary states. A Sharpton victory would not only define my campaign, but would define how may DC residents see the country differently than other early primary states. Other candidates that ignore DC-I think are being contradictory. In words, they say they are for statehood, but ignore the state. You can't say you want DC to be treated equally as a state but treat them unequally in the primary. I was the only presidential candidate to appear at the DC Democratic dinner. It sends a bad signal to the country and to the party as to whether we are serious about DC being treated equally, as any other state, and their achievement of the Constitutional right to statehood.

Source: Concord Monitor / WashingtonPost.com on-line Q&A Nov 5, 2003

Every American should have equal access to vote

Q: What do you think about the actions and policies of the Bush administration?

A: My campaign is based on fighting for human and constitutional rights. Fighting for human rights and constitution amendments would allow Democrats, Republicans and Independents to agree on the goals - that every American should have equal access to vote, that every American should be given the opportunity and equal access to a high quality public education and health care.

Source: MoveOn.org interview Jun 17, 2003

Constitutional amendment on voting rights-remove from states

SHARPTON [to Graham]: One of the main concerns with for [voting in] 2004 is what happened in 2000. And it happened in your state. There's a proposal in the House to make voting a constitutional amendment. Would you support legislation to make voting a constitutional amendment, so it's not a state's right and we end up with a repeat of what we had in the year 2000?

GRAHAM: Probably no. I believe in the principle of states having responsibility for the conduct of their elections. Now, the Congress has just recently passed a National Election Reform bill which will set some general standards, but more importantly will provide funds to the states to upgrade the quality of their election technology, and the training of election personnel, [etc.] We're not proud of what happened in Florida. But had the election been as close in any other state, similar fractures would have been seen, and therefore [I see] the wisdom of, not a national takeover, but a national system for fair election reform.

Source: [X-ref to Graham] Democratic Debate in Columbia SC May 3, 2003

GOP plan is to reduce government by bankrupting it

Devolution is a Republican plan. Tax cuts are part of their strategy. The idea is to reduce the role of government by bankrupting them. So blowing a projected 10-year $5.6 trillion surplus is the goal of the Administration. The point is to cut federal and state expenditures in half over the next 25 years - at the federal level, from 20 percent to 10 of GDP.
Source: Comments on ABC's 'The Notepad' May 2, 2003

Other candidates on Government Reform: Al Sharpton on other issues:
George W. Bush
Dick Cheney
John Edwards
John Kerry

Third Party Candidates:
Michael Baradnik
Peter Camejo
David Cobb
Ralph Nader
Michael Peroutka

Democratic Primaries:
Carol Moseley Braun
Wesley Clark
Howard Dean
Dick Gephardt
Bob Graham
Dennis Kucinich
Joe Lieberman
Al Sharpton
Abortion
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Civil Rights
Corporations
Crime
Drugs
Education
Energy/Oil
Environment
Families/Children
Foreign Policy
Free Trade
Govt. Reform
Gun Control
Health Care
Homeland Security
Immigration
Infrastructure/Technology
Jobs
Principles/Values
Social Security
Tax Reform
War/Iraq/Mideast
Welfare/Poverty
Adv: Avi Green for State Rep Middlesex 26, Somerville & Cambridge Massachusetts