If conservative ideas are not competitive in the marketplace of ideas, the more honorable way to win power is to adapt your ideas and their presentation so as to appeal to a more diverse swath of the electorate. If righteousness and honor are not concerns, however, restricting the franchise of those who are likely to vote incorrectly is effective in the short term. Please remember that conservative efforts to limit voting are not restricted to voter ID schemes. Other Republican dirty tricks include: (a) limiting opportunities for early voting, (b) illegally scrubbing voting rolls of names that appear to indicate the voter is not Caucasian, (c) locating polling places that are particularly inconvenient for voters deemed likely to vote incorrectly, and (d) allocating voting resources in a manner that ensures a quick process in White-majority precincts and hours-long waits in minority precincts. Dont forget also the conservative thugs of outfits like True the Vote, whose stated objective is to make minority voters feel like they see a police cruiser in their rearview mirrors. A form of identification has long been required in most polling places prior to enactment of the new suppression laws. These new statutes were just much more restrictive in the types of ID that are deemed acceptable. A college ID is not valid, for example, but an concealed-carry permit is OK. And, the brutal fact reamins that, for some people, the task of obtaining approved identification is very onerous in terms of expense and the level of effort required. (Some people do not have a drivers license, a passport, or even a copy of their birth certificate). Why dont these conservative Defenders of Democracy approve of using state money to hire navigators who would work to make sure all citizens have equal access to the ballot? Oh wait. I think I know.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 11:01:17 +0000
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