Here’s what Republicans don’t get about their Jim Crow voter ID laws — before too long just about every person who wants to vote WILL have a picture ID and people WILL kick them out of office and undo the damage they wrought. For now the focus should be on getting voters the IDs they need to vote because ultimately we can’t depend on this Supreme Court to decide the laws are unconstitutional.
Voting
Bush’s major accomplishment?
It’s still early to be able to say for sure, but based on the trends so far in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, George Bush may have accomplished something positive after all: he may have energized American voters.
The turnout in Iowa was huge, and with eight hours left in the New Hampshire primary, precincts were reporting they were running out of ballots. Good news, eh? Well, maybe it’s a sign that people are starting to take the process seriously.
People are turning out because they’re angry, plain and simple. Many have woken up to the fact that you can’t leave such an important decision to so few people. We have to believe that when everyone participates, ultimately the best person will be elected because the majority of eligible voters cannot be stupid enough to elect someone who’s incompetent. Setting aside for a moment the fact that Bush actually lost the popular vote in 2000, it’s still important to remember that despite a personal lifelong record of failure he received a fair number of votes at all. Would he have been in the race had more people voted? I tend to think not. I think he energized a hard-core conservative constituency, one that does not reflect the beliefs of most Americans in general. I believe that many of the Americans who didn’t vote in that election regret not having done so, and are perhaps determined now to make up for it.
That lack of participation cost us dearly, and perhaps the chaos that ensued woke people up. Let’s hope so.
Liberal Buzz 