Yesterday…
Getting rid of same-day registration. Some states getting rid of all advanced voting. Governor of Florida proposed to reverse his Republican predecessor’s signing of a bill that gave people the right to vote when they got out of prison and they’d finished they’re [sic] probation period, even if they didn’t have a pardon—that’s one of the most important things we can do. Why should we disenfranchise people forever once they pay their price? Cause most of them in Florida were African Americans and Hispanics and would tend to vote for Democrats, that’s why.
Why do we want to get rid of same day registration? Why has New Hampshire made it almost impossible for college students who come from other states but live in New Hampshire most of the year to vote there? Why is all this going on? This is not rocket science. They are trying to make the 2012 electorate look more like the 2010 electorate than the 2008 electorate.
Happily, since we’re on the road, we’ll associate with Think Progress’ Ian Millhiser today who offers more background news on this and the GOP’s War on Voting, in which he accurately concludes: “It’s much easier for the GOP to win the game, after all, if they can make it impossible for the other team’s players to even take the field.”
Too bad Bill signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that allowed the media to consolidate so that Rupert Murdoch could propagandize/terrorize Americans into agreeing with these bullshit measures.
In spite of that, well said, Bill.
Same-day registration is a stupid idea. If voting is important, put some thought into it. Plan ahead, do some research. Don’t wake up to the morning radio program and realize it is time to vote and you have not even given enough respect to the system to register to do so.
Regarding Clinton…I do not agree with him on this issue, but I have come to conclude that he was a great president…in comparison…
Thanx Brad!
That’s odd. Not 1 utterance of the U.S. election transparency issues you’ve been talking about since you started you website. Has no one in distant countries been kind enough to tell the former President about the lack of transparency of U.S. elections? No 3rd World Developing Nation Head could bring Mr. Bill up to speed on the need to return to paper ballot trails to evidence who people vote for? Props to the former Prez for keeping a good thing going. In this case, a way of stealing elections that came as a direct result of the Bush vs Gore election re-count… AND IT WOULDN’T BE ALLOWED TO STAND REGARDLESS OF THE FLORIDA VOTER’S INTENT.
As you know, most Americans cast their vote on electronic computer voting machines that DO NOT produce a paper ballots. Whether votes are flipped at voting and or at tabulation by a remote computer using a program that eats itself, there is no way to evidence which candidate actually won or ever have a meaningful recount using these machines. So now the Secretary of State or an election official depending on the election must be trusted to give you the accurate results of an election contest based on their opinion of what they know to be true. Faith based voting at it’s finest.
Neither party dedicated to serving the criminal special interests of their super wealthy corporate donors have talked on record. That is about the easiest way of putting their candidate into place ever devised.
NICE and keep up the good work!
Early in his 1st term Clinton would give into the Cons but then they had a full attack on his wife on Hilllarycare and he gave them the finger as much as he could cutting defense. You cannot get all things for your side in politics without giving up things. The Republicans were just as big as terrorists with Clinton.
Conservatives cannot win with an even floor.
I have a conservative who was my child’s softball coach this year and he took his daughter and put her in the all star team over about 6 different girls that were better. Including w
They must figure a way to demean you to make it ok to cheat to win. I am a liberal with brown long hair married to a brown wife and my daughter is better. The coach and wife were blonde. They actually think that I was going to “shank” them despite the fact I am a professional and liberal.
This is how they justisfy cheating themsleves because all the Godless others (even though my wife and family are Catholic).
As a libearl I grew up poor and learned in sports and life to stand up to bullies on the scoreboard.
Even though my daughter was cheated because of this coach I had my daughter switch teams. When they played his team my daughter caught a HR from his best player and won the game.
Beat a conservative on the scoreboard of life daily.
Conservatives cannot beat liberals and they will stab your daughter in the back to get back at you.
Davey Crockett @#2, it does sound on the surface as if people should be better about planning ahead to be registered to vote. But in reality, what on earth does that have to do with your Constitutional right to vote?
Forcing voters to pre-register before an arbitrary bureaucratic deadline just so they can then exercise their right isn’t required in the Constitution. It’s really just a way to organize the voting process. Don’t confuse it with the right to vote itself.
A paternalistic “should” — you “should” have planned ahead, you “should” have known the cut-off date for the state you just moved to (or worse, too f-ing bad you arrived after the cut-off date), you “should” be better at everything — actually only serves one purpose in practice: to bar those who are eligible to vote from exercising their right to vote on the one day of the year they are allowed to vote.
I’m sure you’re perfect in conducting your daily affairs, and never miss a deadline or get dates wrong or make any mistakes. For regular flawed human beings working their asses off just trying to make ends meet, same-day registration is key to increasing voter participation.
Actually voting is a far better indicator of ‘respect’ for the system.
They don’t have to exclude people at the polls all that’s needed is the perception that showing up to vote is likely to be a hassle and embarrassment and people prying into your background ““ better just forget it and stay home.
Of course, the governor of Florida belongsin prison NOT undermining the voting rights of those who have done their time.
The elephant in the living room is the voting machines, but I guess we’ll have to take what we can get.
At least “big dog” is connecting republicans with election fraud and that’s not a bad thing at all!