The voter-suppression-athon in progress is one that's happening across the country, of course, though Ohio (as usual) is getting most of the attention. Which is great, so long as people are paying attention and getting very, very concerned.
And they are. I think. Maybe. (Public? Hello? Wakey-wakey time.)
Wow. Talk about a deep sleep. Anyway, no sooner had the marvelous Jennifer Brunner, our wonderful Secretary of State, won the U.S. Supreme Court case, the Repubs--oh, I'm sorry, a private (and, no doubt, highly and legitimately concerned) citizen--filed a lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court. This article supplies many details:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/ohiopolitics/entries/2008/10/18/mismatch_legal_battle_moves_to.html
The despicable, thuggish, un-American notion underlying such actions? Nothing less than a presumption to defraud on the part of the American voting public. It's that simple, and that blatant. In other words, any American who registers, or has ever registered, to vote is presumed to be part of a conspiracy to cast multiple, fraudulent votes. And for the Dems, of course. We're desperate, you know, to get that Arab, socialist, tax-raising terrorist lover into office so he can destroy America, or whatever it is he's planning to do to OUR country--so insist Palin-McCain and the GOP.
Is such a bigoted and idiotic notion buried in laughter whenever it's aired? Well, no, because it's coming from the right. If the right insisted that 17-foot jelly doughnut creatures from Pluto were breaking into the homes of true, red-blooded Americans and taking their guns, the right to breathe would be suspended until an act was passed to send soldiers into space to fight the menace.
The Halt America's Vote Act (HAVA) provides the perfect cover for this Jim-Crow-esque behavior, since it all comes down to data-field mismatches. (As if.) Think about it--our right to vote apparently stands on such shaky, uncertain ground that a data-field mismatch can leave it in doubt. Our most precious and important right is optional. Subject to suspension or denial. And all because the Republicans insist, without a shred of evidence, that a mass conspiracy is afoot.
No, ACORN is not evidence of a mass conspiracy. The burden of proof for a huge, nationwide plot to defraud at the polls is not remotely met by the fact that ACORN has collected fake registrations. No matter how obsessively the right treats the ACORN situation like the End of Life As We True-Blooded Americans (sorry about the rest of us) Know It.
The moral of this sorry story should be very clear--when the public stops caring about its most precious right, that precious right can, and will, be taken away.
It's that simple. The Republicans get away with this stuff because, as a group, we LET them.
Oh, for the day (if it ever existed) when the American people imagined they had rights. And stood up for them.
2 comments:
But But But...The Rethuglicans promised I could defend myself from the 17 foot Jelly Donut creatures with my duct tape and plastic sheeting. They wouldn't lie about something like that, would they?
On the bright side, the Obama team is fighting back. And before its too late, too. I hope the rest of our party is taking notes.
Me, too. It's inspiring to see us push back for a change. And don't forget the brave stand Ohio SOS Jennifer Brunner is taking. She was on the Rachel Maddow Show last night. Tough lady.
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