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Bill Clinton calls it like he sees it
Former President Bill Clinton weighed in on Republican efforts in several states to pass new restrictions on voting, comparing the measures to the Jim Crow laws of the past.
"There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today," Clinton said in a speech at a Campus Progress conference in Washington.
Tragically, one of the "new Jim Crow" states is right here in Pennsylvania. The Daily News had a good editorial on this today, nailing the insanity of the GOP's likely-to-pass "voter fraud" bill that tackles a problem that doesn't exist -- while disenfranchising thousands of voters, disproportionately the elderly and minorities:
THE VOTER-ID bill passed recently by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives purports to be a solution to a problem that simply doesn't exist: people voting fraudulently by showing up at the polls pretending to be someone else.
If the bill, which now goes to the state Senate, becomes law, most Pennsylvania voters would have to show government-issued picture IDs every time they vote. If a citizen doesn't have a state or federal ID or a passport, he or she would have to go to a driver's license office with a birth certificate, Social Security card and proof of residency, and pay $13.50 to get one. (Current law requires voters to show identification only the first time they vote in a new precinct.)
Actually, the real problem that voter-ID legislation is meant to solve is that poor people and the elderly - who are 11 percent less likely than other eligible voters to possess such identification - are known to vote overwhelming for Democrats.
As I noted here a couple of weeks ago, this plan is nothing more than a scheme for Republicans to take advantage of their current majority in Harrisburg and steal future elections, pure and simple -- destroying democracy in the name of saving it. Kudos to the 42nd president for calling this out.
- Why shouldn't you have to show ID to vote? Wouldn't that PREVENT fraud?— hey buddy
- You have got to be kidding me. Well maybe the elderly and minorities should get an ID. Stop the nonsense Bunch.— Captain Terrific
- My goodness. What nonsense will Scrunch and Slick come up with next. Just what do they have against clean elections?— Thoughtful&concernedvoter
- But a bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform let by Jimmy Carter and James A Baker recommended voter ID back in 2005. How could Jimmy do this? Oh the horrors.— DuncanIdaho
- Oh NO I will have to show an ID to vote, not sure I can do that. I only have to do it for everything else in life. My employer required it, maybe all employers should. If I want to get on a plane, guess what, picture ID. This ID thing has been a republican plot for the last 50 years. (kidding on that). Libs get over the fact that there is a major influx of illegal "visitors" that may decide to try to vote in a certain way to get a certain bill passed that would make them all legal.— TKL008
- George Soros: "Minions, continue to race-bait in regards to acquiring a state id"
Bunch, et al: "YES MASTER, psst when do we get paid"— Mags37 - It's flushing the baby with the bathwater. It's disenfranchising many more legitimate voters, who vote against the fascists proposing this bill, so that they can stop an imaginary threat. Go ahead rural racists, keep voting for corporate puppets, they'll be stripping your rights next.— Pelti
How hard did your brain have to work to come up with this 'Jim Crow' spin?
Another designed attack on the shut-down of Voter Fraud.
Yes - Voter ID WILL IMMEDIATELY shut down Voter Fraud.
Don't like it? Who cares.
Just shut your whining mouth, show your ID, and vote.
No ID? Get the hell out of here!— THE MEDIC- The crazies are out again to defend the undefendable. With the eight years of Bush 43 justice department looking for this fictional voter fraud, instead of protecting our country from Osama bin-Laden. Yes, they spent more resources on voter fraud then hunting for terrorist on our soil prior to 9/11.
BTW, where are the jobs? What jobs bills has the Republican/Tea Party pass sine taking office? Isn't that what they ran on? Now, we have all these social issues. Con artist, that is what the Republican/Tea Party are!— DavidAG - People who are not, um, well-educated and like most conservatives, submissive to authority, are rarely aware enough to see the intentions of these "reasonable" laws.— Susie from Philly
- DavidAG - you're a dope. The DEMOCRATS control the Senate and the White House. The GOP can enact virtually nothing. You want to know about jobs? Obama's "brilliant" stimulus plan, the one based on phony shovel-ready jobs, has saved a few jobs at a cost of $200,000. Nice work. Thanks for providing cover for Obam's regime of generational theft. Not.— Thoughtful&concernedvoter
- Do you have any clue what it costs a business to create a single job? And why it would do so? Seriously people, learn some basic economics before you comment.
- What does it cost a business to create a job? — junethe4th
Comment removed.
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
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What a CROCK!!
You need ID to get married, get a driver's license, get a passport, and just about EVERY other significant transaction with the government.
So what's the BIG DEAL about requiring ID to VOTE?
This anti-voter ID effort is about the Democrats protecting their "fraud margin," particularly in big cities, where the living and the dead vote Democratic with equal vigor.
And before ANYONE spouts the silly "voter fraud isn't a big problem" claim, explain exactly HOW to prove a voter fraud case WITHOUT identification. Fraud becomes EXPONENTIALLY easier to prove when voters are required to actually IDENTIFY themselves. ABSENT that requirement, there is NO fraud problem, because it's MUCH more difficult to detect and prosecute.
Jim Crow? HA, Ha, Ha!