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As I said, you could design a good voter ID system, although the costs would far outweigh the benefits. However, the purpose is to make it harder to vote, that's why most voter ID bills are accompanied by reducing early voting hours, eliminating same day registration and moving/reducing polling places in poor areas. |
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You'd think helping everyone get ID would also facilitate their participation in government programs they presumably would benefit from, being poor and elderly. As long as we're assigning underhanded motives for everything though, it probably helps Dems to keep people as disenfranchised as possible, because those voters will always be on their side. Gotta be careful these people don't get back on their feet - they might vote Republican if they enter the middle class. I'm being a little facetious here, but the reverse of that idea (edit: or really, the same idea to attack motives as purely political/racial), is thrown out there pretty regularly against those who are on the "wrong side" of this policy, or this supreme court opinion. |
Esp. in a blue state like Alabama.
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I always like to say that if the majority of people making less than $55K are Democrats and a majority of people making more than $55K are Republicans, which would Republicans rather see more of? :) |
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Okay, so let's you and me make it easier to vote by demanding a better system that includes on-line voting with PKI certs. It's not that hard and really it's not that expensive either. And what is the cost that should outweight a person's right to vote? If people can't vote, the costs are inconsequential (and if the funds are coming out of donated DNC and RNC pools...man, I'm game! ...maybe, just maybe that money could be used for good instead of another really fucking stupid $50M mud-slinging commercial.) |
I'm all in favor of expanding access to voting, and I'm not opposed to verifying ID. My problem is that the way it's done is designed to reduce voting. I don't know what the hell a PKI cert is, but on-line voting isn't a problem for me in general.
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Sorry, PKI is mostly used in the DOD. It's just a way of verifying that you are who you say you are and it can be imbedded in a small tag on the driver's license card or alternate ID card. Military personnel have used it for quite a while now to verify who goes on military and federal installations (and log in to our workstations). Again, there's no way it reduces voting if the RNC and DNC use their massive resources to leave no stone unturned to "get the voters registered". Once we get that in place, implementing an on-line voting solution will be possible and at that point, voting will be trusted and turnout will INCREASE. |
Straight out of "Mr Smith Goes to Washington"
Texas State Senator Wendy Davis is in the final stages of a 13 hour filibuster on restricting abortions that's some of the strictest in the nation. She can't talk or drink, or even lean against something or sit. Texas senator Wendy Davis filibusters against abortion bill - CBS News edit: If she can make it to midnight, the special session of the Texas legislature ends and they'll have to take up the bill fresh next session. |
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I can't think of much in life that has less "good" associated with it than increased voter participation. |
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Yeah, who needs that pesky republic/democracy, yaknow? |
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Your vote counts for more the less people vote. Might be shitty to say, but if you want a government under your vision, you're better off letting apathetic people stay home. |
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Congrats, you've hit upon the GOP strategy. The poor and elderly are more likely to vote D. Folks who wait four + hours to vote are more likely to vote D. So? You make it harder for the poor and elderly to vote. You reduce the hours in some areas so the folks waiting four hours to vote get shut out. (note for the record, you=gop not RainMaker) |
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The highest the participation, the lower the common denominator. |
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Funny, sounds like you're arguing you want a Politburo. You know, 12 men deciding the future of a nation... Have you ever said "Workers of the World, Unite!', Comrade JoninMiddleGa? |
Edit: Looks like the Republicans are using a parlimentary trick to try to declare the filibuster over to rush through the votes.
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Former Austin mayor Kirk Watson is trying to John Wayne it |
Over 100,000 folks watching the Livestream as they debate Robert's Rules of Order.
Hope when the 2016 DNC comes around, Wendy Davis is invited to speak in those orange tennis shoes. |
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12 is too many. 1 or 2 at most. |
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The elderly vote heavily Republican, or at least they did in the last election. Now the 4+ hour vote times are ridiculous and states that offer less opportunity to vote are an abomination. But most states in this country offer early voting. All offer absentee ballots. And most of those say you don't need a reason to vote early or absentee. The system isn't perfect and there are always people who will fight to suppress votes from people they don't want voting. But it's really not that hard to vote in this country if you want to. The keyword being want to. I think the complaints of passionate citizens being unable to cast a ballot despite all the opportunities are few and far between. And mostly espoused as political sour grapes. |
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Interestingly enough, Photo IDs are required to vote in Arkansas (starting in 2014), Indiana, Kansas, and Florida as none of them were in the preclearance list. Somehow, Georgia was also able to get preclearance and has photo ID law as well. So let's not think that photo ID requirements were denied in the entirety of the US due to the VRA (or that preclearance states were the only ones wanting voter ID laws). |
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You do realize that calling JIMG a totalitarian or authoritarian is not considered by him to be an insult, right? |
No, I was going for Communist.. you know, for the humor?
Besides.. Jon and I have jousted for.. well.. pretty much the entire history of FOFC |
Wow, what a finish.
The Gallery ends up filibustering the final few minutes of the special session away with cheers and chants. If it wasn't you know the hottest of hot button issues on both sides, I'd have to say "Well Played all". edit: APparently, the GOP passed it after midnight. This one's going to the courts. Do not pass Go, Do not Collect $200. https://twitter.com/mikestatesman |
Will somebody more versed in politics than I plesae tell me what the fuck is going on in Austin right now? Did the Dems get their filibuster?
e: cause im reading this Texas Tribune @TexasTribune 1m Sen. Deuell says they voted on #SB5 17-12. #txlege but i dont know the veracity of that |
Ok: Here's what happened.
R: "We're passing this bill." D: "No you're not." (starts talking filibuster) R: "Yes we are" (tries to claim three warnings, which would allow vote to immediately end filibuster) D: "No you're not" (uses parlimentary tricks to try to run out the clock) R: "Yes WE ARE" tries to set things up for a final vote with clock running down to final few minutes Crowd: NO YOU'RE NOT (cheers/chants/jeers the final few minutes) R: "Yes we did, the crowd counts as a time out, so time didn't expire on the session" D: NO YOU DIDN'T. (Next Step: Courts) |
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The Senators don't even know, according to the twitter feed. They're trying to claim the crowd cheering/chanting/jeering was a time out, so it was legal to have the vote after midnight. |
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Yea, I had teh live stream up for about six hours and checked it occasionally but watched the last hour. I saw it all. I just don't know what the hell I watched. It was a pretty impressive spectacle, though. Wow. |
*laughs* and an hour later, chaos still reigns.. we have shenanigans as they changed the date in the computer from 6/26 to 6/25 :)
edit: And now we have the official sign that it's an event, we have a joke twitter account showing up: https://twitter.com/TXSenateClock |
Statesmanmike @mikestatesman 8m
Senate just ordered senators back for a caucus to determine whether they passes SB5. Just when you thought it couldn't get stranger. #txlege |
Matt Mackowiak @MattMackowiak 3m
Source inside TX Senate caucus tells me #SB5 will be ruled to have been voted late #txlege Retweeted by Texas Tribune |
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+1 ... I totally got it :cool: |
I'm going to assume the next session in the Texas legislature is a month or two away and the vote will just be cast then, right?
SI |
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From what I've read the only reason the vote got this far was that the Republicans took advantage of a Democratic Senator not being there for the vote...because her father had just died in a car crash. Real classy there. If she had been there the law would not have passed. So I'm assuming the Dems would have the right numbers next time. |
Little bit of good news in the shit sandwich from this court:
DOMA struck down as unconstitutional (5-4). Expect they'll rule petitioners didn't have standing in the other case, and thus duck really making a far-reaching decision. |
Thank god.
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Here's the part I don't get (honestly - wondering if anyone can shed light on this). If DOMA is unconstitutional, thus federal and state govts. can't discriminate, then how is Prop 8 possibly legal?
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That's fucking rich after the VRA decision yesterday. |
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I'm still expecting that they just rule on standing for prop 8 to kick that can down the road. |
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As if you should expect anything different from Scalia. |
DOMA struck down, Prop 8 challenge denied due to standing (would have wished struck down on the merits, even if just for the state of California, so I'll take it), antiquated formula for the VRA struck down - all in all a pretty damned good week from where I'm sitting.
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Difference is that in the DOMA suit, the government was on the site of the petitioner, so I can see his point. |
I need to start a death metal band called argle-bargle.
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Seriously. Does this guy realize what a fucking joke he is? |
Are you a joke if enough people will still nod their head and say "you're right" even when you're probably wrong?
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We've been over this. Your insistence that they just struck down the "formula" for the VRA is naive. Great that you think that's all that encompassed, but it was a hell of a lot more than that given the state of dysfunction in Washington. |
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Depends on the intelligence of those who nod. |
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Once again, the Supreme Court is not responsible for Congress not being able to get its shit together. I don't want unconstitutional laws held up simply because the Court doesn't think Congress can't pass something else - that's not the Court's job. |
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That's only a portion of his complaint. He makes it clear elsewhere that the major problem is the court invalidating a law passed by the legislature and signed by the executive. Quote:
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Clarence Thomas is an idiot
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Those are part of his point that there is no standing. Those quotes are part of his dissent on the standing issue (saying the Court doesn't need to press its point in cases where it has no standing) - he does go into the merits later, but doesn't indicate that its because is a democratically passed law it should be protected (they all are, democratically passed laws, of course). |
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