Make your VOICE Heard

Last week, the Iowa blogosphere came together in support of HF 805, the VOICE legislation. The bill hasn't made much progress, but our Representives have recieved our emails and calls. We need to keep the pressure on, so the Democratic House leadership doesn't kill the bill.

Here are 2 important posts from the Iowa blogs on the VOICE legislation from last week. (Here is my post about Tom Vilsack speaking about the importance of the bill and why the Democratic Party should be behind it, instead of trying to kill it.) Read them, then send your Rep. another email and get your friends and family to do the same.

Political Forecast takes a look at the VOICE legislation and tackles the issue of funding...

Clearly, the cost is an issue with the legislation — but let’s put it into perspective. When considering the overall budget of the state, $10 million is 1/10 of 1% of the total budget. That’s a mere drop in the bucket.

Political Fallout sums the VOICE legislation nicely, saying...

Can Iowa Afford Clean Elections? (VOICE Over)

Iowa Values Fund (Corporate Welfare): $10 million/year

Iowa Football Coach Kirk Ferentz’s Yearly Salary: $1.2 million (+$400,000 longevity bonus)

2006 Iowa Governor’s Race: $13 million

2006 Iowa House & Senate Race Disbursements: $16,639 million

Big Tobacco Ho’ Minority Leader Christopher Rants Big Tobacco Mo’: $60,000

Security Detail for Culver’s Children: $253,494

Clean Elections (VOICE): $10 million

Cost of e-mailing representative: $Zero

Restoring Faith in Democracy: $Priceless