Sometimes you read stuff like this, you are just so shaken by the audacity that you are at a temporary loss for words:
I’m still trying to understand why the clearest delineation between Republicans and Democrats comes down to the franchise – one side wants to restrict it, the other wants to expand it. Terrorism, war, jobs, healthcare – no difference between the parties exists as starkly as their view of your right to vote.
What brings on this statement? Why the fact that Republicans are playing the same game as the Democrats, and are putting place observers to make sure that only qualified voters vote. How dare they?
Personally, I don’t want to keep people from voting, but I damn sure want to make sure that only those who are qualified to vote are able to do so. While the Democrats want to pretend that this is still 1952 and that large portions of the population are being systematically denied the franchise, that is not the case. The case is that while one party may have the dubious history of voter intimidation in its history, another party has just as glorious a tradition of voter fraud. Any guesses which party that might be?
– Which party stole the election in 1960?
– Which party, whenever it is mentioned, has an aneurysm when it is suggested that voters should have to provide identification so they can prove who they really are?
– Which party has the tradition of LBJ’s legions of dead voting for them?
– Which party, in the last election, went to friendly courts (the judge, of course, was a former staff member of Dick Gephardt’s)to extend voting deadlines beyond legal hours in St. Louis, but only in friendly precincts?
– Which party distributed voter registration cards to thousands of illegal aliens in California?
– Which party distributed cigarettes to voters in Michigan in 2000?
All the Republicans I know ant a fair election in which everyone eligible to vote is able to vote. What we don;t want is the kind of bullshit the Democrats have been pulling since Tammany Hall. The Democrats think all they have to do is squeal ‘disenfranchisement’ and we will continune to turn a blind eye to their hijinks. Not anymore, Jesse.
The reason Democrats so love ‘provisional votes’ is because it offers another opportunity for malpractice and malfeasance. However, they don;t like extensions to make sure the military can vote. Just ask Ed Rendell.
So, if you want to vote, and you want to be part of the solution, do the following:
1.) Don’t commit a felony in states where it is illegal for felons to vote.
2.) Make sure you are registered to vote well before the election.
3.) Show up on election day at the precinct where you are supposed to vote.
4.) Bring your registration card and perhaps a photo ID.
5.) Have a working idea how to use the voting system. The ballots are published in newspapers, on display in the polling places, and get this- you can even ask for help.
That doesn’t sound too hard, does it? If you don’t think so, you are probably a Republican. At any rate, don’t play their game. Jesse and his crowd want you to think Bull Connor himself is standing in front of every polling place, trying to keep the man down.
Oh- and one more thing. There are going to be voting irregularities and problems on election day- there always are. This a human system, so there will be flaws. What we need to make sure is that the Democrats don’t have the opportunity to try and turn this into something it is not. Don’t let them pretend that minor incidents are the systematic disfranchisement of entire classes of people. They already have their lawyers and their marching orders on how to play the race game this election, so be vigilant.
Oh, and btw- here in WV, it is still against the law to buy liquor on election day. Anyone want to take a wild stab at why this is the case?
*** Update ***
One more thing. In Florida in 2000, the infamous ‘butterfly’ ballot that somehow screwed thousands of Democrats was designed by a Democrat. tHis ballot, for 2004, which makes voting for Bush/Cheney a bloody mess, is even worse:
The Cuyahoga County, Ohio butterfly ballot (above) provides an intuitive solution for Kerry voters: punching the blue box (item 6) directly across from the Democratic ticket in the butterfly ballot does indeed result in a vote for the Democratic candidates.
Voters for the Bush/Cheney ticket, however, are required to substitute logic for intuition by making sure to punch the red box (item 4) in the ballot; punching the green box (item 14) in the corresponding space next to the Republican ticket would not represent a vote for Bush/Cheney.
*** Update #2 ***
Kevin Holtsberry has more thoughts on the same issue.
*** Update #3 ***
Precisely my point. But when you are a Democrat like Jesse, the goal is to win by any means necessary, so this is simply not an issue.
Bill
If you do a Google search on “Cuyahoga County, Ohio, sample ballot” Thw first hit says “your page has temporarily been moved” with a very lame excuse for its inaccessability.
Oliver
“All the Republicans I know ant a fair election in which everyone eligible to vote is able to vote.”
HAHAHAHAH! Funniest thing I’ve read all month.
John Cole
And that is all it boils down to with the soros tinfoil hat crowd. Fear, suspicion, and ‘deeply-held’ beliefs about the opposition, along with a dose of contempt.
You ghuys are completely unwillingto argue failry and accurately, to look at things objectively, and quite frankly, nbot worth my time anymore.
Slartibartfast
I heard someone say this on the radio, I think, but I can’t recall who said it. That said, here goes:
“Democrats want every vote to count. Republicans want every vote to count, but just once.”
Sandi
I have been doing a lot of searching trying to find out if it is a real ballot or not. I can find two sites that reference it. Kevin at wizbang posts it saying he doesn’t know, but links to sleeping monkey who says it is a fake. However sleeping monkey appears to be a left leaning blog.
The ballot is also pictured at electoral-vote.com which is a pro Kerry site.
If anyone can prove this one way or the other I would be interested in your findings.
Brian Patterson
I’ve known you for a few years…since when have you ever been at a loss for words?
CadillaqJaq
I don’t expect any problems when I visit the polls Tuesday BUT if anyone gets in my way or attempts to hand me any ration of crap, they can EXPECT to be removing their gonads from their chest cavity… the rumors and reports of voter harrassment in a few of the early voting polling places involved are atrocious. It’s pathetic what our system of government is becoming.
Simon Rippon
This thread is false and misleading. Your picture of the “ballot” is not of a “butterfly ballot” at all. It is pictures pf two separate items, of the ballot paper and the punch card, placed side by side (which is why the “ballot” looks faked). The absentee voters who claim confusion over this are supposed to be voting by number (as the directions indicate), not by placing their ballot paper and punch card side by side. The arrows are intended to help voters who punch their cards by machine on election day; in these cases the arrows will line up properly.