2 Hours After SCOTUS Decision, Texas Moves to Suppress Minority Voters

Texas shows how fast it can execute a dick move.
Image from source, Think Progress.

Emboldened by the Supreme Court decision to remove part of the Voter Rights Act of 1965, the State of Texas is moving forward with distracting maps that would previously have violated the act. The maps were already blocked last year for being discriminatory to minority voters, so I'd imagine they remain discriminatory. They're just legal now.

So, it took two hours for Texas to prove SCOTUS wrong. The law was still necessary, obviously. And my theory that Republicans are just trying to out-mean each other stands.

[Excerpt]

Two Hours After The Supreme Court Gutted The Voting Rights Act, Texas AG Suppresses Minority Voters

Just two hours after the Supreme Court reasoned that discrimination is not rampant enough in Southern states to warrant restrictions under the Voting Rights Act, Texas is already advancing a voter ID law and a redistricting map blocked last year for discriminating against black and Latino residents. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a statement declaring that both measures may go into effect immediately, now that there is no law stopping them from discriminating against minorities. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Redmap: Republican Plan to Win 2016 (Even if They Don't Get More Votes)

I don't usually run two posts in a row from the same source, but frankly, this topic is important. And to be honest, a clip from The Rachel Maddow Show is probably the easiest-to-swallow way to take your medicine, if you haven't heard of this issue. Rachel has a way of distilling a lecture into something you want to learn. And this one is a doozy. [Story continues below]

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you didn't know, the Republican victory in the House of Representatives in the 2012 election was achieved by gerrymander. More people voted for Democratic candidates total, but because of the hinky way that Congressional districts are drawn up, more Republicans were elected. This rubs me the wrong way, but is semi-tolerable, because by district, the Republican actually did win. The quarrel is only with how the districts are drawn. But, given the GOP desire to turn several "blue" states into "red" states--by changing the way electoral votes are divided--gives me more pause. With that scheme, the district gets the spoils, and ends in a result where the statewide winner can lose huge chunks of electoral votes even though he/she carried the state.

The fact of the matter is, had this scheme been in place in 2012, Mitt Romney would be getting inaugurated this weekend, despite losing by millions of votes. This sort of scheming could only be done by a party that doesn't care what voters think. It can only be done by a party that puts winning and power ahead of the wants, needs and desires of the American people. My question is this: do American conservatives and Republicans care? Or are they also willing to "win" at any cost, even if they really lost? Any conservatives want to tell me (Dan?). 

Reince Priebus: Win 2016 by Rigging the System?

Swing that hammer, Reince!
Image from source, Think Progress

There's a plan afoot in "blue" states headed by Republican governance, to change the way Electoral votes are awarded. The plan would essentially gerrymander each of the targeted states so that a Republican candidate is almost assured to win the state even if the statewide vote totals go to the Democrat. Barring that, it would at least apportion close to half of the electoral votes to the Republican even if he still somehow manages to lose. It's one of those situations where it's legal, but it ain't right. And it's very telling of the Republican philosophy, so on display in the 2012 election: rig the system wherever possible.

Some key Republicans were busted actually admitting that Voter ID laws were more about disenfranchising Democratic voters than it was about "protecting" the vote. And that was just one of the schemes they had going. It dates as far back as 1980, when modern conservative forefather Paul Weyrich said it best:

They don't want everybody to vote. It is fairly well known that if everybody comes out to vote--and is allowed to vote--Democrats tend to win. What kind of party has to scheme and plot to try and squelch the other side's votes? And what kind of party is totally cool with winning at any cost, even if it means cheating?

[Excerpt]

RNC Chair: Rig The Next Presidential Election For Republicans

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus did not simply endorse this election-rigging scheme, he indicated that it should be targeted towards consistently Democratic states where it is most likely to skew the presidential election to the GOP’s benefit. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Young Turks: More Voter Suppression in Georgia

Why don't you find any stories like this on The Drudge Report, FOX "News" or FreeRepublic.com? Gee, I wonder. . .

Oldest Trick in the Book: Flyer Sites Election Date as Nov. 5

Image from source, Think Progress

Good grief. All of this false hysteria from right-wingers about ACORN and nonexistent "voter fraud," and the real bad stuff is being done by Republicans. But of course you knew that.

The oldest trick to discourage opponents from showing up at the polls is to tell them their voting place has changed, or the voting date has changed. The latter is being tried again in Virginia.

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Phony board of elections flier tells Virginia Democrats to vote on November 5.

The Virginia Pilot reports today that a phony Virginia Board of Elections flier is being distributed in Hamption Roads, VA telling Democrats that they are now scheduled to vote on November 5. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Brave New Films: ACORN and the Truth About Voter Fraud

Just watch.

Robert Kennedy Jr. & Rachel Maddow on GOP Voter Suppression

We've had obvious vote tampering in our elections since 2000. Whatever may have transpired in the past, the 2000 and 2004 elections stand out the most. Several web sites focus on the issue every day (BradBlog being one of them). Major articles have been written, lots of studies have been done. It is all but 100% proven that George W. Bush shouldn't have won the 2004 election, and most likely shouldn't have been President in the first place.

And here we are again, another election, and more monkey business. Can't we fix this thing? And by "fix," I mean repair, not skew in the other direction. Fortunately, there are a whole lot more eyes and brains attuned to voter suppression this time around. So, even though the Republicans are throwing out the ACORN red herring, hopefully we'll be on to them this time. But will it be enough?

Bogus ACORN Claims, Voter Fraud and Ann Coulter

I just wrote up a piece on ACORN, and the bogus claims people are making against them to muddy the waters on election rigging (something Republicans do on a massive scale). But I'm not an expert, and have really only skirted the periphery of this subject. As I well know, some subjects are better covered by other bloggers, and I am not above showing you where they are, and what they have to say.

And the best part? Not only does this put the real ACORN story into perspective, it also highlights a case of genuine voter fraud, of the type that Republicans are insisting is the real problem. But the bigger problem is, that fraud was perpetrated by right-wing darling, Ann (the man) Coulter.

[Excerpt]

The facts about ACORN, and a juicy Ann Coulter link at the end

The Republican voter fraud hoax

Donald Duck and the Dallas Cowboys won’t steal the election for Obama. Acorn’s only crime is registering Democratic voters

Barack Obama and the Democrats are stealing the election. Massive voter fraud is being carried out, even as we speak, by their henchmen, known by the innocuous sounding Association for Community Organisations for Reform Now, or Acorn. Clever bastards. . .

Read more at: Bob's Interweb Party House

And if you missed the link to the Ann Coulter story:

[Excerpt]

Ann Coulter's Felony Voter Fraud Crimes: The Complete Story

While the conspiracy theorists at Fox "News" ramp up their "special investigation" into the exceedingly rare crime of voter fraud, misleading their viewers before the upcoming election with breathless reports of "illegal immigrants" and "people who are not even citizens voting for whomever they want" in order to "sway an election," I thought it might be useful to publish the complete cover-story, detailing Ann Coulter's no-uncertain-terms felony voter fraud, as it was published in the recent exposé I wrote for Hustler magazine. . .

Read more at: BradBlog

High Court Slaps Down GOP Voting Case

"Budget Cuts!" Image from JunkerToons

If you don't already know, there's something you need to learn about claims of "voter fraud." The term means different things to different people. To many, it means anything used to monkey around with actual votes and actual voters. That's a good definition, but it isn't the primary one in today's politics.

"Voter fraud" today is usually applied to Democrats and groups like ACORN, at least when it is used by Republicans. They claim that Democrats try to load up the voter rosters with illegal aliens, fictional people, and dead people. Actual confirmed cases of this nature are as rare as Sarah Palin's concise sentences, but right-wingers (particularly on radio and blogs) rail about them endlessly.

What really happens is, people paid to gather voter registrations are sometimes dishonest and/or lazy. They put down phony names, or urge others to do so. This is a proven fact, and is what you're seeing on the news when "voter fraud" is discussed. What has not been shown to be true, is that any of this actually leads to fraudulent votes. Mickey Mouse has so far not shown up at the polls, at tried to pull the lever (or punch the chad, whatever).

Ultimately, the right is trying to muddy the waters, to try and pin "voter fraud" on Democrats only. The truth is, election rigging is the province of Republicans, with voter purges and caging lists. Absentee and provincial ballots go uncounted, people who have changed their address (or have been foreclosed upon) are barred from voting. Democrats, if guilty of anything, are guilty of trying to get more people to vote. Republicans are very clearly trying to prevent more people from voting. And the evidence shows that Republicans stop far more eligible voters from voting than Democrats cause ineligible voters to vote. Got that?

So, stories like this one warm my heart. The courts actually doing the right thing? Have we actually started to turn the corner?

[Excerpt]

High court rejects GOP bid in Ohio voting dispute

The Supreme Court is siding with Ohio's top elections official in a dispute with the state Republican Party over voter registrations.

The justices on Friday overruled a federal appeals court that had ordered Ohio's top elections official to do more to help counties verify voter eligibility. . .

Read more at: Breitbart

Voter Rolls in at Least 19 States Being Purged

Image from source, BradBlog

Conservatives often rail about "voter fraud," where dead people, illegal aliens, criminals, and unregistered voters allegedly vote--apparently for Democrats. The cases have been pretty thin, with people convicted of voter fraud numbering somewhere around a few handfuls. Maybe not even enough to matter in Palm Beach County, Florida in the 2000 election.

But election rigging--a specialty of Republicans--is real, and much more effective. By various means, they attempt to sway elections, and probably (almost certainly, by my estimation) even decided both elections for George W. Bush.

Unfortunately, the issue apparently isn't very sexy to your average American, and only crops up in the news right before an election. Usually to late to do anything about it. And just as unfortunately, even when the rigging becomes known, very few people go to jail for it (Karl Rove, anybody?). You'd think in America that people messing with thousands of legitimate voters would be a big deal. But if they care at all, they're worried that Mickey Mouse cast one vote in Chicago or something. If they're going to focus on an illegal voter, you'd hope they'd finally go after Ann Coulter.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Even if you don't want to read this article, I urge you to click the link at the bottom of the story, and find out if you are registered to vote. Even if you know you are, it doesn't mean you haven't been "purged." It's an easy and useful tool, and took me all of two minutes.

[Excerpt]

BS News: New Study Details Massive Voter Roll Purges Underway in At Least 19 States

Tonight's CBS Evening News finally covered what may well be the November Surprise that we've been trying to warn about for months here at The BRAD BLOG: Massive voter roll purges being done in secret, with little or no oversight, and often under federal Justice Department cover, in states and counties around the country. . .

Read more at: BradBlog