The Vote

In a CNN appearance shortly before the 1994 Congressional elections Mary Matalin correctly predicted the Republican sweep of both Houses of Congress because her party’s voters were well organized. When the host asked if that meant a low turnout would favor her party she gave an answer evocative of the l930s song, “No No a Thousand Times No.” The sanctity of voting was such that she chose not to publicly acknowledge the obvious fact that what was not good for the nation was good for her party, a situation that persists to this day.

But my how political protocol regarding voting has changed in just eighteen years! Newly elected Tea Party type Republican governors and state legislatures have unabashedly passed laws that selectively diminish voter turnout. Among other things they involve stricter, in some cases virtually impossible ID requirements or curtailing early voting, both of which make it harder for poorer and many older voters who tend to vote Democratic. Most of these laws have been declared unconstitutional by the courts, at least for this election.

The pretext is alleged large scale voter fraud. This has been a pet Republican project for some time in spite of the fact that supporting evidence is non-existent. David Iglesias, New Mexico’s U.S. Attorney General, was fired by Bush’s Justice Department for not pushing it hard enough. In Congressional testimony he said that he had no case. Removing absentee ballot boxes from county court houses on election night, as was done in Florida in 2000, is a much more efficient way to steal votes than by impersonating other voters one at a time..

Any way you slice it the thrust of the Republican Party’s efforts is to inhibit the right to vote, which by their measure evidently ranks somewhere beneath the right to own an assault weapon. Whatever their grain of logic lies in the three cornered hats some of their more enthusiastic members like to wear. After all it was the hallowed Founding Fathers who limited voting rights to white male landowners. Since they had it right the first time why did they allow for those damned amendments? Well, maybe ten was OK, or better yet two.

I close this by reluctantly suggesting that you imagine what this country would be like with these folks in control. It’s nearly certain that should they win it all this time they’ll be running the country for more than four years. My reluctance comes from a wish not to spoil your day.