Republicans Continue Their Assault on Voting

In state after state, the GOP is passing laws to cut polling places, limit both days and hours of voting, and making the entire process more difficult with voter ID laws, and elimination of early voting. Only one party is doing this. Only one party has consistently sought to make voting harder. Only one party wants to decrease voter participation. Why do they hate democracy so much? As the Democrats in Wisconsin put it, “Democrats want to fix problems. Republicans want to fix elections.” At least one Republican in Wisconsin is embarrassed by his party's efforts to suppress the vote.

Wisconsin GOP cracks down on early voting

By Steve Benen


State lawmakers in Wisconsin had to scramble last night, tackling pending bills at the last minute before the clock ran out on the legislative session. And for the most part, the Republican majority did what it wanted to do – including cracking down on early-voting opportunities for Wisconsin residents.

The debate on ending weekend voting in the run-up to elections contained some of the most heated exchanges of the day. Democrats decried the limits on early voting as the latest effort by the GOP to make it harder for minorities, veterans, the elderly and students to vote.

“Democrats want to fix problems. Republicans want to fix elections,” an array of Democrats said in speech after speech.​

The measure was approved along party lines and is now headed for Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) desk. It is widely assumed he’ll sign the bill into law.

In January, a bipartisan White House commission, led in part by the Romney/Ryan campaign’s chief counsel, urged state policymakers to expand early voting in order to reduce waiting times and make elections more accessible. Wisconsin Republicans have chosen to do the exact opposite – this new bill eliminates weekend voting altogether, and will limit early voting to weekdays between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

This follows similar efforts from Wisconsin GOP lawmakers in 2011, when Republicans, for no apparent reason, cut early voting from three weeks to two.

During yesterday’s debate, proponents of the early-voting crackdown said their goal was to create more uniform standards, but even some Republicans found this impossible to believe.

State Sen. Dale Schultz, the only GOP lawmaker in Wisconsin to vote against the new voting restrictions, was quite candid on the matter in an interview over the weekend.

In an appearance on the Devil’s Advocate radio show (The Mic/92.1 FM) last week, Schultz told hosts Mike Crute and Dominic Salvia that his party’s support for a series of election law changes was indefensible.

“I am not willing to defend them anymore,” he explained when Salvia asked why Republicans sought to limit the number of voting hours a municipality could offer. “I’m just not and I’m embarrassed by this.”​

As of last night, among Wisconsin Republicans in the legislature, he’s the only one.

 

Perhaps the dumbocrats in Wisconsin will do the same thing the dumbocrats in Pennsylvania did:

PA Democrats Took Bribes To Oppose Voter ID

http://www.partisanlines.com/threads/pa-democrats-took-bribes-to-oppose-voter-id.50928/

 

A Right-wing prosecutor accused some Democrats of taking bribes but no charges filed and no one was charged or convicted. Guilty until proven innocent and completely off the real topic of the nationwide push by Republicans to end democracy as we know it.

I can handle a few crooked bribe taking politicians since there is no shortage on either side but attacking democracy itself because it isn't working out for you and your Right-wing agenda, that is obviously a far, far bigger issue. One that has a mountain of evidence unlike your petty bribery story. Pathetic attempt change the subject once again.

 

It is pretty apparent that these Right-wing true believers do not want to acknowledge the steps their own party has taken in so many states to suppress democracy regardless how much evidence there is proving it.

It's kind sad to see adults, supposedly, behaving like children on a playground. It's a pathetic devotion to an agenda that hurts them individually and the country as a whole. How did these people ever get to be like this? What went wrong in their upbringing? I will never understand their level of immaturity but immaturity seems to be all they respond to and understand. It is unfortunate that they each have so much time to devote to bringing the level of discourse down in this forum while learning absolutely nothing in the process.

 

It's all about hatred...hatred of Democrats and Liberals, hatred of blacks and "Mexicans", hatred of gays and "immoral" people, etc.

I have to giggle at that last one, considering how many of them are gay and the sheer number of them that are "immoral".

 

Hatred certainly seems to motivate them.

 

I have yet to hear one of these camo underwear duck call suckin azz hat neocon tea bagging useless bigoted explain why or how limiting voting rights is a good thing, constitutional or has in any way any other virtue.

CUT OUT THE SWEARING OK

 

But they do want to change the subject.

 

It's a case of "who do you trust".

In a lot of people's view, the republican argument is persuasive, despite the lack of evidence to support the accusations.

There may be little to no evidence, but their mothers and fathers, their grandmothers and grandfathers say the republicans are right, so who are they to disagree?

In other words: Evidence is inconsequential...and that's a major issue that needs to be addressed: How do you educate a portion of the public that is unwilling to listen to reason?

The answer is: They either decide to learn, or they don't.

America's fate rests in their hands, and there's only so much we can do to encourage them to be reasonable. A certain percentage will NEVER be reasonable, btw. We can only hope that they choose wisdom over the status quo.

 

Here, Little Joe. Maybe these studies will shut you up. Somehow, though, I doubt it:


http://www.columbia.edu/~rse14/erikson-minnite.pdf

http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/Democracy/VRE/Mycoff et al.pdf

 

Well, it is nice to see that you figured out how to link to the ideas of others, but show us you have any thinking skills, not necessarily critical mind you, and tell us what part you endorse specifically and why. Otherwise who cares if you throw it up and say fetch? Far as we can tell you are the only mutt here. We can't straighten you out on your misunderstanding of what may or may not be a well written or researched piece until you first show us where you misinterpreted it. Only then can we be expected to have a go at your problems, or even those of who upon you rely. Quit wasting everyone's time. Go lay by your water dish.