How far will they go to stop Obama?

[less lee]

6/22/2012
How Far Will They Go To Stop Obama?

If you take the second “m” out of the word, “Mormon,” you get…Romney. I have heard commentators comparing Romney to the 1948 Republican candidate, Thomas Dewey. That is not a very good comparison. Dewey had an imperious disposition. Who could you compare Romney to? “Calling Dr.Frankenstein! Paging Dr.Frankenstein! Need an analogy for this sentence!” If Dr. Frankenstein were to combine the speaking style of Hubert Humphrey with the personality of DubbaYa, you’d get Romney. After observing Romney on T.V., many people, including myself, would swear that Romney just came from the dentist’s office following a substantial dose of Nitrous Oxide. The goofy fool is always laughing! Why is that?! A normal person knows when it’s appropriate to laugh or to remain serious. Not Romney! Is he suffering from sort of mania?
Over the years, I’ve noticed that people in cults are always laughing. Is it because Romney is Mormon? Are they a cult? I don’t know! Some major movie stars are into Scientology. Madonna is into Kabbalah, for Christ shake! But the public seems to overlook these facts. It may be that he belongs to two cults: the Republican Party and the Mormon Church. Hey! That would make me a laughing fool—belonging to two cults at once!
Sorry about being hung up on this laughing thing, but you have to wonder. There are sadists who laugh at people who are suffering from pain. Old villains in vintage Hollywood movies or comic books are always laughing. “Ah, ha! Batman! You will die! Hee! Hee! Ha! HA!” says The Joker. Glen Beck used to do that shit.
Is Romney’s laughter voluntary or involuntary? Ask any degreed psychologist who’ll confirm that laughing is sometimes used as a defense mechanism. For a villain in a comic book, laughter means he is invincible. Bullies, after they beat the shit out of you and you’re lying on the ground, bleeding, will point at you and laugh. A laughing fool is obnoxious and right wing clowns know this. The right wing’s debating method is to call their opponent a coward. They will elicit your anger and, should you display it, they’ll accuse you of being unhinged!
So what is this laughing shit all about? To intimidate you and make you feel small! They laugh, not because they are happy; they laugh because they are sadistic. The left should not react; they should just be stoic and that will drive them NUTS!
So, will the U.S. public fall for a fake, cavalier facade? The so-called liberal news media is pro-Romney. CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN all support Romney. So does Fox News. So who’s the “lame stream” now?! Fox News is part of it. How about the public? The entirely phony polling machine will tell you that the race is tight, but that is greatly misleading. So, will perspicacity prevail? Hell, YEAH it will! I doubt the public at large will fall for another Bush. If we live in an ethical nation, Obama has this election in the bag.
But we don’t.
How far will Obama’s adversaries go to stop him? One way is massive election fraud. Going after the Attorney General is a lame tactic. Demanding poor blacks present government-issued I.D. to vote is unconstitutional. Dissolving ACORN will NOT stop people from voting. So what will work? Having Republican operatives working as election workers could succeed. Sabotaging election ballots could work.
Then, there is the unspeakable.
I shutter to think it.

[russspeakeasy]

1. How far will they go ? Election fraud is only half way down their list.

I think they would go much further.

[TBMASE]

2. Why do we assume that poor blacks do not have ID?

Do they not drive or have jobs? Do they not buy guns, cigarettes, alcohol? Do they not cash checks, rent or buy apartments/homes, receive registered mail? Are they not required to show ID just as any other group in this country does?

Why is there an assumption that poor blacks are any different than poor whites?

[less lee]

3. I think it's kind of UNCONSTITUTIONAL!

I think it's called a poll tax! Many voters who are students or elderly are too poor to drive a car!
When repugs register to run for office, they not only need a birth certificate and pass a written test about the constitution, they also need to pass a drug test!

[TBMASE]

4. Students have student ID, most have driver's licenses so they can buy acohol

or cigs.
The Elderly, usually, have some form of ID to get medicare and medicade benefits as well as to access their bank accounts

Why are we assuming it to be more burdonsome because of the color of one's skin?

[less lee]

5. Wrong! Not all have I.D!

This race bating by GOP operatives is not only transparent but a sorry cliche! The ruling class in this country want to start a race riot because they know it's not race, it's class! Trying to make leftist anti-racist into racists is not going to work! We know damn well that the GOP is targeting black voters! Why don't they challenge voters in the white community? Oh, it's just a coincidence! Larry Elder? Is that you?

[TBMASE]

7. Wait...why is it more burdonsome for a poor black person

to obtain ID than it is for a poor white person?

I fail to see the argument here. If it's hard for poor people to get them, then poor whites would be the group most affected based on sheer numbers. Why are poor black people facing a bigger burden than their poor white counterparts?

[less lee]

9. You fail to see the argument?

Or you don't comprehend the explanation? This sophistication you are attempting ain't gonna work! Maybe you don't comprehend that racism is symptomatic of class struggle? Huh! You really want me to say something racist do ya! OK! I will! Mark Spitz was the worst outfielder ever! I will not reply to you again! Go call up a liberal radio show! there is more money in that!

[TBMASE]

11. I just want to know why its more burdensome based on skin color

if a poor white, hispanic or asian person can get an ID, why is it so burdensome for a black person to do the same thing?

[gateley]

26. Because s/he's a Black person and this is America, silly.

[treestar]

55. Could be that when you go to apply for the ID

you get a run around about not having enough of the proper documents.

I have seen in action who the rules are applied reasonably to white people but have a black person apply and they must have the form filled out perfectly and the documents required are required to the last extremity with confusing explanations for why the submitted documents are enough.

Imagine the President if he weren't president and took his certified state issued copy of his Hawaiian Birth Certificate to the DMV to get his ID and the clerk there finding it "insufficient" evidence of his birth and demanding other documents.

things like this really do happen.

Older black people, say born in the rural south - imagine them trying to get a certified copy of the BC and the clerk of records having a "difficult" time finding it in the records.

[bongbong]

6. repigs don't want people who vote Democratic to vote

repigs hate Democracy, and that is why they want to eliminate as many Democratic votes as possible. That is their goal with these modern-day Jim Crow voting laws.

[TBMASE]

8. I need an ID to cash a check at my bank or at a cash checking store

I need ID to drive, check into a hotel, get a job, pick up a registered letter, buy alcohol, buy tobacco, buy propane gas tanks, rent a car, get a gym membership. You need ID to cast a vote for Union Election


why is it more burdensome for poor blacks than it is for poor whites?

[bongbong]

12. LOL

Your "rebuttal" about check cashing cards has already been debunked. The law is very clear about who can vote & what it takes.

Voting is not like buying a 6 pack of beer.

[TBMASE]

14. Actually, my question as to why it is more burdensome based on skin color

remains unanswered.

And laws change, which leads me back to my original question. Why is is more of a burden to get id for poor blacks than for poor whites or asians or hispanics

[less lee]

15. The White mans burden?

I had to reply to your insistent question :Why is is more of a burden to get id for poor blacks than for poor whites or asians or hispanics? Not that there is not an answer to that rhetorical question and there is. It is your motivation in asking it. White racism still exists. A lot of the fools on the right want you to believe race doesn't matter anymore. White racists cover up their tracks and act like they do not have a racist bone in their body. The white ruling class that owns oil wells would love to reinstate slavery and they kind of have by using Chinese slave labor to make their products. to answer your question:
remains unanswered.

Why is is more of a burden to get id for poor blacks than for poor whites or asians or hispanics? Giving ID to poor blacks is not a burden at all unless they they rebel like in Watts 1965. Who ever said it was a burden anyway? Please site your source?

[TBMASE]

16. your response is nonsensical

If you're claiming that racists won't give blacks an ID, where is this happening? The state of georgia offereed free rides for people to go get their free, state issued, id.

So, I ask again, why is it harder for poor blacks to get ID than anyone else?

[less lee]

18. If this doesn't answer your question then start your thread!

Quote:
AG Holder Attacks Voter ID Laws in Speech to Black Churches


53
inShare.2•
(Photo: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas)
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder holds a news conference to deliver the results to date of the largest prosecution of an international criminal network organized to sexually exploit children, at the Justice Department in Washington August 3, 2011.

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By Paul Stanley , Christian Post Reporter
May 30, 2012|3:12 pm
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the nation's top law enforcement officer, told a gathering of black church leaders on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., that laws requiring citizens to show a photo I.D. before voting were a threat to voting rights. He said such laws place "an unfair burden on non-white voters."
Holder's comments to the Conference of National Black Churches come as he is facing intense scrutiny and possible contempt charges from Republican members of Congress for his refusal to address issues relating to the Fast and Furious gun-walking program that has plagued the Obama administration.

The AG and the Department of Justice have yet to respond to a congressional subpoena requesting documents and information on their knowledge of the program and if they do not answer soon, leaders in the House of Representatives have said they will send a contempt letter to the department.

However, Holder devoted almost all of his remarks to voting rights, specifically the Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.

"Today as Attorney General, I have the privilege – and the solemn duty – of enforcement of enforcing this law, and the other civil rights reforms that President Johnson, Dr. King, and so many other courageous leaders and activists once championed," Holder told the gathering.

"I've heard a consistent drumbeat of concern from citizens, who – often for the first times in their lives – now have reason to believe that … some of the achievements that defined the civil rights movement could now hang in the balance."

Follow us

As a point of reference, Holder used as an example the DOJ's opposition to the South Carolina voter ID law that Democrats often use to criticize Republicans for disenfranchising black voters in their efforts to decrease voter turnout.

"The recent wave of changes to state-level voter identification laws also has presented a number of problems requiring the department's attention," said Holder. "In December, we objected to South Carolina's voter ID law, after finding – based on the state's own data – that the proposed change would place an unfair burden on non-white voters."

But proponents of voter ID laws maintain that racism is not the intention. Rather, preventing voter fraud and verifying the actual identity of the voter is the primary objective.

Holder was introduced to the group by the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), who led an earlier session designed to educate black pastors on exactly what they are and are not allowed to say from their pulpits in order to keep turnout in the black community at high levels.

"President Obama is going to get 95 percent of the [African American] vote," Cleaver said on MSNBC on Tuesday. "We want to let them (pastors) know that there is a theological responsibility to participate in the political process, at least in the Judeo-Christian tradition."

Nonetheless, some black pastors such as Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr. of Baltimore dispute Cleaver's claim and say that turnout in the black community will be significantly lower because of President Obama's recent support of same-sex marriage.

"Black voters will have a much more difficult time supporting Obama than they did in 2008," Jackson recently told The Christian Post. "It may be the reason he loses in November
Unquote

[TBMASE]

20. It doesn't answer anything. It makes a claim, gives no justification for the findings

and doesn't address why it's more difficult for black voters to get an ID than any other citizen in the country or local community

How is is racist to ask for identification? If EVERYONE is required to present ID, how does it place an unfair burden on a single group based on skin color? Are we to believe that blacks have interaction in commerce where no verification of identity is needed? If so, why?

[meanit]

28. Who knows why?

The statistics say that poor blacks are less likely to obtain an I.D.
Perhaps they don't want to obtain one. Perhaps they can't. Who knows? And quite frankly, why should it matter? Voting is a basic American right. There should be no poll taxes, literary tests, "your papers please" type laws, or other hoops to jump through to be able to vote.

Why anybody does or does not get an I.D. is nobody's business. People shouldn't have their right to vote taken away from because they don't have a I.D. That's hinging on Fascism.

[bongbong]

22. Because of repigs

The answer to your question is "because of repigs". Many repigs are racists, and hate anybody who isn't white. They will do anything they can to make it impossible for African-Americans to vote.

[TBMASE]

23. Democratic legislatures are also implementing these policies

And why is it more adversly affecting blacks than any other group in the country?

Many states have offered these IDs free of charge, GA had a program that provided transportation for people who needed it.

Why is is only blacks that are affected by these laws?

[bongbong]

24. Which ones?

Let's see some specifics.

[TBMASE]

25. Rhode Island, Michigan, Pennsylvania

then there are ones that require ID while answering personal questions to verify identity

[bongbong]

31. Michigan

Michigan doesn't have a Democratic legislature. It is repig-controlled.

I don't have time to debunk your other "facts", but it appears you are just a troll. BYE!

[Kingofalldems]

40. So once again you agree with republicans

Are you a republican?

[TBMASE]

41. What part of Democratic Legislators confused you?

f

[Iggo]

57. You said Legislatures.

Nice try.

[bongbong]

30. Yawn

Your question has been answered many times on this thread. Your thumbs are jammed too tightly in your ears to hear them.

[TBMASE]

49. You don't even know you can buy Sudafed

you think your opinion matters to me

[bongbong]

51. Why reply

My posts must matter a lot to you, you keep replying to them.

You're new to trolling, aren't you? Consult some repig sites for tips on how to do it better.

[jaded_old_cynic]

53. The right to vote is a fundamental constitutional right.

It cannot be impinged upon without the standard of strict scrutiny. Driving, buying alcohol, et al are not considered to be fundamental rights. Voting, the right to move freely between the states and the right to privacy all fall under the strict scrutiny standard.

[TBMASE]

43. Well, then, the Federal Government now discriminates against those same people

when they try to buy Sudafed.

You actually have to show ID to buy it these days. So, I guess these poor people who can't get IDs are being treated unfairly when it comes to cold medicines

[bongbong]

47. Mixed up

You're mixed up as all get out!

They aren't denied Sudafed because they're poor, they're denied it because it can be used to make meth. I'm not poor and I can't get Sudafed either.

Merrily you troll along, troll along, troll along....

[bongbong]

50. Oh, right

But according to you, you can't buy it if you're poor.

Your trolling needs more work.

[TBMASE]

52. That's the argument for why people can't get ID to vote

obviously it holds true for simple things like buying behind the counter cold medication

[1StrongBlackMan]

27. Okay ...

I'm going to answer this ... without losing my temper.

Why do we assume that poor blacks do not have ID?

Because it is an empirical fact.

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1828/156/21_Percent_Of_Americans_Have_No_Government_Issued_ID:_25_Percent_Elderly_Blacks_Have_No_ID.html

Why is there an assumption that poor blacks are any different than poor whites?

There is no such assumption as the citation above illustrates. What IS different about poor Blacks from poor whites is that when poor Blacks are more responsive to GOTV efforts and when we come out to vote, we vote democratic - almost exclusively; whereas, while poor whites tend to vote Democratic, this vote is no where near exclusive. (I could post a citation for this too, if you wish)

Further, the larger issue is found by examining who does not have government-issued ID and it is instructive as to the purpose of these suppression efforts:

The elderly: With the gop attacks on SS and Medicare/Medicaid, the elderly is targeted;
"Minorities:: Well ... that is self-explanatory.

Now to your more "questionable" (to be polite) questions:

Do they not drive or have jobs?

Many do not ... That's largely why some of us are poor.

Do they not buy guns, cigarettes, alcohol?

Many do not. But even those that do ... since when, in "minority" communities, has a government-issued ID been required, or even neccesary, to purchase a gun, cigarettes, or alcohol? Except for the very young, any of these things can be purchased without question.

Do they not cash checks,

Yes ... At check cashing centers that have much more liberal ID requirements, e.g., rent receipts+utility bill will usually do.

rent or buy apartments/homes,

Yes ... Generally on a cash bases with no real ID requirement.

receive registered mail?

Having been poor ... I can tell you ... registered mail is to be avoided.

Are they not required to show ID just as any other group in this country does?

In many cases ... No, we are not.

[TBMASE]

44. How about Sudafed?

I guess the same people who can't identify themselves are stuck with less effective cold remedies

[1StrongBlackMan]

45. That would be my guess ...

By the way, when was the last time you attempted to buy sudafed in a store in a Black neighborhood?

More to the point, THIS Black man has NEVER bought sudafed.

[TBMASE]

46. I know plenty of black people who do use it

pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, ephedrine products are much more effective products for sinus relief

[Raggaemon]

32. Kinda off-base

You mistakenly seem to include ALL low-income black folks when the fact is it the GOP voter suppression strategy only requires enough PEOPLE to be removed from the voting rolls, some here, some there, this group, that group.

[LarsEighner]

56. It's a numbers game

The article may well have created a misleading impression.

Anything which tends to discourage or prevent poor people from voting will naturally exclude a larger proportion of black people because a larger proportion of black people are poor (in most areas).

Many poor people do not need ID. IDs expire, so although most people will need ID sometime in their lives, the expense of maintaining ID may not be worth it.

People over 30 do not need ID to buy alcohol or tobacco. Someone who got a bank account in more prosperous times will have a debit card. Social Security and SSI is deposited directly and some banks charge no fee to maintain a bank account if you get regular direct deposits. With a debit card you can make deposits and withdrawals (and purchases) without showing any picture ID. Poor people are like to work at pick up labor which pays cash. Cleaning and grounds persons are often paid in cash. Small shop, restaurants, and contractors may write checks but cash their employees paychecks. Undocumented people find work and get paid without ID, and so can citizens who do not have documents.

Sure you don't have to go very far upscale to find hotels and apartments that require ID, but the cheapest week-to-week* places and rooming houses happily accept cash from anyone. Moreover, many poor people live with family, extended family, or take a spare room with someone in the neighborhood who isn't formally in the rooming house business.

(*Actually week-to-week places are not cheap by local market standards, but you can get into them if you cannot raise a whole month's rent at once, deposits, utility connection fees, etc.)

If you are in the same place for very long, especially if you are older and it is a poor neighborhood, you don't get stopped by the cops very often, and when they have hassled you a few times for not having ID, they lay off.

Many poor people just don't need ID in daily life.

Excluding poor people DOES exclude poor whites. But since more black people are poor than whites, excluding poor people excludes a larger proportion of black people than white people. This will exclude some people who would vote Republican. But so long as it excludes more people who would vote Democrat, the numbers say it is a good deal for republicans.

[AlinPA]

10. They would stop at nothing.

[greytdemocrat]

13. Hmmm...

I think you need to hook-up with DUer TheMastersNemesis. You'll make a great team!!!

[CTyankee]

17. this thread is giving me a headache...

[less lee]

19. Advil is good for that.

Dare to struggle! Dare to win!

[CTyankee]

21. two words

monty python

[pansypoo53219]

29. calvinball on steroids.

[Raggaemon]

33. GOP/Tea Party Winning Strategy

Karl Rove is fully aware that the shifting demographics don't favor his gang, this is the GOP Alamo which is why they've gone crazy pushing as many pieces of legislation intending to block women from having reproductive freedom, job creating legislation isn't near the top of their priority list. George Bush left his party with gifts that keep on giving and they owe him thanks for them, his supreme court picks handed the GOP their ultimate weapon, SECRETIVE BIG MONEY and they know exactly how to use it by running ads intended at confusing low-information voters, as well as those well-meaning folks who'd like to stay informed but find themselves swamped just trying to get by, it's a perfect scenario for how to steal elections.

The Bush deregulation binge, along with his government agency cuts adds another layer of talking points for the tea-party GOP, they get to label themselves as the fiscally responsible party and the party that lets the "job creators" have enough room to .... create jobs.

The right is doing a decent job at convincing people that even though Bush is to blame for creating this depression, they realize too that emotions leave desperate people less willing to give the new guy more time to fix the mess, with their argument being Obama has had enough time by now to have fixed things, never mind the mountain of obstruction they've thrown in his path, sad to say but far too many people agree with republicans.

The other main component of this radical reactionary strategy is that while Obama supporters who showed up at the polls enthusiastically casting their votes, republicans keyed in on the 2010 mid-term elections, Obama voters went from yes WE can to yes He can, republicans know how to march in lock-step, but as the saying goes, dealing with democrats is like herding cats.

The Rupert Murdoch empire gives the right the loudest megaphones for spewing distortions and for telling out-right lies, there is no comparable entity that exists on the left.

1. Win the information war through propaganda
2. Stack the court with right-wing judges sympathetic to trickle-down economic principles

[Raggaemon]

34. Lemme see ....

There's lying, stealing, fraud, bullying, blatant disregard for the office of the president, racism,, what did I leave off the list ?

But .... voter suppression reaches lots of folks as we've seen, younger voters, the elderly, the poor, and of course concentrated more heavily in "certain" communities.

[and-justice-for-all]

35. I hope to the point that they hang themselves...

and we can widdle the reich-wing down to a stump.

[GReedDiamond]

36. OK...

...I shudder too, to think about it.

Otherwise, good post.

[davidpdx]

37. For your consideration

Exhibit #1

Like nails on a chalkboard

Exhibit #2

That's more like it

[less lee]

38. Hey! that is a good tune! No! I mean it.

It reminds me of 1965 folk rock. Dylan meets the Kinks. I wish there was rock stations playing original new material. Yeah! There is Serius radio, but who can afford it? Good luck john in your future career.

[ancianita]

39. We have to stop the hand wringing, bitching and mocking and GET TO WORK.

We HAVE to GOTV even more than in 2008 in order to 1. maintain the Senate majority, 2. TAKE THE HOUSE.
We have to employ in each and every e-voting precinct in swing states (and others) an IT expert and a lawyer to hawkeye every move of the voting process and counting, follow every precinct captain's every move.
Employ backup lawyers to get the above two out of trouble if they're harassed.

We can't be too careful or spend too much. We can do this.

[less lee]

42. If you liked this article...

A new one is on it's way. It will be posted in the Media folder. The title will be: Vision in mono (The rise and fall of CBS)

[less lee]

54. A little preveiw of my article

Vision in mono (The fall and rise of CBS) will be posted in a couple of days.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/newwavedavecom/7495659546/in/photostream