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Necessity, the tyrant’s plea.
- John Milton
Of all injustice, that is the greatest which goes under the name of law; and of all sorts of tyranny the forcing of the letter of the law against the equity, is the most insupportable.
- L. Estrange
You hear Republicans describe their efforts at voter suppression in terms of “preventing voter fraud”. Listen to them long enough, and you might begin to believe America is beset by a plague of immoral, illegal voters queering the system and endangering our precious, fragile democracy. The reality, of course, is that voter fraud in this country is so rare as to be virtually (and certainly statistically) nonexistent and insignificant. No, when you begin to break it down for what it is, you begin to understand that Republicans from coast to coast are engaged in a campaign to deny minorities and the poor access to the voting booth. That these groups tend to vote Democratic is not at all insignificant; in fact, it’s the raison d’etre for Republican secretaries of state to manipulate and selective interpret the laws in their states in order to allow for the disenfranchisement of those considered unlikely to support GOP candidates.
Secretaries of state should be finding ways to get as many people as possible into the voting booth. After all, our democracy is based on the idea of one man, one vote, and it used to be that we worked to increase voter turnout. Now, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler is a prime example of the not-even-thinly-veiled attempts by Republicans at voter suppression. It’s like Gessler’s not even trying to hide the reality that what he’s engaged in is highly partisan voter suppression. When you can keep the “wrong” people from voting, it becomes much easier to ensure that the “right” people win. And Republicans are no longer even bothering to camouflage their efforts.
Hey, if you can’t win on the strength of your ideas, gaming the system is ALWAYS a good option….
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During less illustrious times in our history, poll taxes and tests served as hurdles placed before minorities to keep them from exercising their right to vote. Now we have “Voter ID” laws, ostensibly to reduce “voter fraud.” Both of these examples are classic cases of voter suppression. Poll taxes and test were designed by the White majority as a means of diminishing the Black vote. Voter ID laws are thinly veiled attempts to more broadly suppress poor and minority votes. By placing ever more and greater hurdles between poor and minority voters (who tend not to support GOP candidates) and the voting booth, Republicans are betting that many will simply give up rather than do what they’re required to do in order to vote.
There’s still uncertainty over whether or not Voter ID laws and other voter suppression efforts violate the Voting Rights Act. I’m not an attorney, nor am I versed in the minutiae of election law. What I do know is that what the GOP is up to nationwide is as reprehensible as it is anti-American. Though couched in the language of protecting democracy, the GOP’s efforts at voter suppression display an unmistakable disdain for democracy and the American ideal of one man, one vote. Voter ID is as much about protecting democracy as Pamela Geller is about embracing Muslims. It’s about gaming the system and making it as difficult and onerous as possible for those who don’t vote Republican to exercise their franchise.
The GOP’s efforts at voter suppression is cynical, dishonest, and anti-American. Of course, no self-respecting Republican will admit that what they’re doing is voter suppression. The reality is that the GOP doesn’t give a tinker’s damn about democracy or one man, one vote. What they care about- ALL they care about- is political power…and doing whatever they can to manipulate and game the system to their advantage. These efforts demonstrate both a lack of honor and an absence of respect for our democracy. How these tyrants can sleep at night is beyond me. Then again, I’m assuming they actually have a conscience, which clearly appears to be a stretch.
I can only hope that there are reserved parking space in Hell waiting for them….
WE DESERVE BETTER.
