Prop. 77 Back On The Ballot; Cindy Sheehan Takes On Bush; The Iraqi Constitution
Prop. 77 Back On The Ballot
On Friday, the California Supreme Court ruled to put Proposition 77 back on the November 8 ballot after a month-long court battle between opponents and proponents over different versions of the proposition that were circulated before the measure qualified. The ballot measure would take power for drawing districts away from legislators and give it to a panel of retired judges. The Supreme Court justices who voted to keep Proposition 77 on the ballot argued that the discrepancies between the circulated versions were not significant enough to remove the measure. Guest host, Patt Morrison, talks with Ted Costa, CEO of People’s Advocate, Inc. and a proponent of Prop 77, and Todd Harris, political consultant for Governor Schwarzengger about the Supreme Court’s decision and its impact on the special election scheduled for Nov. 8th.
Cindy Sheehan Takes On Bush
Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed Iraq in 2004, has been camped out for days in Crawford, Texas outside Bush’s ranch. She is demanding to meet with the President to challenge his policies on the war in Iraq. Several hundred people have joined her protest including families of seven soldiers killed in the war. Among family and friends, opinions vary about Cindy Sheehan's decision to stage a peace vigil in Casey's name on President Bush's doorstep in Texas. Guest host Patt Morrison speaks with Cindy Sheehan and Bill Mitchell about their protest. Neal Gabler joins Patt to analyze the media’s handling of the story and its impact on the anti-war movement.
The Iraqi Constitution
On Monday the Iraqi constitution is to be handed to parliament by the drafting committee. But in Friday prayers, Sunni clerics urged their followers to vote against the constitution if it includes Shiite calls for regional governments. If the final draft includes Kurdish and Shiite demands for federalism, the Sunni minority may reject it thus scuttling the Bush administration’s strategy for coaxing Sunni Arabs away from insurgency. Other constitutional issues to resolve include the role of religion and the status of women. Patt Morrison talks with Barbara Bodine, Executive Director of the Middle Eastern Governance Initiative at the Belfer Center, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; Lou Cantori, Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Distinguished Professor at Westpoint, US Airforce Academy, and US Marine Corps University, also a former Marine; and Christopher Allbritton, Reporter for Time magazine, based in Baghdad about the Iraqi constitution, scheduled to be finalized today.