Republicans: “Jim Crow for President”
No, Cletus, Jim Crow is not the name of an actual person.
I’m surprised it’s taken this long for any prominent Democrats to lash back at the Republicans’ orchestrated “Voter Fraud!” hysteria. Bill Clinton has finally spoken out. Republicans are trying to bring back the good old days when “Those People” couldn’t vote. As long as they know their place, nobody gets hurt.
Giving a speech at the annual Campus Progress Convention, Clinton said:
“…one of the most pervasive political movements going on outside Washington today is the disciplined, passionate, determined effort of Republican governors and legislators to keep most of you from voting next time. There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the other Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today.”
Aren’t there any federal laws and court precedents that would overturn the red states’ frantic determination to keep liberals and minorities from voting? I seem to remember something about a Voting Rights Act from the 1960s…
And isn’t it just a little eerie the way so many Republican governors and legislators are marching in lockstep? We’ve all gotten used to seeing Congressional Republicans dancing and jerking in unison to the same puppetmaster. But when state governments — “fifty individual experiments in democracy” — are all reacting in unison to the same daily marching orders, it’s time to get suspicious.
And now for some irony (sorry, conservatives — big word with three syllables):
Next November, Missouri voters will be voting on a law that will require voters to present a picture ID at the voting booth. Only, people who are in favor of this law WON’T have to show a photo ID in order to vote for it. Sort of like those anti-tax initiatives where you can’t raise taxes to keep libraries and fire departments open unless two thirds of the voters vote Yes. But it only takes 50.01% of the voters to pass these laws that will require a two thirds vote.
Conservative “logic,” I guess.
Labels: Bill Clinton Jim Crow, Campus Progress convention, Missouri voter ID
posted by Tom Harper @ 12:05 PM
5 Comments:
Many of us take today's "Motor Voter" law for granted because it's been around for a while.
But some of us remember when it took many years to pass finally overcoming the objections of the Republicans in Congress. Why?
A few confessed: "Ease of Registration means more Voters and that means more Democrats!"
Erik
We should also remember that in 1968 the Republican (like Nixon and Reagan) Party promised the South to appoint Supreme Court Justices to overturn Warren Court desegregation rulings in exchange for their deserting the Democrats.
That promise was never rescinded and is still part of their agenda.
Erik
Good points about conservative "logic" and how easy it can be to thwart democracy.
Erik's points are right on as well. The Southern Strategy paid off for Republicans, bringing together people who deserve each other but doing a real number on our country ever since. The Dixiefied GOP, though usually less blatant, is slanted toward racism and far more divisive since 1980 than the KKK itself.
"Hey, what's goin' on on this side?"
Erik: I remember how the Republicans fought against the Motor Voter law, since they didn't want the riffraff to vote. And Nixon's 1968 promises are still bearing fruit 43 years later.
SW: You're right, those groups "deserve each other." Unfortunately, as you said, together they can wreak more havoc than they could individually.
Randal: Ain't nothin' goin' on but the rent.
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