GOP believes it benefits by making voting difficult
Republicans believe — for valid statistical and historic reasons — that lower voter turnout increases their odds of success. So they have not been shy about using a variety of means, legal and otherwise, to try to keep voter participation as low as possible.
In Virginia, the state has begun an investigation into the destruction of voter-registration forms by a company that was hired by the state Republican Party. On Sunday, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sent out an email to his fellow Republicans, celebrating the fact that “when I looked yesterday, so far there are over 357,000 absentee votes cast. That’s barely over 70 percent of the 2008 total. That’s bad for them.”
In Ohio, Secretary of State Jon Husted, also a Republican, had to be forced by federal court order to open early voting to all Ohio citizens. Long voting lines over the weekend in Ohio testified to the importance of that ruling. Husted also had to be forced by court order to count votes that are accidentally cast in the wrong precinct because of poll-worker, not voter, error. Husted was more than willing to just toss those votes aside, stripping those who cast them of their right to be heard.
Furthermore, as the Toledo Blade reports, “Thousands of absentee ballot applications may have been rejected because Mr. Husted’s office did not send 33,000 updated registration records to local election officials until after the deadline for changes.”
The biggest problems, however, are occurring in a state all too familiar with election litigation and controversy. With immensely long lines already apparent throughout the state, Florida Gov. Rick Scott refused to extend early voting opportunities, breaking with the precedent set by his two predecessors in the office, both of whom were Republican. And in what may have been a freelance effort to shut down voting — nobody in an official capacity would ever approve such a stunt — early voting was interrupted Saturday at a Democratic precinct in Winter Park by the discovery of two “suspicious packages,” which had to be destroyed by a bomb disposal unit.
As Andrew Cohen writes in The Atlantic:
” … what is happening this weekend in Florida is simply unacceptable. According to a local election official interviewed by CBS News’ Phil Hirschkorn, the last “early voter” in line for Saturday’s truncated early voting in Palm Beach County finally got to cast a ballot at 2:30 Sunday morning, which means that voter waited in line for more than seven hours. In Miami, another traditional Democratic stronghold, the wait was said to be nearly as long. On Sunday, voters all over the state were begging judges and county officials for more time to vote.
This is happening not because of a natural disaster or a breakdown in machinery. It is happening by partisan design. Alarmed by the strong Democratic turnout in early voting in 2008, Republican lawmakers, including Gov. Rick Scott, reduced the number of early-voting days from 14 to eight….
If Florida’s election officials, and its Republican lawmakers, and its state and federal judges, all were required to stand in line for seven hours to vote, those long lines would go away forever. You know it, I know it, and so do those officials.”
No public official — no American patriot — ought to try to discourage fellow Americans from voting. No political party ought to advance its own prospects by trying to reduce rather than increase participation in the most fundamental rite and right of democratic self-government.
Because if that’s your route to power, you’re doomed to failure in the long term, and you ought to be.
– Jay Bookman
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558 comments Add your comment
Brosephus™
November 5th, 2012
3:00 pm
FWIW, the Constitution is the basis of law in our country, whereas the Declaration carries no such weight. At least, that’s what my First Amendment and Con Law profs told us.
That, I can not disagree with.
Doggone/GA
November 5th, 2012
3:01 pm
” The rights protected in the Constitution are the same rights from the Declaration, and they both come from the same place.”
Actually Bro…no they don’t. The rights we have are what WE agree are rights, and then the Constitution protects them. God has nothing to do with them.
HDB
November 5th, 2012
3:01 pm
FWIW…this is the path I see happening tomorrow…..
WA, OR, CA, CO, NM, MN, IA, WI,MI, IL, PA, MD, DE, DC, NJ, NY, CT,MA, RI, VT, NH, ME, HI…that gives Obama 272 electoral votes!! If he gets OH, and lose CO, Obama gets 281 electoral votes……..
Obama can lose both FL and OH…and still win!! If he gets EITHER FL or OH, Romney’s toast!!
barking frog
November 5th, 2012
3:01 pm
half a brain
the retirees want the 200 billion
Romney is promising to the
military to ensure the pensions
keep on coming.
lurker
November 5th, 2012
3:03 pm
N-GA
November 5th, 2012
12:50 pm
Jimmy Carter’s definition of “integrity” is a little different than mine. In one election that he “verified”, there was more than ample evidence of fraud. Carter still “verified the integrity”, because he was afraid that violence would break out if they told the truth.
Doggone/GA
November 5th, 2012
3:03 pm
“how would you like it if your bank let me walk in-person to the bank and withdraw money from your account WITHOUT id
False comparison. Care to try again?
Liberal Nightmare
November 5th, 2012
3:03 pm
“Evenly weighted? Pfffffft. You’re giving away your ignorance of polling and statistics.”
More of the same, calling someone who specializes in statistics ignorant is of course the epitome of ignorance. The guys at Akron who do the polling for…..the O-dumber campaign, were asked to weight based on populations in the northern counties so they could look at the “real” numbers. You’re messiah is toast and they now are looking at alternatives that do not include Ohio – which ain’t happening. Stay tuned…I’ll be back to rub it in on Wednesday!
Mick
November 5th, 2012
3:03 pm
matti@2:52
Well said!!!
Brosephus™
November 5th, 2012
3:03 pm
They BOTH
It usually boils down to money. That’s sad in some cases, but when you worship money above all else, that’s usually where you end up.
Billybob
November 5th, 2012
3:05 pm
nice liberal media template to incite emotions after your guy loses tomorrow……seems there are a number of these very same opinion pieces across the country jay……media matters directive…check
DCCC says the tea party is over ‘even if more republicans are elected they are now talking compromise’……delusional
obama today says we tried it his way and the economy grew, he created jobs, and deficits went down…..talk about delusional
hay jay,
your party is the party that will not agree to have a voter id law to ensure fair elections and like a typical leftist LIB you project what you do and say onto the republicans…..problemn is that it’s too late and radical leftists like obama and hacks like you that parrot them have lost the country and independents and reagan dems are going to the polls for the other guy this time……….enjoy reaping what the radcial leftist ideology has sown on this country since pelosi in 2007……….time to get in the back if i may borrow hussein’s own words…..this is fun
JamVet
November 5th, 2012
3:05 pm
Guess the military is a bunch of ignorant Fox News watchers according to this blog.
LN, you sure seem to know an awful lot about the US Military.
Is that from the History Channel?
LOL at the guys who talk real loud from the back of the crowd…
tm
November 5th, 2012
3:05 pm
This is how the Repubs respond to the shewed polling- making it harder for those who it is skewed in favor to vote.
Matti
November 5th, 2012
3:05 pm
Who “walks into a bank and withdraws money” anymore?
FYI, retired folks: modern payroll is done through direct deposit, as are SS and many other benefits. You can deposit checks with no ID, and even without being there in person!! Use your smart phone ap, or drop it in the drive thru tube. Cash is withdrawn via debit cards they send in the mail. You can still pay bills with checks, or do it online. NO ID REQUIRED. You can access your bank account and finances for decades without a valid drivers license. Welcome to the 21st Century.
Brosephus™
November 5th, 2012
3:06 pm
Doggone: The rights we have are what WE agree are rights, and then the Constitution protects them. God has nothing to do with them.
I agree to a point. It ultimately ends up in how one defines where the right originates. Some could say it’s ideas from man, while others could say it’s divine intent. I wouldn’t really quarrel over either one as they could both be correct in my book.
Tundra Dude
November 5th, 2012
3:06 pm
Half Brain posted the entire list of (ret) military officers, all of whom are probably heavily invested ($$$) in the War industry.
The Caymans candidate promised even more Wars and, of course, $pending.
(Is this a great country, or what?)
JamVet
November 5th, 2012
3:06 pm
I’ll be back to rub it in on Wednesday!
No.
But it will be fun (not) to see what exciting new name you have come up with then…
UNCLE SAMANTHA
November 5th, 2012
3:08 pm
you are just DOGGONE ignorant
you didn’t give an explanation on why YOU THINK that
so therefore you know you are bested
thus as explained by the blue book……. when bested tell everyone they are wrong and ignore any attempt to explain why
Joe Hussein Mama
November 5th, 2012
3:09 pm
L. Nightmare — “More of the same, calling someone who specializes in statistics ignorant is of course the epitome of ignorance.”
I call bullspit.
If you or the people you cite “specialize in statistics,” then you’d know that weighting a demographic sample invalidates the survey results. You’d also know that if you apply weighting to a sample, that invalidates the claimed Margin of Error.
“The guys at Akron who do the polling for…..the O-dumber campaign, were asked to weight based on populations in the northern counties so they could look at the “real” numbers.”
I very seriously doubt that. Weighting doesn’t reveal “real” numbers in this context.
“You’re messiah is toast”
I keep telling you people, but you don’t get it. I’m an atheist, and atheists don’t have ‘messiahs.’ (giggling)
“and they now are looking at alternatives that do not include Ohio – which ain’t happening. Stay tuned…I’ll be back to rub it in on Wednesday!”
I look forward to that. (laughing)
They BOTH suck
November 5th, 2012
3:09 pm
Bro
Exactly. I don’t begrudge those Generals and Admirals for their opinion and for backing Romney. In fact I thank them all for their service.
With that said, it would be nice to know how many of those on that list work or worked in some capacity for the defense industry or contracting / consulting for the DoD after leaving the military.
stands for decibels
November 5th, 2012
3:09 pm
what this all boils down to is a black man with a stick is frightening.
that, in a nutshell, all you need to know when you hear some doofus in here going on about the “new black panthers.”
Madge From Accounting
November 5th, 2012
3:09 pm
Thanks for the link found this to be intersting and it may/may not be relevant but………:
In general, would you describe your political views as:
Percent Total
Very conservative ██████ 6.84% 54
Conservative ████████████████████ 38.91% 307
Moderate ████████████████████ 37.01% 292
Liberal ██████ 6.72% 53
Very liberal █ 1.39% 11
Decline to answer ██████ 9.13% 72
JamVet
November 5th, 2012
3:10 pm
Or Maybe Republicans simply want something as important as voting limited to those legally entitled to do so.
Sounds good. And if you have been living in a cave for the past four decades, even believable.
But no, that is not the case at all.
The right-wing American fascists DESPERATELY want to limit voting, any way that they can.
The New Jim Crow Parity advocating literacy tests to replace poll taxes.
The great irony being that their failure rates in said tests would be just as high as it would be among their perceived enemies!
Doggone/GA
November 5th, 2012
3:10 pm
” I wouldn’t really quarrel over either one as they could both be correct in my book”
Well…I might be inclined to argue it, but mostly because of the separation of church and state thing. I’ve got no problem if someone puses a right because their religion tells them they should, but it’s still up to the people to agree. It can’t be made a right JUST because a religion says it should be. It still takes agreement.
Doggone/GA
November 5th, 2012
3:11 pm
“you didn’t give an explanation on why YOU THINK that so therefore you know you are bested”
If that was addressed to me, I have NO IDEA which of my posts it refers to.
the cat
November 5th, 2012
3:11 pm
I would like to suggest which ever candidate wins, the name calling stops. I myself have called the republican candidate Mittens but the names for our president pale in comparison. Can we pledge to drop the horrible names for either candidate?
Doggone/GA
November 5th, 2012
3:13 pm
“I would like to suggest which ever candidate wins, the name calling stops”
I hope you’re not going to hold your breath waiting though.
Mighty Righty
November 5th, 2012
3:14 pm
Here are some uncomfortable facts the Democrats and their coconspirators in the press do their best to keep concealed. Total United States Kia’s in Afghanistan under eight years of Bush were 636. In the three plus years of Obama United States KIA’s total 1,220. A more meaningful fact is that under Bush our soldiers controlled more than 60% of the country side and were for the most part safe in their own forts. Under Obama our troops have total control of no areas and are in great danger in their own beds. That is change no one can possibly believe in.
Brosephus™
November 5th, 2012
3:15 pm
Doggone
I think the agreement part is the ultimate deal maker. Regardless to where the idea originates, it won’t float unless there is mutual agreement from all parties.
Joe Hussein Mama
November 5th, 2012
3:16 pm
McCain Strategist: Voter Fraud Is GOP ‘Mythology’ (VIDEO)
A strategist for Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign said on Monday morning that voter fraud was virtually nonexistent in the U.S. and yet has somehow become part of the Republican “mythology.”
“I think that all of this stuff that has transpired over the last two years is in search of a solution to a problem, voting fraud, that doesn’t really exist when you look deeply at the question,” strategist Steve Schmidt said on MSNBC.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/steve_schmidt_voter_fraud_mythology.php?ref=fpa
JamVet
November 5th, 2012
3:16 pm
Madge, yet Civil Rights, Women’s rights, legalized abortion, no Jesus or Adam and Eve in public schools and an entire society’s worth of liberal laws rule the land.
Thank gawd! We’re not stuck in the Republican wet dream of the 1950s!
So who cares what people call themselves…
Brosephus™
November 5th, 2012
3:16 pm
“I would like to suggest which ever candidate wins, the name calling stops”
I hope you’re not going to hold your breath waiting though.
Sounds like a reason to invest in one of those “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” buttons.
Billybob
November 5th, 2012
3:17 pm
jamvet,3:10
welcome to the day of DCCC, Hussein and your delusional thinking……the strawman liberal debate tactic is out and doesn’t work anymore……valid picture legal id to vote will be the norm in 2016….time to actually fix these issues…….no more strawman liberal bullspit……
Joe Hussein Mama
November 5th, 2012
3:17 pm
M. Righty — “Total United States Kia’s in Afghanistan under eight years of Bush were 636. In the three plus years of Obama United States KIA’s total 1,220.”
How many American lives were wasted by us screwing around in Iraq when we should have been going after OBL in Afghanistan in the first place?
I really don’t think you want to do the math on this, Righty.
Madge From Accounting
November 5th, 2012
3:18 pm
I’m with you cat!!
After tomorrow no more awful names for the two contenders!!!
No more MittMonster
Magic Mormon Underpants guy
Maniac Eyes (ever see his eyes?!? Every picture he takes looks like he’s high on crack or something!)
Plastic Man
The incredibly shrinking brain
Or Flippity Flopper!
No more names like the ones above I PROMISE!!!
but……….since it’s not over yet……………..
Mr. Etch-o-Sketch
Mr. Sissy Pants
Mr. 47%er
Mr. Fake Laughter Cause He Can’t Understand The Freaking Joke But He Doesn’t Want To Seem Like A Dunce
Mr. Freeze.
Whew!! Glad i got that out of my system!!!
JamVet
November 5th, 2012
3:18 pm
billybob,
English, please.
Slow down, take a deep breath and tell me what your problems are.
LOL…
independent thinker
November 5th, 2012
3:18 pm
Republicans cheat? Never! Not even to get W. reelected in 2004 -would they?
“”"”"”"”"”Despite the media blackout, indications continued to emerge that something deeply troubling had taken place in 2004. Nearly half of the 6 million American voters living abroad(3) never received their ballots — or received them too late to vote(4) — after the Pentagon unaccountably shut down a state-of-the-art Web site used to file overseas registrations. A consulting firm called Sproul & Associates, which was hired by the Republican National Committee to register voters in six battleground states,(6) was discovered shredding Democratic registrations.In New Mexico, which was decided by 5,988 votes,malfunctioning machines mysteriously failed to properly register a presidential vote on more than 20,000 ballots. Nationwide, according to the federal commission charged with implementing election reforms, as many as 1 million ballots were spoiled by faulty voting equipment — roughly one for every 100 cast.
The reports were especially disturbing in Ohio, the critical battleground state that clinched Bush’s victory in the electoral college. Officials there purged tens of thousands of eligible voters from the rolls, neglected to process registration cards generated by Democratic voter drives, shortchanged Democratic precincts when they allocated voting machines and illegally derailed a recount that could have given Kerry the presidency. A precinct in an evangelical church in Miami County recorded an impossibly high turnout of ninety-eight percent, while a polling place in inner-city Cleveland recorded an equally impossible turnout of only seven percent. In Warren County, GOP election officials even invented a nonexistent terrorist threat to bar the media from monitoring the official vote count.
But what is most anomalous about the irregularities in 2004 was their decidedly partisan bent: Almost without exception they hurt John Kerry and benefited George Bush. After carefully examining the evidence, I’ve become convinced that the president’s party mounted a massive, coordinated campaign to subvert the will of the people in 2004. Across the country, Republican election officials and party stalwarts employed a wide range of illegal and unethical tactics to fix the election. A review of the available data reveals that in Ohio alone, at least 357,000 voters, the overwhelming majority of them Democratic, were prevented from casting ballots or did not have their votes counted in 2004(12) — more than enough to shift the results of an election decided by 118,601 votes.(13) (See Ohio’s Missing Votes) In what may be the single most astounding fact from the election, one in every four Ohio citizens who registered to vote in 2004 showed up at the polls only to discover that they were not listed on the rolls, thanks to GOP efforts to stem the unprecedented flood of Democrats eager to cast ballots.(14) And that doesn?t even take into account the troubling evidence of outright fraud, which indicates that upwards of 80,000 votes for Kerry were counted instead for Bush. That alone is a swing of more than 160,000 votes — enough to have put John Kerry in the White House.”"”"”"”
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0601-34.htm
And guess which candidate has ties to ownership of a significant number of voting machines?
Karl Rove; the master of dirty tricks going back to Nixon, has a lot of money placed on Romney winning . He wouldn’t be involved would he?
Pass the Cheesy Grits Please
November 5th, 2012
3:19 pm
Either way Obama is going to win and at this point they know it.
Got a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue all set aside for the occasion.
Most enjoyable moment of the night will be when they start to call it for Obama.
Then ill switch right over to Fox to see how many heads explode.
Pass the Cheesy Grits Please
November 5th, 2012
3:21 pm
valid picture legal id to vote will be the norm in 2016….
Umm no it wont.
Gay marriage may be legal everywhere by then though.
Joe Hussein Mama
November 5th, 2012
3:21 pm
Cheesy Grits — “Then ill switch right over to Fox to see how many heads explode.”
Did you ever see Scanners?
Madge From Accounting
November 5th, 2012
3:22 pm
Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) sharply criticized Gov. Rick Scott (R) on Sunday for his refusal to extend early voting hours in the state as individuals waited for hours in lines at the polls.
“The only thing that makes any sense as to why this is happening and being done is voter suppression,” Crist said in an interview with The Huffington Post on Sunday. “That’s unconscionable. I think it’s just the wrong thing to do. And the right thing to do would be to sign an executive order to make sure this doesn’t happen and you expand the hours.”
Scott has denied that there’s any problem, saying it’s “very good” that people are turning out to vote. Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner (R) argued the current situation is not an actual emergency that necessitates longer hours.
Crist disagrees. In 2008, he signed an executive order that increased the number of early-voting hours after individuals faced long lines at the polls.
“I did it because the disaster that was happening was that people weren’t being able to exercise this precious right that is the foundation of our democracy. That’s a disaster,” he said. “When you have people waiting in line for four or five or even more hours — and a lot of them are senior citizens like they are in the state of Florida — that’s a disaster. And it’s wrong. And it’s indefensible.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/04/charlie-crist-rick-scott-florida-early-voting_n_2073661.html
Doggone/GA
November 5th, 2012
3:22 pm
“Regardless to where the idea originates, it won’t float unless there is mutual agreement from all parties.”
Yep, and that is why they come from US, not from any God!
Pass the Cheesy Grits Please
November 5th, 2012
3:23 pm
Madge, yet Civil Rights, Women’s rights, legalized abortion, no Jesus or Adam and Eve in public schools and an entire society’s worth of liberal laws rule the land.
In the end the liberals always win. All the conservatives can do is try and keep the status quo for as long as they can.
But in the end they lose.
Madge From Accounting
November 5th, 2012
3:24 pm
Total United States Kia’s in Afghanistan under eight years of Bush were 636. In the three plus years of Obama United States KIA’s total 1,220.”
Seriously , what does the amount of Kias in Afghanistan have to do with anything? Seriously?
Pass the Cheesy Grits Please
November 5th, 2012
3:25 pm
Did you ever see Scanners?
Yeah LOL.
Id actually give 100 bucks to see the look on Hannity’s face when he realizes its over and Barrack Husein Obama is still President.
Brosephus™
November 5th, 2012
3:25 pm
Yep, and that is why they come from US, not from any God!
Check and mate!!
Pare O'Dox
November 5th, 2012
3:26 pm
Paul Ryan squeezed in time on a four-stop, five-state day for a conference call with evangelical voters Sunday evening, issuing a warning about a second Obama term saying the president is putting the country on a “dangerous path” that compromises “Judeo-Christian, western civilization values.”
…
“It’s a dangerous path,” Ryan said on his opening remarks on the call, which has been rescheduled at least once. “It’s a path that grows government, restricts freedom and liberty, and compromises those values, those Judeo-Christian, western civilization values that made us such a great an exceptional nation in the first place.”
GOP code-speak for “Obama is a Muslim”. Trouble is, Obama is an avowed Christian, whereas Mr. Ryan’s running mate is…well…he certainly cannot be embraced under the umbrella of a Judeo-Christian.
Billybob
November 5th, 2012
3:27 pm
jam,
your use of strawman argument at 3:10 doesn’t address the problem or offer any solutions for the problem which is a typical democratic spin tactic now for decades…..a legal, picture ID to vote will solve the problem which is the solution republicans have been offering for years now……your ideology is on the way out of the white house and congress in just a short time now so i hoipe this was clear enough english for you even though i know you understood all of my previous points……but keep believing biden when he tells the uneducated and emotional democratic masses that the republicans are gonna take blacks and gays and women back 50 years…..it’s amazing adults can actually find some sort of truth in this nonsense……wouldn’t you say?
Old Goober
November 5th, 2012
3:27 pm
NEITHER STATE WILL CHECK WITH THE OTHER TO SEE IF THEY VOTED TWICE
Not quite true. After the 2008 election, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office conducted a pretty serious investigation involving people who voted in Georgia and also voted in Florida. The investigation uncovered several such instances. It was covered by the AJC.
Billybob
November 5th, 2012
3:29 pm
madge,
christ endorsed obama…..enough said
Oscar
November 5th, 2012
3:30 pm
I don’t have any problem with the Georgia I.D. law. Seems reasonable to require proof of id and current address as a requirement for voting.
And be sure to remove all names from voter roles at least two years after their death. Dead people should only be allowed to vote in one presidential election. Two would be unreasonable.
JamVet
November 5th, 2012
3:32 pm
billy, what in the name of Sam Hill are you blathering about?
I have NO issues whatsoever with requiring a photo ID to vote.
Now what the hell was that other racist and bigoted nonsense in your last diatribe about?
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
November 5th, 2012
3:32 pm
HEY
I got no action on OBAMAS promise to cut college tuition in half by 2022…does anyone out there see this as legitimate? Must be a ruse by that dirty old GOP…
Billybob
November 5th, 2012
3:32 pm
nice job to try to get the base revved up with this post here jay…….i think your words will be worth at least 2 extra obama votes….but only one of those voters will probably show up to the polls…..
Joe Hussein Mama
November 5th, 2012
3:33 pm
Billybob — “…..a legal, picture ID to vote will solve the problem which is the solution republicans have been offering for years now……”
It won’t solve the problem, not by itself. Many state IDs are too easy to forge, or to obtain with forged documents.
Oscar
November 5th, 2012
3:33 pm
Rights and powers come from the people. That’s us.
Constitution only establishes the government branchs and states the powers, and limits of powers, that the people have given to the governemnt.
Brosephus™
November 5th, 2012
3:34 pm
I got no action on OBAMAS promise to cut college tuition in half by 2022…
If I were a female, I wouldn’t give you any action either if you tried a sorry assed pickup line like that on me.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 5th, 2012
3:35 pm
…..a legal, picture ID to vote will solve the problem which is the solution republicans have been offering for years now…
Yawn.
What’s needed is a more tamper-proof photo ID, but producing, delivering, and maintaining the requisite data base would cost plenty and only serve to give you another point or two to bitch about.
lynnie gal
November 5th, 2012
3:35 pm
Democrats and minorities need a “Get Out of My Face” campaign, so they are aware of what to do when these “True the Vote” thugs try to intimidate them from voting. They should be instructed to push them aside and tell them to “Get Out of My Face”. I don’t advocate violence, but I admit I secretly wish that some harassed minority voters would take those self-appointed Republican “poll watcher” thugs out to the back parking lot and beat the crap out of them. The Republican thugs in Florida just successfully stopped the handing out of water to people (mostly of color, of course) standing in Florida’s hot sun for over 7 hours to vote. This should make Floridians even more determined to vote.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/171030/tea-party-group-blocks-florida-voters-stops-water-handouts-polls
Patty
November 5th, 2012
3:35 pm
Really, the Florida voters only get EIGHT days plus ELECTION DAY to vote and they can’t drag their butts out to the polls! Not because of a nature disaster, no! So it has to be those mean old Republicans’s fault, not the voters for not planning out their time so they could vote within the time limit.
Last Thursday, I finally got to vote after visiting the polls over the last two weeks–most wait times at the nearest polling place was between 3-5 hours. So I drove to another polling area in the county and voted.
Sorry, Jay, but you libs are just grasping at straws.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 5th, 2012
3:36 pm
…does anyone out there see this as legitimate?
We’re just not that into you, sport.
Mary Elizabeth
November 5th, 2012
3:36 pm
Thank you for this article. Voter suppression is unAmerican, unethical, and inexcusable. Every eye in America should especially be on Ohio’s Secy. of State John Husted tomorrow. Every American should condemn these actions of voter suppression and should speak out against their happening. If voter suppression can happen to some Americans – and be gotten away with – it can happen to all Americans, including you, in the future.
Please sign the petition below, as I did, and post it on your Facebook page.
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/ohio_voting/?r_by=50024-2278204-nWYPUkx&rc=confemail
———————————————————————————–
Billybob
November 5th, 2012
3:36 pm
read your own 3:10 post and try to follow……..
and that racist and bigoted diatribe you attribute to me was actually the words of your fearless vice president Joes Biden a couple of weeks ago to dem voters at a rally…..classic
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
November 5th, 2012
3:37 pm
Pass the Cheesy Grits Please
November 5th, 2012
3:19 pm
Why are BO supporters so sure BO is gonna win? Is it the polls, Kentucky windage, or some other form of entertainment? You can (arguably) only vote once…how do you know who and in what numbers are actually gonna vote this time around?
Doggone/GA
November 5th, 2012
3:37 pm
“What’s needed is a more tamper-proof photo ID”
There’s no such thing…and I have yet to see any proof that it is needed at all.
Mighty Righty
November 5th, 2012
3:37 pm
Madge From Accounting
November 5th, 2012
3:09 pm
Thanks for the link found this to be intersting and it may/may not be relevant but………:
In general, would you describe your political views as:
Percent Total
Very conservative ██████ 6.84% 54
Conservative ████████████████████ 38.91% 307
Moderate ████████████████████ 37.01% 292
Liberal ██████ 6.72% 53
Very liberal █ 1.39% 11
Decline to answer ██████ 9.13% 72
So 46% consider themselves conservative or very conservative while 8 plus admit to being liberal or very liberal. The 9% who wouldn’t answer are likely liberal since most liberals will not admit to being liberal in public. This is particularly true of Democrat politicians. Your statistics confirm every poll I have ever seen. When questioned, most Democrats want smaller government, less federal spending, a strong military, a balanced budget, less entitlements, lower taxes more freedom and less government intervention in their lives and believe in personal responsibility; all conservative values Their politicians campaign on most if not all of these beliefs but when elected throw out all of their promises. Obama is a prime example of someone who campaigned on a balanced budget, reduced government spending, a strong military, lower taxes, etc. Quite the opposite of what he did and attempted to do during his first and hoppefully last term. Yet the same Democrats who he betrayed are willing to vote for him again, It is like they are retarded or simply don’t pay attention. It is shocking to see the disconnect between words and action.
Doggone/GA
November 5th, 2012
3:38 pm
“Why are BO supporters so sure BO is gonna win?”
For the same reasong Romney supporters are so sure Romney is going to win. They WANT it to happen.
Billybob
November 5th, 2012
3:38 pm
lynnie,
don’t worry……leftists will cause violence……nice that you want that……definitely a emotional shaped democratic pawn…
Adam
November 5th, 2012
3:39 pm
I am amazed now at the number of conservatives I argue with over this and other issues, only for me to be proven right in the end about every single stance I take while they vehemently deny the possibility that I am right.
For example, one guy I was arguing with insisted – INSISTED – that the OFA lawsuit against the early voting restrictions would mean that the court would cut early voting for everyone, instead of simply restoring it for everyone.
I also predicted accurately (as did Jay, come on, it’s kind of obvious) that the Benghazi story was basically a pack of lies and nonsense. See Jay’s previous column for a succinct explanation of the facts. But I have one friend who just WOULD NOT let that go, claiming this proves he was a moron in foreign policy, etc, despite that fact that in every other area of foreign policy he has done extremely well. Somehow, the one screwed up event meant Obama was “in over his head.”
And tomorrow, roughly at 8 or 9 Eastern, I believe, we will treated to the major networks calling Ohio for Obama. I have been saying for a while now that Obama would win, and there are STILL conservatives on here who insist he won’t. I have a WHOLE LIST of posts ready to go Tuesday night or Wednesday morning on this.
And this voting suppression may give them more “hope” that Obama will lose, but in my estimation from looking at everything available, I predict this will not affect the states or the popular vote in too significant a fashion. Ohio will still be called for Obama, and Obama will also win the popular vote.
Madge From Accounting
November 5th, 2012
3:40 pm
“It’s a dangerous path,” Ryan said on his opening remarks on the call, which has been rescheduled at least once. “It’s a path that grows government, restricts freedom and liberty, and compromises those values, those Judeo-Christian, western civilization values that made us such a great an exceptional nation in the first place.
Aw Dang! The GOP/Ryanbot are trying to turn America into Afghanistan II. They’ve already made a step towards Sharia Law with their oppressive laws against women.
If romney wins, all of his wives, (and every other female), will be legally made to walk around in those ugly Mormon dresses and sing those depressing songs about death!
My only hope is that TheElder Wife Romney (Anne), insists that Gucci designs some of those burqas.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
November 5th, 2012
3:40 pm
BRO,
My most effective pick up line is as follows: “Would you possibly be interested in an extremely brief, meaningless, physical relationship?”
Saves on the bar tab and idle chit chat..
KAMCHAK
Well hello my close personal friend…. so instead of responding to Obama’s promise, you deflect with you not being that into me…great new strategy for you…
I am exceptionally proud of you! Can I send you a card?
Patty
November 5th, 2012
3:40 pm
lynnie gal–before you get your panties in a wad, we were told at our polling place in Gwinnett that they couldn’t hand out water or food to anyone in line. That line was over FIVE HOURS long! And the guys telling us this were black. This isn’t voter intimidation; it’s logistics.
Peace
November 5th, 2012
3:42 pm
Here’s how Jay’s lead graph would have appeared if written by a conservative. Not much difference:
“Democrats believe — for valid statistical and historic reasons — that higher voter turnout increases their odds of success. So they have not been shy about using a variety of means, legal and otherwise, to try to keep voter participation as high as possible…”
Corbin Sharpe. I think, therefore I am...I think.
November 5th, 2012
3:42 pm
“GOP code-speak for “Obama is a Muslim”. Trouble is, Obama is an avowed Christian, whereas Mr. Ryan’s running mate is…well…he certainly cannot be embraced under the umbrella of a Judeo-Christian.”
According to what i have read about the Mormon “faith”, their idea of what heaven is going to be like is pretty cool. A celestial gang bang all through eternity…I wonder if there are any 72 virgins things involved in it…ha ha…
stands for decibels
November 5th, 2012
3:43 pm
To the long list of “weird stuff our Mighty Righty appears to believe” you may now add:
The 9% who wouldn’t answer are likely liberal since most liberals will not admit to being liberal in public.
Richard Nixon
November 5th, 2012
3:43 pm
Why didn’t I think of that in Chicago?!
Tealiban Party
November 5th, 2012
3:45 pm
Mighty Righty
November 5th, 2012
2:24 pm
The foreignors would vote for Obama for exactly the same reason that Democrats in this country will. One they have no idea what he stands for or the think he will destroy the United States. Two, he is the only name they have heard of. Three, they are polically immature useful idiots. Four, they are merely expressing something they have heard thinking it makes them sound intelligent.
Thanks for proving the stereotype of the unaware, selfish American.
Madge From Accounting
November 5th, 2012
3:45 pm
Stevie Ray: I got no action on…………..
You should be used to that son…..
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 5th, 2012
3:45 pm
I am exceptionally proud of you!
Wonderful, ’cause the first thing I said to myself when I awoke this morning was, “Self, what can you do today to make Stevie proud of me?”
Always great to have validation of my goals.
Tundra Dude
November 5th, 2012
3:46 pm
got no action on OBAMAS promise to cut college tuition in half by 2022…
If I were a female, I wouldn’t give you any action either if you tried a sorry assed pickup line like that on me
LOL!!! Good Wun!
(as the resident party pooper, he should be used to the Maytag repairman-like role)
josef
November 5th, 2012
3:46 pm
QUESTION
Why are we still talking about this? This is about the biggest non issue to come down the political pike in years…
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
November 5th, 2012
3:46 pm
ADAM
Have you always been the smartest guy in the room? Congratulations!
So voter suppression provides hope? No further discussion remains on Beghazi? I can’t disagree with you about BO winning but there certainly exists more credible forecasters than you that still suggest it will not be too difficult for Obama to lose..
Anyhow, good luck with your projections and I look forward to seeing you already drafted commentary directed at your detractors…
Mighty Righty
November 5th, 2012
3:46 pm
Doggone/GA
November 5th, 2012
3:37 pm
“What’s needed is a more tamper-proof photo ID”
There’s no such thing…and I have yet to see any proof that it is needed at all.
Easily resolved. The card could be bar coded with a complete physical description of the bearer. Computeriized to keep track of number of times and locations where the card has been previously used as well as a photo embeded in the code. We have the technology to do it and we waste more than enough money on green jobs to pay for it. It could allow for a voter to vote anywhere while out of town on business or pleasure. It would forever eliminate voter fraud which means it would never be approved by Democrats.
stands for decibels
November 5th, 2012
3:46 pm
For the same reasong Romney supporters are so sure Romney is going to win. They WANT it to happen.
well no. Obama supporters are fairly sure Obama is going to win because that’s what the majority of state polling says is going to happen.
For it NOT to happen, a majority of state polls will have to not only be wrong, but they’ll have to be wrong in a way that happens to benefit Romney.
Such a thing is possible, but it sure isn’t what you want to be hoping for on Election Eve.
Tundra Dude
November 5th, 2012
3:47 pm
Ind thinker:
Republicans cheat? Never! Not even to get W. reelected in 2004 -would they?
Retired NSA Analyst Proves GOP Is Stealing Elections
http://bit.ly/U7vbn3
In Ohio, GOP consultant Michael Connell claimed that the vote count computer program he had created for the state had a trap door that shifted Democratic votes to the GOP.
He was subpoenaed as a witness in a lawsuit against then-Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, and lawyers for the plaintiff asked the Dept. of Justice to provide him with security because there were two threats made against Connell’s life by people associated with Karl Rove. But in Dec. 2008, before the trial began, Connell was killed in a plane crash outside Akron Ohio.
Jaddy Baddy
November 5th, 2012
3:49 pm
Ten years ago, GM sent our troops into battle in
Afghanistan and Iraq in Humvees that GM Knew did
not have heavy enough armor to withstand the
explosion of an IED, and got hundreds of our soldiers
killed. Barack Obama rewarded GM with a Five Hundred
Billion Dollar Bailout. From Wallstreet Banks to
Wallstreet insurance companies to Wallstreet Mortgage
brokerages to Wallstreet credit card hounds,
time and again, we have seen Barack Obama reward
failure, with excuses and bailouts.
How many months did he sit on his hands and wait for
British Petroleum to stop the Deep Horizon oil spill?
It took a congressional investigation to stop him selling
arms to Mexican Drug Lords. It took another congressional
investigation to beef up security at our embassies.
Yes we Can has turned into Oh No He Di’n't.
We no longer reward athletes and pass them, just for
showing up in class, we no longer reward students and
pass them just for showing up in school. What kind of
lesson do we teach our kids, when we reward a president,
just for showing up at a disaster? Like the victims on
the Gulf of Mexico, the victims of Sandy are beginning
to realize that a president’s presence, alone, is not
enough.
How long will the American voter reward failure; four,
more, long, years?
Winston Howell III
November 5th, 2012
3:49 pm
@ Kamchak: just devour your use of “Sport”, Luvie and I are heading off to the club to watch the ponies, ta,ta….
Pare O'Dox
November 5th, 2012
3:50 pm
Why are the majority of the polls only focusing on the popular vote? The fact that Romney or Obama holds a lead in a general sense makes no difference, since the Electoral College is the determinant.
Mighty Righty
November 5th, 2012
3:50 pm
Tealiban Party
November 5th, 2012
3:45 pm
Mighty Righty
November 5th, 2012
2:24 pm
Thanks for proving the stereotype of the unaware, selfish American.
You are welcome.
stands for decibels
November 5th, 2012
3:50 pm
Why didn’t I think of that in Chicago?!
probably because you still would’ve lost. 303-27=276, enough for JFK to win.
Travis McGee
November 5th, 2012
3:52 pm
Some of these ol’ boys have made a fine art of Mark Twain’s adage, “Get all the facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”
JamVet
November 5th, 2012
3:53 pm
billy, I accept your surrender.
Why are we still talking about this? This is about the biggest non issue to come down the political pike in years…
Of course it is.
But the faux conservatives are not convinced…
RW-(the original)
November 5th, 2012
3:54 pm
Why are BO supporters so sure BO is gonna win?
They get secret messages from a shiny Silver Nate
Joe Hussein Mama
November 5th, 2012
3:54 pm
Righty — “Easily resolved. The card could be bar coded with a complete physical description of the bearer. Computeriized to keep track of number of times and locations where the card has been previously used as well as a photo embeded in the code. We have the technology to do it and we waste more than enough money on green jobs to pay for it. It could allow for a voter to vote anywhere while out of town on business or pleasure. It would forever eliminate voter fraud which means it would never be approved by Democrats.”
The funny thing is, Righty, that this is about 70% of the idea that *I’ve* been presenting on Jay’s blog for the last several months — so you’re late to the party.
Good to see that you’re onboard with my idea, though. I’ll be sure to let the state GOP know that you’re no longer ideologically pure, okay?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
November 5th, 2012
3:54 pm
Luvie and I are heading off to the club to watch the ponies
Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
November 5th, 2012
3:54 pm
MADGE
Son? Can you send me money mom?
I take no action to confirm the points I raise are legitimate…of course anything said ill about you messiah is not to be tolerated here…same goes for Romney on Kyles.. Keep the silence coming..
KAMCHAK,
The only thing that outweighs your admirable humility is your soaring intellect..you know there exists a serious void in the publication of philosophy and logic text books…you should have a go!
Brosephus™
November 5th, 2012
3:56 pm
Why are BO supporters so sure BO is gonna win?
For the very same reasons that Romney supporters are so sure that Romney’s gonna win. They wouldn’t be supporters if they didn’t believe their candidate will win.
Saves on the bar tab and idle chit chat..
Adam
November 5th, 2012
3:56 pm
Stevie Ray: So voter suppression provides hope?
Hope of “taking our country back” yes. As far as conservative whackos are concerned, anyway.
No further discussion remains on Beghazi?
Read up and catch up:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/timeline-of-events-surrounding-effort-to-rescue-us-personnel-from-consulate-in-benghazi-libya/2012/11/02/c7670ec4-24c8-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/us-officials-no-delay-debate-over-rescue-effort-in-libya-libyans-slow-to-give-aid/2012/11/01/4c8697b6-2481-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html
I can’t disagree with you about BO winning but there certainly exists more credible forecasters than you that still suggest it will not be too difficult for Obama to lose..
It would not have been, at some point before now, difficult for Obama to lose. Except that he didn’t run a stupid campaign and only screwed up in the first debate. Benghazi didn’t even affect the polls.
Anyhow, good luck with your projections and I look forward to seeing you already drafted commentary directed at your detractors…
For clarity, I haven’t drafted it yet. All I have so far is a list of links with the appropriate names next to them in a note.
But yes, to the “smartest guy in the room comment,” when it’s me in a room full of conservatives, that would be accurate.
Mighty Righty
November 5th, 2012
3:57 pm
Pare O’Dox
November 5th, 2012
3:50 pm
Why are the majority of the polls only focusing on the popular vote? The fact that Romney or Obama holds a lead in a general sense makes no difference, since the Electoral College is the determinant.
Very true. However there is some benefit to the popular vote. For example, Bill Clinton never receieved a majority of the popular vote proving for ever that the majority of the American People at that time were not as stupid as the election would appear at first blush. That may very well be the case this time. Without a majority of the popular vote a president cannot claim a mandate making it much more difficult to govern. In Obama’s case a loss in the popular vote would temper his wild marxist ideas and make him copromise some of his radical ideas.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
November 5th, 2012
3:58 pm
RW
Now you should know better than to challenge Nate Silver…for god’s sake man, his resume is full of success in 2000, no…2004…no, oh yeah his rookie year was 2008..
How dare you?
Adam
November 5th, 2012
4:00 pm
Why are BO supporters so sure BO is gonna win?
Because the polling trends show Obama will win.