Hutzpah

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.