• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

No Justins, No Peace

It’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

When we show up, we win.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

This fight is for everything.

A consequence of cucumbers

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Republicans in disarray!

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

The lights are all blinking red.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Mobile Menu

  • Four Directions Montana
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2024 Elections
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / I am somewhat pleased about this

I am somewhat pleased about this

by Kay|  July 14, 20118:32 pm| 18 Comments

This post is in: All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

FacebookTweetEmail

I wrote about a conference call we had here in Ohio on voting rights the other night, and we had some good news on that front today:

Just two weeks after enacting sweeping reforms in Ohio’s elections system, lawmakers were already back Wednesday rethinking some of what they had done.Perhaps the most significant development was what did not happen — enactment of a requirement that voters show a government-issued photo identification card before casting a ballot. The Ohio Senate went home for the summer without touching that controversial issue.

Secretary of State Jon Husted had spoken out against the attempt by fellow Republicans to add the photo ID requirement.

“Today should be viewed as a victory for what didn’t happen,” Mr. Husted said Wednesday. “The Senate did not enact a draconian photo identification law, and I thank them for hearing my concerns.’

A local board of elections member told me today Republicans were “shamed” into dropping the draconian provisions, but I don’t believe that.

I think voter advocates did a great job testifying at hearing, and media gave the issue some coverage (only) because the GOP Secretary of State came out against it. Too, our Governor Kasich (who was once a media personality at Murdoch-owned Fox News) is very unpopular. Republicans in the legislature who would like to stay in the legislature may be reconsidering their lemming-like support of his far Right agenda.

I noticed the zany but lovable gang on Morning Joe are doing their best to pump up Kasich’s numbers, though, just as his former co-workers at Fox News did when he was running for governor. That’s worrying. I don’t know that I’m up for another Kasich sales job, so soon after the last one.

We here in Ohio were way better off when our governor didn’t merit the attention of the national media celebrities, back when our governor was a Democrat.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Maybe I Shouldn’t Have Had Those Grain Shots and Mushrooms
Next Post: Always wrong »

Reader Interactions

18Comments

  1. 1.

    gbear

    July 14, 2011 at 8:38 pm

    Hooray for today in Ohio.

  2. 2.

    Mike Kay (Team America)

    July 14, 2011 at 8:43 pm

    Morning Joe? You mean the guy who had to resign from congress because he was caught with a dead girl.

    With friends like that Kasich, who needs enemies.

  3. 3.

    kay

    July 14, 2011 at 8:46 pm

    gbear
    Hooray for today in Ohio.

    Right? You take these small victories where you can get them :)

    The college students were so mournful and disheartened on the conference call I could barely drag my ass back home and into bed, after. Just some sad people.

    We should have cupcakes. Someone who can bake (not me!) has to bring enough for everyone.

  4. 4.

    kay

    July 14, 2011 at 8:48 pm

    Mike Kay (Team America)
    Morning Joe?

    I’m a little nutty on them. I used to watch the show just to seethe at them, but then I had to stop doing even that.

    They’re what’s wrong with America. Nutshell. Them, basically.

  5. 5.

    ruemara

    July 14, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    I celebrate your victories, no matter how small. And if I could bake (accidentally cut the power running to my stove and now have no stove, yay me?) I would ship you guys some cupcakes. Cupcakes for communists!

  6. 6.

    artem1s

    July 14, 2011 at 8:57 pm

    I know there is a petition drive to overturn the existing legislation. I hope it works but I’m worried it will take away from the SB5 efforts.

    I hate the ID portion but am more disturbed that poll workers can freely and knowingly disenfranchise voters. The oath they take should mean something.

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    July 14, 2011 at 9:14 pm

    Kay, I am very grateful that you and your colleagues do the hard and frustrating work behind the scenes to mitigate damage and advocate for what you know is best.

    Disenfranchising college students and people who aren’t experienced voters. Scandalous.

    At least, it should be a scandal.

  8. 8.

    kay

    July 14, 2011 at 9:17 pm

    poll workers can freely and knowingly disenfranchise voters.

    There’s a court battle behind that (conservatives are always working toward a binding decision, on everything).

    Briefly, there is a live dispute in Ohio now between federal courts and state courts on whether poll worker error means a vote gets thrown out. The Democrats (and the federal judge) say “ballot stays in”. The Republicans (and the state supremes) say “ballot thrown out”.

    That’s what they want. That’s the legal end game. They want to gut or eliminate the “voter intent” analysis that goes on in close races (like Franken’s race, you’ll recall).

    And that’s the reason for the bizarre pollworker language.

  9. 9.

    kay

    July 14, 2011 at 9:20 pm

    Elizabelle –
    Kay, I am very grateful that you and your colleagues do the hard and frustrating work behind the scenes to mitigate damage and advocate for what you know is best.

    Just to be clear, I didn’t testify, or do any of the advocacy to change the law. Some of the people on the call did all that. I do voter protection locally, and only on or around election day. They do this all the time, year in, year out.

  10. 10.

    cckids

    July 14, 2011 at 9:41 pm

    Kay @ #3: Cupcakes don’t ship very well. How about cookies?

  11. 11.

    Lost in America

    July 14, 2011 at 9:51 pm

    Looks like we’re dodging the photo ID bullet here in MN…sadly, WI did not.

    The wingnuts try to make the argument that this is reasonable legislation and act surprised that anyone would oppose it, but they would be going BONKERS if Minnesota required a photo ID card for firearm possession.

    What’s worse…voting with questionable ID or packing heat with questionable ID?

  12. 12.

    policomic

    July 14, 2011 at 10:28 pm

    Glad to see some good news, though it sucks that things have gotten to the point where the disenfranchisement lobby getting less than they were reaching for counts as good news.

    Here in MN it looks like Governor Dayton has had to conditionally surrender to the Rethugs so that the shutdown doesn’t become permanent. He probably had to do it, but damn.

  13. 13.

    ExurbanMom

    July 14, 2011 at 11:07 pm

    Got an email from Ohio Democratic Party chairman Chris Redfern today talking about how Kasich said, on national TV, that Ohio is “dying.” That’s just the kind of leadership we need in Ohio! A governor who doesn’t believe in our state or in his leadership ability to make things better! Yay Buckeye State! sheesh.

  14. 14.

    El Cid

    July 15, 2011 at 12:18 am

    No one ever seems to mention, perhaps not even recall, how utterly beloved Kasich was by the media as a ‘deficit hawk’ in the Clinton years with the ‘Republican Revolution’ of ’94.

    It’s not like this shit started just when he appeared on Fox News & Warrantless Wiretapping Extravaganzafest.

  15. 15.

    kay

    July 15, 2011 at 7:58 am

    No one ever seems to mention, perhaps not even recall, how utterly beloved Kasich was by the media as a ‘deficit hawk’ in the Clinton years with the ‘Republican Revolution’ of ‘94.

    I do know about that, but it doesn’t fit in 500 words.

    I watched an HBO documentary the other night, Hot Coffee, about the media-conservative joint effort to bar individual citizen entry to the civil legal system. LAWSUIT ABUSE! You recall that McDonalds hot coffee case, where media and conservatives lied about and smeared the older woman who suffered massive burn injuries re: McDonalds?

    I’m sitting there, and who appears on the screen selling the lies? Why, it’s Kasich! He was one of the point men on that, along with then-Governor Bush.

    I think they’ll be promoting Kasich for the next twenty years. The Morning Joe clip is surreal, because it’s now-media personality but former Congressman Joe promoting now-governor but former media personality John. They could switch chairs, and probably will switch chairs, at some point. I’m looking forward to John “interviewing” Joe.

  16. 16.

    NonyNony

    July 15, 2011 at 9:18 am

    @ExurbanMom

    Everything that comes out of Kasich’s mouth makes more sense when you realize that he utterly hates and loathes Ohio and the people who live here.

    Once you understand just how much the man loathes the state you will understand why he says what he says.

    That’s why I think he’s going to be a one-termer. He’s going to wreck as much of the state as he can in one term and then leave. Because he wants to get back to New York and DC and his cushy Fox News gig and get the hell out of Columbus and the “low paying” governor’s job.

  17. 17.

    dj spellchecka

    July 15, 2011 at 12:50 pm

    @kay…thanks for the update…

    heard something on my local npr news about a provision in the law that restricts officials from sending out requested absentee ballots….

    did i hear that correctly? what can you tell me?

    ps
    in other ohio news, former republican governors voinovich and taft are against the lake erie water law that current republicans passed that’s sitting on kasich’s desk

    cheers
    dj

  18. 18.

    dj spellchecka

    July 15, 2011 at 12:53 pm

    @artem1s

    if there’s a ballot issue to overturn part of this voting bill, it won’t be voted on until 2012…

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • HumboldtBlue on Monday Evening Open Thread: Another ‘Rich’ Narcissist, Having A Bad Start to His Week (Apr 15, 2024 @ 10:28pm)
  • like a metaphor on Monday Evening Open Thread: Another ‘Rich’ Narcissist, Having A Bad Start to His Week (Apr 15, 2024 @ 10:27pm)
  • Another Scott on War for Ukraine Day 782: If the Opposite of Pro Is Con, Then the Opposite of Progress is a GOP Majority in Congress (Apr 15, 2024 @ 10:24pm)
  • NotMax on Monday Evening Open Thread: Another ‘Rich’ Narcissist, Having A Bad Start to His Week (Apr 15, 2024 @ 10:24pm)
  • Dagaetch on War for Ukraine Day 782: If the Opposite of Pro Is Con, Then the Opposite of Progress is a GOP Majority in Congress (Apr 15, 2024 @ 10:24pm)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning
Proposed BJ meetups list from frosty

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8
Virginia House Races
Four Directions – Montana
Worker Power AZ
Four Directions – Arizona
Four Directions – Nevada

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
Positive Climate News
War in Ukraine
Cole’s “Stories from the Road”
Classified Documents Primer

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Political Action 2024

Postcard Writing Information

Balloon Juice for Four Directions AZ

Donate

Balloon Juice for Four Directions NV

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!