Saturday, December 17, 2011

WHO IS LEFT TO VOTE REPUBLICAN?

 Who will be left to vote for Republicans, once they have completed their Hate List? Every day the list of persons, peoples, and entities that the Republicans despise is extended. Who is left, other than each other, those of their own ilk? Wall Street? Chamber of Commerce? Oil, Gas, and Coal Industry?
Ah, but never think that the Republicans don’t have a plan. Call it voter suppression, which involves disenfranchisement of voters, caging of voters, purging of voter registration lists. New laws limiting early voting, absentee voting, registration. Inadequate voting facilities, voting equipment, voting supplies in poor and minority enclaves. Distributing false and misleading information about polling places, dates, and times. These laws and actions disproportionately affect minorities, aged, students, the poor. They are in violation of the spirit of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
More than a dozen states have passed laws that could make it difficult for from five million to 21 million eligible voters to actually vote. The states affected account for 171 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Eight states have enacted voter photo ID laws, and five are reducing early voting and absentee access.
I have these suggestions:
(1) No name can be purged from existing voter registration lists. Everyone who has ever voted is presumed to be a valid voter, in effect, grandfathered in. Exceptions for treason or felony conviction (until sentence and probation are completed) or proven voter fraud.
(2) It may be valid to require photo ID of all new registrants, but this should not be retroactive for registered voters.
(3) Place a moratorium on all new voter laws; none to take effect in 2012, but all to be reviewed by Department of Justice, and those approved will not take effect before 2014.
Following is the list I have compiled of persons, people, and entities that the Republicans hate.  Some of these have been named by political candidates, legislators, politicians, and some by pundits and writers.  Perhaps I have been too harsh, you might want to add or detract from this list. 
ACORN, Activists, Agnostics, Arugula eaters, Atheists, Blacks, CDC, CFPC, Climate scientists, Communists, Community organizers, Constitution (except the parts they like), Democrats, Department of Education, Dijon mustard lovers, Elderly, Environmentalists, EPA, FDA, Firefighters, Food stamp recipients, Gays, Al Gore, Head Start, Health care providers, Hispanics/Latinos, Hoffa, Homeless, Immigrants, Janitors, Jon Stewart, Judges, Kucinich, Labor stooges, Lesbians, LGBT, Liberals, Media Matters, Medicaid recipients, Medicare, Middle class, Minimum wage, Mormons, MSNBC, Muslims, NLRB, NPR, Obama, Occupiers, PBS, Peacemongers, Nancy Pelosi, Planned Parenthood, Pro-Choice Movement, Policemen, Poor people, Progressives, Progressive Radio, Protesters, Public sector workers, Harry Reid, Bernie Sanders, Scientists, Secular Humanists, Sick people, Social Security, Social workers, Socialists, College Students, Teachers, Trumka, Unemployed, Unemployment benefits recipients, Union members, Veterans, Voters, Elizabeth Warren, Welfare queens, Welfare recipients, Women, Working class, Working poor.
The question remains:  Who is left to vote for Republicans?


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