Since the Karl Rove era, we've seen a pretty clear pattern: Democrats like to register voters,* Republicans like to freeze them out. For the party of "country first," the ones that like to call liberals "America haters," it's sort of a dipstick into the crankcase, coming up scorched and gritty.
Here's but one of many examples. The ubiquity suggests it's not just an Abu rogue or two: in Ohio, 2004, there's reason to believe it was rampant, and successful. This tells us a lot, not the least of which is that the party which claims to love America more than Democrats, seems to hate democracy even more. Stopping people from thinking takes at least a generation. In the meantime, until we get the minds all washed up and ready for bending (sort of a slower version of what's happening to Sarah Palin behind closed doors, away from the press), it's best to keep them from voting. If the bankruptcy (literally, nowadays) of Republican ideas isn't clear by now to everyone (and it obviously isn't, according to polls), doesn't this difference really say it all?
*I'd not go so far as to claim Democrats are of pure hands. They tried, in Florida in 2000, to eliminate military overseas ballots that were not dated properly. That was stupid. But it was legal; and it wasn't carried out. In the past, of course, they were more famous for adding votes, than subtracting them. Nevertheless, I think it's fair to say the numbers are in no way close to those potentially (and actually) disenfranchised by the party of God and Country.
Steve Gimbel was feeling this vibe, too, as he wrote in the most excellent post titled, Scum.
ReplyDeleteI think that will be my word of the day. Now if I only had something to scrape it with.
The voting machines were so bad last time around that the San Jose Mercury News here strongly advocated that EVERYBODY demand a paper ballot. I did, and an election worker demanded I put it in the provisional ballot box, that all paper ones had to. I told her no way! I'm not provisional, I live here, I'm registered, I have ID to show I'm me, and this is not a ballot you have any right to challenge. She was adamant, I was adamant, and it got to where I nearly called the police. Finally, someone else talked some sense into her and let me put the ballot where it properly went.
ReplyDeleteThis after, on the previous election, the machine had botched my vote: it was supposed to confirm by paper strip, and the paper strip came out blank. Did the same thing to my neighbor. I refused to leave till they fixed that machine and it printed out my confirmation of my choices. Dang, the line there was long that day! Funny thing.
YOU'RE BACK! Ahem.
ReplyDeleteOuch. The Rolling Stone article is particularly scary.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least some GOP campaign staff can hope for a long career in election consulting. Somewhere in Africa, for example.