The Department of Disenfranchisement
The Department of Disenfranchisement
While President Bush proclaims his support for democracy around the world, his Justice Department is busy stifling it here at home. The Department of Justice recently approved Georgia’s plan to force voters to show a state-issued ID that can be obtained in only 59 of the state’s 159 counties, none of which are in the six counties with the highest percentage of African Americans.
This is especially troubling because of the apparent racist motivations of the bill’s backers. The chief sponsor of Georgia’s bill told the Justice Department that “if there are fewer black voters because of this bill, it will only be because there is less opportunity for fraud.” Even the Justice Department’s own experts believe this will disenfranchise eligible voters.
Today, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) announced that he would veto similar legislation in his state because “it would disenfranchise some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.”
The Department of Justice used to focus on expanding minority voting rights — now they are approving plans to restrict them. There was a time when conservatives would balk at disenfranchising voters — today it’s standard practice.
– Sam Davis
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Wow… did you catch that? “If there are fewer black voters because of this bill, it will only be because there is less opportunity for fraud.” That sounded racist as hell to me. So black voters are inclined to committing fraud when voting.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:14 pmSounds like a case for Civil Rights case to me.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:14 pmThe Republicans have lost any subtilty they may have had now. They are blatantly cheating Americans out of their rights.
They must be stopped through the ballot box, but if that fails because it has been eleminated, then through whatever means are available. Legal actions and lawsuits are a logical next step.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:20 pmLink to that quote does not work. Please find a good link for it!
February 21st, 2006 at 6:23 pmWorking link with that quote: http://www.ajc.com/today/content/epaper/editions/today/news_34d71814d42dc1d200d5.html
February 21st, 2006 at 6:25 pmThe poll tax is back under a new guise.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:28 pmRep. Sue Burmeister (R-Augusta) also said if black people in her district “are not paid to vote, they don’t go to the polls.”
Wow… yeah Republicans are not bigots.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:29 pmDon – you’re right, that’s basically what this is, a poll tax.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:29 pmI had been on strike against TP due to the Ryan Neat thing, but this took me over the edge.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:31 pmI am furious that Georgia is now ALLOWED to make it harder for African Americans to vote. Will they have to someday show their ID when entering certain areas? It’s really not many steps away, when you think about it.
Unfortunately, a civil rights suit may not come because they ARE specifically targeting those with the least resources.
Ooooohhhhhh. I’m soooo mad! Is there someone to email or call to voice outrage?
While President Bush and Attorney General Gonzales claim they want to renew the Voting Rights Act of 1965, they are set to undermine it in practice in Georgia and elsewhere.
For the full story, see:
February 21st, 2006 at 6:32 pm“Republican Plantation Politics.”
AG Gonzales approved this bill as well, as my link states.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:37 pmThey’re only doing this because minorities vote Democrat. This is about power. Nothing else. The Conservative cabal is shamless.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:39 pmThe program requires voters to obtain one of six forms of photo identification before going to the polls, as opposed to 17 types of identification currently allowed. Which means that if you’re not motivated enough to get off your ass and get a drivers license or some other acceptable identification, you can’t vote. What kind of legal citizen who is an adult, doesn’t have an I.D. anyway? If someone can’t even handle the most basic requirements in society, how can they make an informed choice at the ballot box? The only racism in this story is from the opponents of this program, claiming that blacks will be disenfranchized. They sure seem to have low expectations from the black community.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:49 pmAnybody know how much the state issued ID card costs?
February 21st, 2006 at 6:50 pmDisgusting and Un-American.
Here in Oregon all voting is done by mail. State issued ID Why????
February 21st, 2006 at 6:52 pmZookeeper – I think it was $35. Any amount, however, could be construed as a poll tax.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:52 pm#13 – “If someone can’t even handle the most basic requirements in society, how can they make an informed choice at the ballot box?”
Last time I looked you don’t have to be responsible or informed to vote. While both might be desirable, neither is required.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:54 pmI could of swore I saw $35 somewhere but I think $20 was said in other places. So I am not sure.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:55 pmCan you believe this?
February 21st, 2006 at 6:55 pmI went to the Georgia legislature site, and looked up the idiot Burmeister… she gave her aol acct and not a “house” acct…!
Anyway, since it’s the only email she listed, that’s what I’m posting.
Have fun.
subrmyster@aol.com
#16 – Absolutely. Thanks, Matt.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:55 pmOh, this is nice.
Just when I thought…
February 21st, 2006 at 6:57 pmHere is where I got the $35 number.
February 21st, 2006 at 6:59 pm#13 – “If someone can’t even handle the most basic requirements in society, how can they make an informed choice at the ballot box?â€
OK, then I guess they shouldn’t be able to procreate either since they lack the basic requirements…
February 21st, 2006 at 7:02 pmSee how asinine that is?
That arguement has zero validity.
When Gilligan’s Island aired, the Coast Guard got HUNDREDS of calls, telling them where to look! True.
It takes all kinds in this world, but it is patently unfair to make one of our basic rights harder to attain to ANY group. Gilligan Island idiots can vote, just like the rest of us.
NO ONE should have an undue burden to exercise their given rights.
I’ll climb off my soap box now…
If we do not want an uninformed electorate, we should TRY to inform them, rather than just cut them out of the process.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:04 pmi thought the poll tax was unconstitutional?
oh that’s right warrantless wiretapping of american citizens is unconstiutional, too.
man, my grandfather, a decorated WWII vet is rolling in his grave right now.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:07 pmI’ve said it before — this group in power is taking us back one hundred years. This story is so outrageous, so far beyond the pale, that it is incredible. Then I read the links.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:07 pmThose who support this are descended from the slave owners of the past, the ignorant racists, the KKK, the stupid, immoral bigots. They have not progressed from the ignorant, bigotry of their slaveowner ancestors — these people are still fighting the Civil War. Shame. Shame.
Ignorant fu*king fools.
They disenfranchised blacks in Florida in 2000. They repeated their crime in 2004 and it was a little more widespread and overt in other states as well. Now they are just out there, bold as brass, declaring blacks are unworthy of the vote, or of low morality undeserving of the vote. Who the hell do these KKK members think they are? Who gave them the right to determine that American citizens should be hindered from voting?
Unamerican, racist, bigoted f*cks.
#9 trueblue
February 21st, 2006 at 7:11 pmI share your outrage – thanks for the link to the Rep. Email.
BTW, Ryan was posting here the other day.
I hope he has reconciled his differences with TP and will be back regularly.
#24 But that would mean actually funding education in America.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:11 pmIf we do not want an uninformed electorate, we should TRY to inform them, rather than just cut them out of the process.
Comment by Matt O. — February 21, 2006 @ 7:04 pm
…while insulting, berating, and belittling those who are informed.
Whenever any criticisms arise from those who followed the news and have valid concerns, they are usually labelled “traitors”, “un-American”, “appeasers”, and a long list of other things.
Seems to me an informed citizenry is not high in the Bush administration’s priority list: Between cutting funds for education and marginalising the poor, we have the perfect recipe for an authoritarian state.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:13 pmWow. Thanks, Marie.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:16 pmI feel better posting now.
Yeah, like the votes actually were counted in the first place…
February 21st, 2006 at 7:20 pm#29 Yeah, I know what you mean. To be enlightened is to be “un-American” to these people.
I can only imagine how Galileo must have felt.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:22 pmAs I read Anne Frank’s Diary in 8th grade, I frequently wondered what it was like in Nazi Germany. How stressful that might have been. Now, I guess I don’t have to wonder any longer…
February 21st, 2006 at 7:24 pmI can only imagine how Galileo must have felt.
Comment by Matt O. — February 21, 2006 @ 7:22 pm
Yeah, or Socrates…
February 21st, 2006 at 7:25 pm#9 what ryan neat thing?
February 21st, 2006 at 7:31 pm#26
February 21st, 2006 at 7:32 pmTake a midol Marie,
You’re focusing on the opponents of this program’s claims, not the proponents. We live in an age where fraud can run rampant. Having an I.D. to vote protects all of us from the results of fraud. Every state should have a similar plan. By the way, who declared that blacks are unworthy to vote? If you needed an I.D. to vote, would that keep you from voting? I’d bet if it were discovered that half of the votes Bush received were fraudulant, and proper voter I.D’s would have prevented them from being counted–you’d be all for it. You’re only against this because there’s Republicans involved, and you’re being a good puppet.
Actually, with this situation, I wonder how Martin Luther King, Jr. must have felt.
I know he’s shaking his head right now, wherever he is.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:34 pm#35-
February 21st, 2006 at 7:38 pmI heard Ryan was banned again and it REALLY bummed me out because he has such intelligence on so many things; but yet the trolls still get to run amok.
I got disgusted.
But now that he’s here, I can reconcile things….
#36 Like the multistate electronic voting fraud done in a microcircut in a microsecond, leaving no trace?
February 21st, 2006 at 7:38 pmHow stressful that might have been. Now, I guess I don’t have to wonder any longer…
Comment by unbelievable — February 21, 2006 @ 7:24 pm
Without trying to stretch the historical parallel, the key in the process is always to look for an enemy: “them”. The least you describe that enemy, the better.
It is best to define these enemies in terms of how they are “not us”: “They” are swarthy, “they” want to destroy our way of life, “they” hate us, “they” worship a different god, etc. and once this message has been driven deep into everyone’s psyche, it’s easy to pass draconian laws to keep “them” in check.
What neo-con apologists, and Bush minions fail to understand is that the harsh laws approved are a far greater threat to a country’s national identity than any enemy, since they can be easily used –and abused– to turn the nation into the Supreme (mis)Leader’s cult-like following, and stiffle political dissent. Which I sometimes suspect is really the ultimate goal of the powers that be, “them” merely providing a handy pretext.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:41 pmClif,
Just like the fiasco in Ohio,… again.
Those things are rigged for sure. I’m surprised there’s not the outrage there should be.
Rights being taken away, whether by some idiotic legislation or by tampering, is NOT the American Way. We need to stand up.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:44 pmIt’s a shame no one will….
#39
February 21st, 2006 at 7:47 pmDid I say I was for that? No! I’m defending the idea of having an acceptable I D in order to vote. I want honest election results–so would any fair-minded person. The people opposing this plan, the news agencies reporting the story, and Thinkprogress are trying to turn this into a racial issue. AND the regulars here are all jumping on the bandwagon.
I don’t think the problem is with a voter needing to show ID. I personally think, that a person should. A voter needs to be identified, as a legitimate vote. We have a problem with this law, not because it requires an ID to vote. The issue really is, the proper ID’s are not available state wide. You can only get them in a limited number of parishes.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:51 pmwhy? should the ID’s not be availabe for everyone?
The people opposing this plan, the news agencies reporting the story, and Thinkprogress are trying to turn this into a racial issue. AND the regulars here are all jumping on the bandwagon.
Comment by Antagonist — February 21, 2006 @ 7:47 pm
I see, everyone is wrong except you.
Fact is, Sue Burmeister -one of the main sponsors of this bill- has said that if blacks in her district “are not paid to vote, they don’t go to the polls.” Isn’t that making race an issue?
February 21st, 2006 at 8:00 pm#43 Because they learned from the New Orleans fiasco that poor people who do not vote republican as much as democratic can’t get to the more affluant counties, and i wonder if the managed to be able to get to the counties would they be told to get the ID’s in the county they live in? Has anyone checked if this is possible, here in KY you are supposed to apply for a license in the county you live in.
February 21st, 2006 at 8:01 pmI think you’re missing the point. The problem with this problem is even if the point is to stop voter fraud, its effect will be to stop blacks or Democrats in general from voting. Any voter fraud that helps Republicans will be unaffected by this plan.
Note the TP post:
February 21st, 2006 at 8:05 pm
#44
February 21st, 2006 at 8:13 pmIsn’t suggesting that needing an I D to vote is going to disenfranchize blacks a racial comment?
What is that supposed to mean? Do they think blacks are incapable of having proper indentification? How convenient of you to miss those comments Gregor.
Antagonist please answer one question, should the state of Georgia make the ID’s available in ALL counties or not?
February 21st, 2006 at 8:21 pmIsn’t suggesting that needing an ID to vote is going to disenfranchize blacks a racial comment?
Comment by Antagonist — February 21, 2006 @ 8:13 pm
When all the indications are that the plan is designed to keep black voters away from the voting booth, saying that requiring an ID will disenfranchise African-American voters is not a racial comment, but a fair description of the sponsors’ intentions.
What is that supposed to mean? Do they think blacks are incapable of having proper indentification?
Blacks are just capable of having proper identification as the next guy, so stop using that strawman. What you are missing is that the successive inceptions of the plan make it unnecessarily difficult for Georgia’s black to obtain the IDs.
How convenient of you to miss those comments Gregor.
I didn’t ignore them. As I said, the plan is founded on racist grounds.
February 21st, 2006 at 8:23 pm“Isn’t suggesting that needing an I D to vote is going to disenfranchize blacks a racial comment?
What is that supposed to mean? Do they think blacks are incapable of having proper indentification? How convenient of you to miss those comments Gregor.
Comment by Antagonist — February 21, 2006 @ 8:13 pm”
Sweetie, the partisan brain is a spectacular example of selective listening, so I forgive you for not being very smart or rational on this one. These voter IDs aren’t available in counties with large black populations, many of whom are too poor, or have transportation issues that would prevent them from traveling and paying for the ID. This puts an ‘undo’ burden on poor people relative to their means, which just happens to coincide with ‘race’ in this case. You can believe that it’s a war on poverty, a war on race, or both, but it’s definitely a war pumpkin. My experience of most partisans such as yourself is that you’re well meaning, good intentioned and otherwise decent people. You’re just woefully ignorant of the facts, and your partisan brain prevents you from hearing them even when they’re presented.
So I forgive you for your ignorance, your arrogance, and your veiled bigotry. I’m sure you didn’t mean to display any of those traits publically.
February 21st, 2006 at 8:25 pmWe have a problem with this law, not because it requires an ID to vote. The issue really is, the proper ID’s are not available state wide. You can only get them in a limited number of parishes.
Comment by Krazny — February 21, 2006 @ 7:51 pm
Right you are. The issue is not requesting a photo ID, but the fact that poor people cannot afford to a) pay for one b) travel to another county to get one, free or otherwise.
Instead of coming up with a way to provide free, easily available voter photo ID, the plan approved (and others drafted previously) makes it very difficult for poorer voters to exercise their right to vote.
The rationale for this is usually along the lines of “What kind of legal citizen who is an adult, doesn’t have an I.D. anyway?”, or “If someone can’t even handle the most basic requirements in society, how can they make an informed choice at the ballot box?” -in a nutshell, poor people need not participate in their country’s politics. After all, it’s their fault they’re poor, right?
To show you there is no political interest in making these photo IDs easily available, compare it to the way anyone can get a drivers’ licences at their local DMV. Why not use the same concept for a voter photo ID?
February 21st, 2006 at 8:25 pm#42 This is about race and class…Just like Katrina was about race and class…One more way to supress the Black vote in the south and therefore supress the Democratic vote…This is just another in the many outrageous ways to get our attentions on something else while there is yet something else going on…! This has to stop before it is too late! We all know the issues When are WE going to start a march to be heard or seriously start a targeted email, letter phone call campaign?! Time to stop bitching about it and start doing something to stop it!! Just my two cents…I’ve written to my rep have you?!? Time to stop Talking and Get in Action!
February 21st, 2006 at 8:35 pmLike I wrote in an earlier post, dopes who thought Gilligan’s Island was *real*, can vote, no problem. Antagonist can’t dispute it.
He’s just a troll, trying to defend an action that is clearly unconstitutional.
Clearly.
I go to vote. Give my name, my address, they cross my name out, I go vote.
I send the yearly voting update letter to the town every year.
Why should I, after doing all that, have to be forced to show ID?
Maybe because I’m *white*…?
This is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
February 21st, 2006 at 8:36 pmIt’s gone main stream…
CNN) — A proposed business deal that would turn control of six U.S. ports over to an United Arab Emirates-based company has raised security concerns among some lawmakers. CNN’s Jack Cafferty asked viewers of the “Situation Room” what they thought. Here is a selection of their responses, sent in by e-mail:
“Ask the families of our war dead if they think we should hand over security of our ports to a foreign government. The very idea of it is obscene. And Mr. Chertoff, our brave troops aren’t making those sacrifices to protect “robust trade.” You shouldn’t be in charge of a neighborhood watch if you believe half of what you say”.
James, Fayetteville, North Carolina
“You got it wrong, Jack. The #1 priority of the Bush regime since 9/11 has been to promote the illusion of safety. The hypocrisy is so transparent even Bush’s puppets are finally seeing the treasonous sellout of our country for the crime it is.”
Toni, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
“The impending sale of the ports to the Arabs is proof positive that the administration is pouring water on our shoes and telling us it’s raining. It’s also evidence that a deal has been cut somewhere. I just don’t believe they are that stupid. Then again, I could be wrong.”
John, Jacksonville, Florida
“It’s hypocritical and appalling to talk about national security and then sell off control of vital US ports to any foreign country, especially a Muslim one.”
Justin
“I used to think President Bush should be impeached. I think now, he needs to be committed! There is no end in sight to the insanity of this administration.”
Evelyn, North Carolina
“Isn’t this port situation like McDonalds hiring Burger King to run their business?”
Charles, Fort Wayne, Indiana
“You have got to be kidding me. Our government has not learned a thing from 9/11. Shame on all of you that are making this happen!”
Mark, Baytown, Texas
“If they want to have foreign companies do security in our ports, they need to have the standards as our TSA — U.S. Citizenship”.
Linda, Port St. John, Florida
“Outsourcing has gotten out of hand. This latest situation is insane! Why don’t we just give them the keys to the White House?”
George Townsend, Bradford, Vermont
http://www.cnn.com
February 21st, 2006 at 8:38 pm#48 I do not know why the ID’s are not obtainable in all counties. Do you? Is it possible for you to consider that there could be another reason besides racism? The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has said that a leaked memo to the newspaper has confused and misrepresented the decision-making process at the Department of Justice concerning preclearance of Georgia’s changes to its voter identification statute.
February 21st, 2006 at 8:42 pmGeorgia’s corrected data – which was not incorporated in the leaked memo – indicate that African-American citizens are actually slightly more likely than white citizens to possess one of the necessary forms of identification. Georgia is one of at least 17 states that mandate identification from voters, and there is no evidence that such requirements have had any adverse impact on minority voters.
To show you there is no political interest in making these photo IDs easily available, compare it to the way anyone can get a drivers’ licences at their local DMV. Why not use the same concept for a voter photo ID?
Comment by Gregor Samsa — February 21, 2006 @ 8:25 pm
Gregor,
I guess this means that we clearly know who their ‘them’ is… finacially poor liberals. No surprise there.
February 21st, 2006 at 8:43 pmThe Republicans do not like POOR Blacks, so they do NOT want them to vote PERIOD. They like wealthy Blacks who vote Republican, but that is less than 5% of them! Colin Powell and Condi Rice are examples!
February 21st, 2006 at 8:48 pm#36 There also is a fee for those ID cards ($35) which seems amazingly similar to the old “poll tax.”
February 21st, 2006 at 8:56 pmYou don’t subscribe to charging people to vote do you?
Or are you among those who think that only the people who can afford to are worthy to vote?
Or those who have transportation across the city to get the ID card?
You cannot defend racism, discrimination and abuse of civil rights — they are indefensible and so are you.
Notwithstanding the perfectly legitimate argument that number of precincts where the cards are available are conveniently out of black neighborhoods.
Go take a midol yourself.
#36 And don’t measure my morality and sense of justice with your lack of the same.
February 21st, 2006 at 8:58 pm“I’d bet if it were discovered that half of the votes Bush received were fraudulant, and proper voter I.D’s would have prevented them from being counted–you’d be all for it.”
Wrong!
I am for fairness, equality and patriotism — it is the party to which I assume you pledge allegiance that is determined to undermine everything America stands for.
On the Dieblod voter fraud enhancing machines:
The Secretary of State for California just recirtified the Diebold machines here. I guess I will have to go with an absentee ballot after all.
I am telling everybody I know to vote absentee.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:04 pmOh yeah and for the dumbass talking about how it doesn’t have to be a $35 voter ID card, a drivers license in California is $16 and a standard ID card is $12.
Yes, I know this sh!t is not happening in California, they are rigging our votes via Diebold.
But, I can’t believe a driver’s license or id card is freee anywhere else.
Anybody from any other states can verify a free ID card anywhere?
February 21st, 2006 at 9:07 pmHi Spudge.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:07 pmHaven’t posted in a while.
(I’ve read your stuff, though.)
Glad to be back.
BTW: The machine *rocks*!
Thanks.
Marie,
February 21st, 2006 at 9:07 pmIs it possible for you to consider any facts regarding this issue, or do you always and immediately rush to the charge of racism and discrimination? I’ve wasted enough time with your intellectual dishonesty an your narrow-minded prattle. See ya
#55 Antagonist you FAILED to answer the question….
DO YOU
February 21st, 2006 at 9:09 pm#36 Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:11 pmYou did not answer this question, it is not about why but your opinion, not a fax answer or talking point,
Antagonist please answer one question, should the state of Georgia make the ID’s available in ALL counties or not?
February 21st, 2006 at 9:11 pm“I do not know why the ID’s are not obtainable in all counties. Do you? Is it possible for you to consider that there could be another reason besides racism? Antagonist”
Sweetie, one doesn’t have to ‘intend’ to be racist, in order to advocate racist policies. For instance, I doubt that you are racist – yet you argue for policies that are in effect racist in nature. Ignorance and partisan attitudes combined often create policies that result in racism as a ‘consequence’, even if that’s not the intention. If I give you the benefit of the doubt and believe that you don’t intend to be racist, it still doesn’t excuse you from supporting a policy that is racist. But I forgive you for your unintended racism pumpkin. It seems to be contagious among partisans.
“Georgia’s corrected data – which was not incorporated in the leaked memo – indicate that African-American citizens are actually slightly more likely than white citizens to possess one of the necessary forms of identification. Antagonist”
Sweetie, this is wording is critical. How this sentence would have read if it weren’t ‘partisan spin’ is “African-American citizens are actually slightly more likely than white citizens to NEED the voter identification.”
See the problem is that many african american communities are more poor, and more dependent on public transportation. This means that a drivers license is statistically less common among african americans. The result is that fewer african americans have licenses, and would REQUIRE an ID under the new law, whereas the more wealthy whites who already have licenses wouldn’t. The result is that once again a ‘jim crow’ law requires african americans to take an extra step, an extra expense, and potentially an extra trip to a different county to obtain an ID to Vote. A rational republican would recognize that Lincoln would turn in his grave at this scenario. But clearly you’re not a rational republican pumpkin. So I forgive you for once again spinning, misrepresenting and basically just helping the spin cycle to flat out lying about the situation. I’m sure you mean well, despite your actions sweetie.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:12 pmThe new Georgia law requires all 159 counties have ID offices and the fee was scrapped.
There is a counter strategy announced by black legislators and leaders to mail 355,000 absentee forms to all low-income, disabled and minority voters. Since absentee forms require no ID, this will likely increase turnout and embarrass Republicans by exploiting the loophole they consciously failed to close. Virtually all vote fraud complaints in Georgia involve absentee ballots.
The ’stay-home-and-vote’ campaign has begun.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:13 pmA driver’s license is only 16.00????
February 21st, 2006 at 9:15 pmIn MA it’s 35.00!!! Plus we have to pay “excise tax” every two years. It’s on the value of the car, even though we had to pay 5% tax on the initial purchase.
It ain’t called “taxachussetts” for nothing!
trueblue,
Hey! I am glad the PC is working good for you. A good PC is the same as having a good car. If it work without problems, your life is easier.
Did you see I started a blog of my own. Spudge_Boy’s Place
That way I don’t lose the work I have done on those long posts I do from time to time and so that if anybody wants to go off on a 9/11 rant, they have a place. Spudge_Boy’s place is open to all, but trolls. Sorry, I am the dictator at my blog. Criticism, correction, input and dissent are all welcome, but dumbass troll are not.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:18 pm“Is it possible for you to consider any facts regarding this issue, or do you always and immediately rush to the charge of racism and discrimination? Antagonist”
Lets examine the facts.
1) The counties with high african american voters aren’t receiving places to obtain the ID.
2) You already stated that according to the survey the state already knew that african american communities were in greater NEED of the ID.
3) In light of the state KNOWING that the african american counties needed the ID, they chose to not make a location available in those counties.
“I’ve wasted enough time with your intellectual dishonesty an your narrow-minded prattle. See ya
Comment by Antagonist — February 21, 2006 @ 9:07 pm “
Sweetie, anyone not observing these simple facts such as yourself is the one exhibiting intellectual dishonesty. But the partisan brain isn’t honest to itself or others, so I forgive you. You’re just another victim sweetie.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:19 pmDue to the recirtification of Diebold voter fruad enhancment machines in California, I am starting a SPudge_Boy stay-at-home-and-vote capaign of my own.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:21 pmAnybody else have prices for the driver’s license and ID cards in their state?
Does anybody live in a state where either of these officially recognized ID cards are free?
February 21st, 2006 at 9:22 pmThe ’stay-home-and-vote’ campaign has begun.
Comment by steve — February 21, 2006 @ 9:13 pm
Love it. Will do the same, and pass it on to everyone I know.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:24 pmBeautiful, Spudge–do you have a link on the black legislator thing? We need to raise this to a higher level, somehow.
What did you mean by this?Virtually all vote fraud complaints in Georgia involve absentee ballots.
February 21st, 2006 at 9:56 pmDon, my remarks were in response to steve’s comment. I just said that I was going to do the same thing (in my own small way) as was posted in his post.
February 21st, 2006 at 10:05 pmGA is not the only blatantly racist state…this same thing is being proposed in my home state of MO.
February 21st, 2006 at 10:19 pmBackwards hillbillies rule the state.
The ’stay-home-and-vote’ campaign has attracted at least a dozen sponsors and organizations.
Contact info for Rep. Morgan:
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/house/bios/Thomas,%20Alisha%20Michelle/thomasalisha.htm
In 2004, of the 3.3 million ballots cast in Georgia, 670,000 were absentee — that’s one in every five.
The Secretary of State’s office says it expects there will be a great many more votes cast absentee.
February 21st, 2006 at 10:37 pmbbhhfd
February 21st, 2006 at 10:56 pm#13 – “If someone can’t even handle the most basic requirements in society, how can they make an informed choice at the ballot box?â€
How can people come to an informed state when Faux News and the other media Kowtow to the WH political propaganda?
How can one make an informed Choice when the Bush Admin has been Spewing, with the help of neo-con partisan Media, misleading and incomplete information designed so as to create the Greatest Emotional effect thereby cancelling informed choices based on Factual data.
The Country went to war with IRAQ based on fear tactics and Lies.
February 21st, 2006 at 10:57 pmAnd your talking about informed choices?
I don,t believe it. I just posted.
February 21st, 2006 at 10:57 pmCheck Out POGO. T.P. has the site under links.
Yea, Why hasn,t OBL been Caught Yet:/
February 21st, 2006 at 10:59 pmI believe that every State must have the same voting rules and regulations! If Georgia is allowed to require VOTER ID CARDS with a pic attached, then all other States must do the same! The same type of voting ballot must be used in every state and the same type of voting machine used too! Diebold and other monitor touch screen machines must be outlawed, unless they have a verifiable paper trail, so best to throw the damn things in the trash at present! Best type ballot is fill in the oval cards, that are then counted by electronic optical scan counter, but can be counted manually if a check or recount is needed! Absentee ballots have to be nullified if NOT received prior to election and/or do NOT have a postmark prior to election day! The goal must be 100% honest and transparent elections!
February 21st, 2006 at 11:09 pmSpudge_Boy > you have only a few months to demand that the Diebold voting machines be removed or destroyed in your State of California! Those machines are easily hacked, so if they are used next November, then expect fraudulent counts! I know because I voted in Florida the last election in 2004 and I now live in Georgia!
February 21st, 2006 at 11:16 pmI wondder how much kickbacks Georgie Boy is gonna get for giving an American piece of property to a Pro-Taliban, oil-rich country?
February 21st, 2006 at 11:44 pmAnd while the previous post was different, I have one question, do you think the President is thinking about making the Diebold machines his personal massage parlor?
February 21st, 2006 at 11:46 pmJay Randal,
You got your Voter ID Card? : )
This is how hackable the Diebold machines are:
February 21st, 2006 at 11:48 pm
JIMBO,
Look up.
February 21st, 2006 at 11:50 pmReply to post 87 JIMBO: In 2000 the only State that had bogus vote counts was Florida, but it gave the election to Bush, which means he cheated, and got Supreme Court to appoint him president! In 2004 Bush operatives got Diebold machines into operation in Florida, Georgia, Ohio and several other States to create fraudulent counts! It worked so Bush remained in power by cheating! So yes Diebold or other phony voting machines are Bush’s pleasure devices to keep himself and the GOP in power! This November the election will be rigged for a few Repub Senators to remain in office and/or to get a few new GOP stooges into the Senate!
February 21st, 2006 at 11:59 pmSpudge_Boy I have a Georgia Drivers License and voter ID card without a pic and a Passport too! If you do NOT have a license you have to get a ID card with a pic attached, but I do not know why Georgia wants $35 to issue one, since a license is about $18, so I guess the fee is to discourage poor non-drivers to NOT vote in this State?!
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:07 amUnder the new law, anyone can vote with an expired passport and no GA-DL. No address is shown, so a person could initially register in one precinct, move ten times around the state and still be allowed to vote in the first precinct.
The GA law was never about stopping fraud.
It’s about vote supression.
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:33 amSimply put the non repugs have to vote by absentee ballot in any state with electronic voting or ID card rules like Georgia, at least then the diebold machines won’t know how many votes to add because the machines will be tabulated before the absentee count is finished.
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:38 amWe are outsourcing democracy to Iraq. In that shipment of democracy was also a few cartons of common decency, a case of liberty and justice, and few cans of truth and honesty.
-GSD
February 22nd, 2006 at 1:18 amThe 2006 election is a foregone conclusion. As is the 2008 Presidential election.
The Mayan Calendar ends in 2012.
Are you ready for what happens next?
February 22nd, 2006 at 2:32 amSorry this is a bit off topic, yet tangent to our current situation.
Many here have been using Orwells 1984 as a type of Parallel to today. Fukuyama and the neo-cons oft speak of the Clash of Civilizations.
http://www.alamut.com/subj/economics/misc/clash.html
THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS
Samuel P. Huntington
Foreign Affairs. Summer 1993, v72, n3, p22(28)
from the Academic Index (database on UTCAT system)
Council on Foreign Relations Inc. 1993
THE NEXT PATTERN OF CONFLICT
World politics is entering a new phase, and intellectuals have not hesitated to proliferate visions of what it will be–the end of history, the return of traditional rivalries between nation states, and the decline of the nation state from the conflicting pulls of tribalism and globalism, among others. Each of these visions catches aspects of the emerging reality. Yet they all miss a crucial, indeed a central, aspect of what global politics is likely to be in the coming years.
see link for rest of Article
More Coffee!!!
February 22nd, 2006 at 2:40 amThere was a time when conservatives would balk at disenfranchising voters
When, exactly, would that have been?
February 22nd, 2006 at 2:45 amThe 2006 election is a foregone conclusion. As is the 2008 Presidential election.
The Mayan Calendar ends in 2012.
Are you ready for what happens next?
Comment by Briseadh na Faire — February 22, 2006 @ 2:32
As well do the Southwestern Bowl Calendars and the I Ching. =)
February 22nd, 2006 at 2:54 am
February 22nd, 2006 at 3:10 amthe most unfathomable thing to me, as an englishman now resident in the USA and living in Memphis. i just do not understand why this great country has so many racists, and worse, racists who are in a position to influence the law-making, as in this Georgia case.
answers please, from racists and non-racists alike.
February 22nd, 2006 at 3:25 amDemand immediate ARREST of the Bush cabal and NOW, before they pull off another 9-11 attack on U.S. and have our troops arrest them IMMEDIATELY! HE/THEY WANT ANOTHER ATTACK ON U.S. PEOPLE SO HE CAN MAKE IT FINAL BECOMING THE DICTATOR HE WANTS TO BECOME! DEMAND OUR TROOPS ARREST THEM AND NOW! BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE! IMPEACHMENT IS TAKES TOO LONG! DEMAND OUR TROOPS ARREST HIM/THEM AND NOW FOR TREASON, WAR CRIMES,WAR PROFITEERING,ETC.! I TOTALLY BELIEVE HE/THEY ARE PLANNING ANOTHER 9-11 ATTACK ON U.S. LIKE THEY WERE BEHIND THE FIRST TIME!
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:05 amFunny, I don’t even see any of the neo-conservative trolls common to these boards defending this.
I guess they aren’t racist like their Georgia counterparts.
Yea, Georgia! Way to turn back the clock 60 years! You can pick your white hood and robe on the way out.
Seriously, I give this 3 months before it’s struck down by a federal court.
February 22nd, 2006 at 8:38 am#102
February 22nd, 2006 at 8:57 amThe U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division doesn’t see racism here, funny that you do. Think for one moment…If Georgia’s voter ID plan was racially motivated, and the Department of Justice doesn’t have a problem with that–Where is the huge outcry from the black community? Where are the Jesse Jacksons and the Al Sharptons? Answer? Nowhere! There’s no merit to the claims of racism. You’re reacting to comments made in response to allegations of racism. The press picks this up and tries to promote some sort of scandal instead of just reporting the facts. Congratulations–you bought it.
#103 Al Gonzo rejected the civil rights lawyers at DOJ, and you still have not answered my question. Should the ID be available in every Georgia county? Not what are they doing or why but DO YOU THINK they should make every county seat a place where the voters who need to can get this necessary ID to vote?
February 22nd, 2006 at 9:06 am#101
February 22nd, 2006 at 9:15 amDid you lose your tin-foil hat? Don’t panic, I’m sure some of the regulars here can help you make another one.
Sounds like a case for Civil Rights
Comment by EasyRider #2
EasyRider,
Since Bushiva occupied the White House the Civil rights Division has been gutted…
…a step-n-fetchit, self-loathing Bushite al Cracker wannabe (like that Christie guy, or Armstrong Williams) whose name escapes me is masquerading as the Civil Rights division’s chief attorney…
…but mostly all of the career attorneys who actually gave a da*n about protecting civil rights have resigned, and moved on…
The Bushite conservatives and neocon traitors are pushing us to resolve the civil war once and for all…
February 22nd, 2006 at 9:26 am#104
February 22nd, 2006 at 10:30 amI’d love to answer your question Clif, but I sense that it’s loaded because of your persistance. I can’t find any facts on which counties you can get ID’s in, and which counties you can’t, and Georgia’s reasons for that. I do know that Georgia typically ranks 48th in the nation in the percentage of eligible adults who take part in the electoral process, and they are working to change that. I’m assuming that you believe in Georgia’s voter ID plan, they’ve conveinently excluded certain counties in order to adversely affect blacks. That just doesn’t make any sense. No one would do that. No government agency would approve of that. So whatever Georgia’s reasons are for not making ID’s available in all counties, I’m pretty confident that they’re not trying to reduce their percentage of voters. Nor do I think they wish to disenfranchize blacks.
slow reaction to Katrina a coincidence?
February 22nd, 2006 at 10:45 am#17 – #13 – “If someone can’t even handle the most basic requirements in society, how can they make an informed choice at the ballot box?â€
Last time I looked you don’t have to be responsible or informed to vote. While both might be desirable, neither is required.
Comment by Zookeeper — February 21, 2006 @ 6:54 pm”
Yeah, look at all the people who watch FOX news. They vote. The even walk upright, mostly.
February 22nd, 2006 at 11:11 amResponse to #103 and 107:
First, you are incorrect to claim that the DOJ did not see racism with Georgia’s plan. The career lawyers in the Civil Rights Division were strongly in favor of challenging GA’s obviously discriminatory plan, but were overruled by the politically appointed hacks who now run DOJ. Furthermore, the career lawyers were actually told that they would no longer be permitted to issue any sort of legal opinions on voting rights issues. Thus, it is obvious that the political arm of the DOJ is muzzling the real experts on the law within the DOJ so they can put the DOJ imprimatur of approval on the Republican-designed voter disenfranchisement plan in GA.
Second, I’m not sure that you have been asked this question directly, but I am sure that you have not answered it in any of your posts, so I will ask it now as clearly as I can. You keep insisting that Georgia does not want to disenfranchise poor blacks and that you are sure that Gerogia’s reason for not providing places to obtain the required ID cards in every county in the state has nothing to do with making it difficult or impossible for poor blacks to get the cards. (We’ll put the issue of the excessive cost of the cards aside for the moment.) But the question really should be, why is the GA plan set up this way? Can you or anyone else provide a legitimate, convincing, and logical reason why facilities are not provided in all counties? Just saying that it wouldn’t make sense for Georgia to exclude certain counties in order to adversely affect blacks isn’t good enough; that is not an answer to the question, that’s just a vague rationalization. And can you answer the corollary question: why should Georgia not be required to provide facilities in all counties?
February 22nd, 2006 at 11:44 amAntagonist:
So, you don’t find this slightly odd that the mandated voter ID card is available in only 37% of the state’s counties.
And that the 6 counties with the highest percentage of black voters are not within those 59 counties that do offer the card?
So, you’re requiring all of those people to make a special trip to a neighboring county or two to get this ID card? You’re making them jump through hoops to allow them to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
You seriously think this is good program? I’m all about reducing voter fraud, but not at the expense of constitutional rights.
February 22nd, 2006 at 11:48 amIt is hard to believe we are called a great Democracy today, and example for all, and the way we conduct elections and vote is like from the dark ages.
The average age of people working the polls has to be 85.
Bottom line, whatever solution is presented has to be inclusive and fair, or it isn’t a solution but a biased political tactic — which considering the state of our politics today it is something we all need to watch out for.
The people in Georgia, at this time, should be the most angry.
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:25 pmI got your bitch in my pants loser.
Comment by I-RIGHT-I — February 22, 2006 @ 9:31 am
We are… well, only those who value every vote, and so, let’s just say that there a few who are actually ‘happy’ about this. Takes a long time to change a culture…
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:31 pmThe people in Georgia, at this time, should be the most angry.
Comment by Jack — February 22, 2006 @ 12:25 pm
The people in Georgia, at this time, should be the most angry.
Comment by Jack — February 22, 2006 @ 12:25 pm
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:32 pmThe people in Georgia, at this time, should be the most angry.
Comment by Jack — February 22, 2006 @ 12:25 pm
We are… well, only those who value every vote, and so, let’s just say that there a few who are actually ‘happy’ about this. Takes a long time to change a culture…
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:33 pmFirst, you are incorrect to claim that the DOJ did not see racism with Georgia’s plan. The career lawyers in the Civil Rights Division were strongly in favor of challenging GA’s obviously discriminatory plan, but were overruled by the politically appointed hacks who now run DOJ.
Comment by peachkfc #110
So, you’re requiring all of those people to make a special trip to a neighboring county or two to get this ID card? You’re making them jump through hoops to allow them to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
You seriously think this is good program? I’m all about reducing voter fraud, but not at the expense of constitutional rights.
Comment by bobcat_grad #111
peachkfc and bobcat,
…If it looks like the old racist southern poll tax/literacy test, you can bet coming from GA it is…
If america is to truly progress and FINALLY live out the true meaning of its creed…
…then places throughout the south like Forsythe County, and Conyers, GA should be nuked…
…Antichrist is the classic, blindfolded, Bushite, al Cracker, quota-phobe, reverse discrimination victimized, inbred, racist…
…they’d deny lynching happened in the south if we didn’t have photographic evidence to prove it…
…of course Antichrist doesn’t SEE anything wrong with this GA plan…
…it’s not taking away any of Antichrist’s “white” privilege…
…and forcing Blacks to once again “jump through hoops” to exercise their rights as citizens…
…don’t waste your time with this sick, al Cracker sombich…
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:34 pmNon-Port Controversy…
How the heck did THIS happen?…
February 22nd, 2006 at 12:38 pmI have only lived in Georgia for about one year now, lived in Florida for about 20 years, and was born and raised in California! The surprise here is that Georgia is actually the least racist state in the south! Go to Alabama or Miss. if you want to see KKK fools prancing around! So anyway I find it strange that Georgians are tolerating this GOP plan to keep poor people from voting! Must be Zell Miller and Senator Chambliss who are behind this VOTER ID requirement!
February 22nd, 2006 at 1:14 pm#110 & 111
I’m not saying Georgia’s voter ID plan is a good idea. I’m merely defending the idea of having some approved identification in order to vote. There seems to be some problems with the practicality of this plan. I’m sure the state of Georgia needs to provide some explanation about their excluding several of their counties. I just think it’s wrong to automaticly impugn Georgia and the Department of Justice with your shrill charges of racism. In your minds there simply can’t be any other explaination because Republicans are involved and they’re evil. Bush appointed Gonzales so therefore he’s bad, blah, blah, blah…
February 22nd, 2006 at 1:30 pm#116
February 22nd, 2006 at 1:35 pmI see that you still haven’t found an interpreter.
#120 So why not go one small step further and defend the rights of every voter who is eligible to vote, which would mean the state government making it easier for legitimate voters to go to the polls instead of putting OBVIOUS roadblocks thinly veiled as anti-fraud, This is very similar to Katherine Harris’s anti-felon scrubbing of the voting rolls in Florida, which removed many legitimate voters, just as this will. If you can not see this for what it is, then you are stupider than you try to appear on this board, and should go tell your mother to stop letting you play on the computer.
February 22nd, 2006 at 3:03 pm#121
February 22nd, 2006 at 3:54 pmYou’re focusing on the wrong part of this conversation and this story. Take your ritalin and try to pay attention. This story as posted by Thinkprogress is designed to level charges of racism, and to inflame the passions of the readers. I’m suprised that the independent free-thinkers here don’t look into the reasons why Georgia hasn’t made it possible to get ID’s in all of its counties. You automaticly assume the charges of racism are true, simply because you want them to be. Did it ever occur to you that this may well be typical government in action? The old addage of putting the cart before the horse, or the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Of course not, that wouldn’t be as useful as slanting every story to make conservatives or Republicans fit your preconceived profile of them. Here’s an idea… move out of your parents house, get a job, and start paying taxes. Eventually you’ll turn into a conservative.
#121 Here’s an idea… move out of your parents house, get a job, and start paying taxes. Eventually you’ll turn into a conservative.
Does service in the armed forces of this country until disabled due to Desert Storm count?
February 22nd, 2006 at 4:31 pmI have only lived in Georgia for about one year now, lived in Florida for about 20 years, and was born and raised in California! The surprise here is that Georgia is actually the least racist state in the south!
Comment by Jay Randal — February 22, 2006 @ 1:14 pm
I pretty much grew up here (Georgia), but left for a few years to live in California, and very recently came back.
I think a lot of people are still racist here – they’re just polite about it. And the amount of racism seems to be some correlation with how far away you are from Atlanta :). What a lot of people don;t know is that the Southern Plantation Owners created racism to deflect from the fact that they were cruel slave masters who treated all of their workers appallingly. But the Immigrants and the Slaves were too busy fighting with one another over skin color to notice. I think it’s no different now between the Left and the Right, when really – we want the same basic things. We need to wake up… And stop fighting with one another. Join together and stop the ravaging of our country before it’s too late.
February 22nd, 2006 at 5:13 pm#109 – Funny, Electric Bass Player. Some of those people are in my own family!
Some in this comment section are focusing too closely on the race issue. I think that exists to a certain degree, but it might actually be the ugly step-sister to racism — classism.
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:02 pm#125 the wingnuts don’t know the difference, to them all the poor are deficient for some reason, otherwise they would not be poor.
February 22nd, 2006 at 9:31 pmThe Department of Justice used to focus on expanding minority voting rights — now they are approving plans to restrict them. There was a time when conservatives would balk at disenfranchising voters — today it’s standard practice.
– Sam Davis
It ain’t no thang Sam. The brutha’s an sistu’s can jus counterfeit them like they do drivers licenses, proof of insurance, handicap parking permits and welfare documents.
February 22nd, 2006 at 9:47 pmJust be glad Sam that I’m not your Fearless Leader because if I were no citizen of this country that cashes a government check of any kind would be allowed to vote. Period. It’s a conflict of interest baby.
#127 IRI How about the retired veterans? They cash government checks. And the ones disabled in combat, their checks say US Treasury, I know because I get one for my disability from Operation Desert Storm, served there 19 Dec 1990- 7 Jun 1991, 100% disabled.
February 22nd, 2006 at 10:45 pm#127 Oh I also forgot how about the soldiers currently serving in Iraq Afganistan their checks also come from the US Government .
February 22nd, 2006 at 10:46 pmCome on IRI tell me why these people who are a citizen of this country that cashes a government check of any kind would be allowed to vote. Period. You know the soldiers and the veterans of the military, you are so wise to know it all…………nyet
February 22nd, 2006 at 10:56 pmWell, if everyone who has ever cashed a gov. check are out, anyone who has ever cashed a tax refund check- BUH-BUY! Guess that just leaves ummm, well, hmmmm…..
February 23rd, 2006 at 4:22 amI AM A MAN
I AM A MAN
I AM A MAN
I AM A MAN!!!
February 23rd, 2006 at 5:48 am#119:
Antagonist, I’m perfectly willing to believe that there may be some other possibly legitimate explanation for this apparently racist and discriminatory voter disenfranchisement scheme. However, neither you nor anybody else has come forward with one. At this point, I’m not making a judgment on whether Georgia is intentionally trying to disenfranchise large numbers of poor, black, presumably Democratic voters, although based on some of the statements made by Georgia officials, it certainly seems that way. Be that as it may, however, under Federal Civil Rights law, (and I’m greatly simplifying and paraphrasing here, so don’t jump down my throat if this is not perfectly phrased) if the program has an apparently discriminatory effect, even if it is arguably unintentional, the burden is on the State of Georgia to show that either there really isn’t any discriminatory effect or that the apparently discriminatory effect is the innocent or inadvertent result of some neccessary part of the way the prgram is set up. That may still not be enough to get them off the hook, but I haven’t heard anybody make even a stab at trying to explain that, one, the program does not, in fact, result in discrimination or that, two, any possible discrimination is the unintentional effect of some necessary aaspect of the program. In fact, I still haven’t heard any explanation at all from Georgia except that this is the way is, so shut up and get over it (or words to that effect.) Your sole argument seems to be that those who oppose this program as it has been set up only think it’s racist because it was set up by Republicans, so therefore our complaints must be dismissed out of hand. That is an empty and useless argument that doesn’t advance your position in any way at all. You’ve got to do better than that.
February 23rd, 2006 at 10:39 amAntagonist, I’m perfectly willing to believe that there may be some other possibly legitimate explanation for this apparently racist and discriminatory voter disenfranchisement scheme.
Comment by peachkfc
How could there be a legitimate reason for it if it is a racist and discriminatory voter disenfranchisement scheme?
Your mind is made up. Because it’s the South of course it’s racist. So what? Under my plan the welfare queens and others living off the tit of my tax dollars aren’t going to get to vote anyway. That takes care of the racial problem because everybody knows(and are quick to point out) that there are more white folk on the dole than black folk. See how easy that is to become racially inclusive at the stroke of a pen? Damn I’m good.
February 23rd, 2006 at 11:40 amthe most unfathomable thing to me, as an englishman now resident in the USA and living in Memphis. i just do not understand why this great country has so many racists, and worse, racists who are in a position to influence the law-making, as in this Georgia case.
answers please, from racists and non-racists alike.
Comment by kingfelix
You’re rather quick to throw down the racist card aren’t you? But let’s face it, there are some people in this country too f’ing stupid to be allowed to vote. Why should some crack whore with fifteen bastard children be allowed to vote herself more welfare funds? Why should her vote cancel out mine? Is that racist or is that eminently practical? As an Englishman you should have more sense.
February 24th, 2006 at 9:53 amI live in Georgia and this article is ill informed and racist in nature. The reason the state wants people to show a picture ID (like the majority of other states) is that black politicians were paying and busing black voters to different polligng stations tocast multiple ballots. This happened a few years back when Cynthia McKinney was trying to get her district redrawn so that she could keep winning. There was one black lady interviewed on TV who said she had voted 12 times for one candidate, many of the votes at the same locations. I guess she wore a disguise. How ridiculous is it to say that requiring a photo ID to vote is racist? That’s just stupid. The real problem is that increased real estate values and tax bases are driving the blacks out of the city and now for the first time since the 1960’s Atlanta is a majority white city. The blacks are mad sothey raise a stink. Pitiful.
February 24th, 2006 at 11:40 amBlack people are infamous in the south at getting high voter turnout. It’s the whole rebel-rouser initiative. There were some votes in the 1990’s in Georgia and Alabame where there were more black votes cast than the number of black citizens. That’s corruption. Asking for a picture ID should be the MINIMUM theydo in order to vote. I say fingerprint people and do retinal scans, otherwise they’ll bitch and moan about the Florida elections with Bush/Gore. Fucking black people would rather bitch and moan than do things the right way.
February 24th, 2006 at 11:43 amFucking black people would rather bitch and moan than do things the right way.
Comment by David Griggs — February 24, 2006 @ 11:43 am
You’ve met every one to be able to stereotype them all like that? If not, your argument isn’t valid.
Second of all, you’re bitching and moaning rather than doing things the ‘right way’ (whatever nonsense that means). Doesn’t this make you mad at yourself?
Racist Moron.
February 24th, 2006 at 12:23 pmI’m not bitching about anything. I’m explaining. This initiative (already on the books in most states) was started because BLACK politicians were rigging elections by VOTER FRAUD. THAT is why they are requiring PHOTO IDs.
Now in Georgia you can just show up and vote – no ID is required. Duh! That’s pretty dumb way to be “fair and accurate” wouldn’t you say you whiny democrat?
February 24th, 2006 at 1:23 pmThis is so stupid. the author of the article is an idiot. Requiring picture identification to vote is not racist in any way,shape or form. Most bank cards come with picture ID now as all driver’s licenses and state ID cards already do. There is nothing “racist” about trying to make people don’t vote multiple times. This is a non-issue.
February 24th, 2006 at 1:35 pmNow in Georgia you can just show up and vote – no ID is required. Duh! That’s pretty dumb way to be “fair and accurate†wouldn’t you say you whiny democrat?
Comment by David Griggs — February 24, 2006 @ 1:23 pm
I live in Georgia. There was a news reporter who did an expose in which she was able to vote at several precincts throughout the day. When she went to vote for real at her own, she had been tagged and not allowed to vote. That was several years ago. It was just appalling then as it is now. But to blame the black population for this is just flat out ignorant. Nothing gets solved that way, and frequently, it’s how wars get waged.
February 24th, 2006 at 2:09 pmI don’t “blame” anyone. I’m reporting a problem that is prevelant in the black community. It’s human nature to want your candidate to win and when you only make up about 10.5% of the US population I am guessing it is tempting to try and beat the system. That’s fine until you commit voter fruad (a criminal act). Requiring a photo ID is NOT racist. That’s my only point. Argue my tone, language, or whatever but the bottomline is that requiring a photo ID is justified, even if it only happened once.
It seems that black people translate “You must have a photo ID” into “White people hate black people.” I don’t know how or why but that is stupid. It’s not like they are saying ONLY black people have to use photo ID and white people don’t have to. Come on. Stop bitching.
February 24th, 2006 at 2:23 pmIt seems that black people translate “You must have a photo ID†into “White people hate black people.†I don’t know how or why but that is stupid. It’s not like they are saying ONLY black people have to use photo ID and white people don’t have to. Come on. Stop bitching.
Comment by David Griggs — February 24, 2006 @ 2:23 pm
You said:
Fucking black people would rather bitch and moan than do things the right way.
Comment by David Griggs — February 24, 2006 @ 11:43 am
I was pointing out that you’re a racist who was bitching about people bitching. That’s not bitching. It’s calling you out on your hate mongering and hypocracy.
I happen to agree on the issue of requiring i.d.s to vote, which I said so above.
And, before you accuse me again, I’m not a Democrat. I detest both political parties. As well as anyone who stereo-types and then whines like a four year old about them.
February 24th, 2006 at 3:08 pmRacist Moron.
Comment by unbelievable
Did you ever date a black guy?
February 24th, 2006 at 3:15 pmThen why are you doing it? Idiot. I am not racist. I am tired of overly PC bullshit. This article is stupid and ill informing – as are you. Good day moron.
February 24th, 2006 at 3:20 pmI like your creative spelling of “hypocrisy” as well brainiac.
Let me try and give you another example since you seem so ignorant.
I for one enjoy people to be clean around me. I do not like smelling body odor or bad breath, etc. If I wanted to pass a law thatsaid people needed to shower once a dayand brush their teeth, you would have black people saying it was racist because poor black people don’t have running water. that’s stupid because one thing has nothing to do with the other.
I don’t like homeless bums, panhandlers, or muggers either but that doesn’t mean I don’t like black people just because those sub-species of criminal are predominantly black.
Only immature, self loathing morons conclude that everyone who disagrees with them is a racist. It’s the easy way out.
February 24th, 2006 at 3:26 pmThen why are you doing it? Idiot. I am not racist. I am tired of overly PC bullshit. This article is stupid and ill informing – as are you. Good day moron.
Comment by David Griggs — February 24, 2006 @ 3:20 pm
You said:
Fucking black people would rather bitch and moan than do things the right way.
Comment by David Griggs — February 24, 2006 @ 11:43 am
The definition of racism is:
rac·ism
n.
The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
Yep, you qualify.
And if nit-picking my typographical errors is the best you can do – you’re a pathetic debater as well. Grow a brain. The problem isn’t black skin but elected representatives who tell you that it’s the black voter you should hate, while they are robbing us blind. You’re blaming the wrong people, and our country is falling apart. It would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic.
February 25th, 2006 at 1:29 pmYou should have to have a photo ID to vote. This is common sense and should be the bare minimum, in my opinion,to have a voice in elections.
The rule is NOT based on skin color as EVERYONE needs to have a photo ID and not just black.
BLACKS are causing a ruckus, not whites, therefore I amadressing the BLACK problem in my comments about this stupid article. I don’t see how requiring ALL people to have a photo ID is racist and NONE of your ignorant and predictible name calling has shown me the answer.
You are a rude and stupid person who would rather call people “racists” on an internet forum than show somebody how the proposed law is racist.
February 25th, 2006 at 10:40 pmYou should have to have a photo ID to vote. This is common sense and should be the bare minimum, in my opinion,to have a voice in elections.
Are you off your meds? How many times do I have to tell you that I agree with this?
You are a rude and stupid person who would rather call people “racists†on an internet forum than show somebody how the proposed law is racist.
Comment by David Griggs — February 25, 2006 @ 10:40 pm
All though my I.Q. qualifies me for Mensa, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that your comment was racist. Tough if you don’t like it, but YOU made the comment, and the dictionary doesn’t lie.
Maybe thinking before you speak is in order?
I don’t think the law is racist. But you most definitely are.
February 26th, 2006 at 8:16 am