(2002-09-27) -- U.S. House Minority Leader Richard "Dick" Gephardt (D-MO), concerned that Republicans have politicized the issue of national security, introduced legislation to cancel the November elections.

"Eleven years ago," Gephardt wrote in The New York Times, "the Persian Gulf war debate on Iraq took place after an election, which helped keep politics out of it. Because of the urgency the current administration has placed on Iraq, we are asked to vote on the issue this fall."

In a phone interview, Gephardt said, "We can't do it that fast, so we should cancel the elections. With no campaigning to poison the atmosphere of democracy, members of Congress could speak their minds, vote their consciences and do what's right."

"We cannot have elections where the primary issue is a Constitutional one, like providing for the common defense," Gephardt added. "The founding fathers never intended to allow voters to decide based on issues of life or death. Elections are about personality, and great slogans like 'It's the economy stupid'."

Gephardt said Congress could either move these mid-term elections to 2004, or change the calendar and declare that this year is actually 2001. He said there was precedent for the latter in our system of changing the clock for Daylight Saving Time.

"You could call this Election Saving Time," he said.