Virginia's new poll tax

Since 1982 , I have sought to use the ballot as a garden to germinate ideas for better democracy and capitalism. Many ideas were first planted on Richmond editorial pages: decapitalism/necronomics, habitual politicians, fee speech, terrorist-to-be, etc. I am especially proud of planting and pruning "When politicians makes good policy then the polity in the polis will be polite without police."  As an Independent for Congress in 1998, I harvested 25% of the vote.

Now, sowing the roots of a new campaign, I find a rock placed in my path. Previously, a knight errant had until the June primaries to till the sidewalks for petition signatures. Now, the must-harvest-by date is March 31. Habitual politicians get 6 months; newcomers get 3 months.

Now, an independent candidate must collect signatures in cold months. One political party always prays for bad weather on election days. Prayers have been answered by gerrymandering signature collection to bad weather months. Inclimate weather will reduce candidacy turnout.

Now, a new candidate fee impedes a grass root reformer from tranforming sweat into election produce. During Jim Crow, some citizens were disenfranchised by an unaffordable poll tax. Today, a modern day Harold Stassen must pay two percent of the office salary from which he draws no salary--over $3,000 for a congressional seat. This fee is a de facto poll tax on a class of citizens and their way of thinking.

In Virginia'a 2015 election, 71% of the Assembly and 50% of the Senate seats had no opposition. Eliminating new growth by which grass roots can express dissent is the fertilizer of lone wolf seeds. Long ago, habitual politicians gerrymandered private greenhouses to replace community gardens. Now, they have further reduced our problem-solving garden of ideas with this seed tax.