A political news story that puts a smile on my face? Every once in a while. The Pennsylvania judge suspending the new voter ID law did just that.
When you look at the law requiring identification to vote, it seems like a good idea. They use the argument, “Hey, you need ID to buy booze, why not to vote?” Makes sense, right?
Not when you really think about it.
One of the most accepted forms of identification is a drivers license. And not everyone has one. Poor people who don’t drive usually don’t. The elderly who stopped driving a long time ago don’t either. And last time I checked, poor people and the elderly still have the right to vote.
The PA law allowed for people to get special ID cards so they could vote in this election. The judged ruled that the law shouldn’t be enforced for the November election. It is just five weeks away – which isn’t enough time for people to get their ID cards.
I hope that GOP Pennsylvania State Representative, Mike Turzai, is crying into his beer tonight. He was shameless when talking about the success of voter suppression. Watch for yourself:
The GOP has made it perfectly clear with their voter suppression laws that they don’t want those who usually vote Democrat to be able to vote.
Daryl Metcalfe, the GOP Pennsylvania State Representative who sponsored the bill before it became law said,
Justice Simpson’s final decision is out of bounds with the rule of law, constitutional checks and balances for the individual branches of state government, and most importantly, the will of the people. Rather than making a ruling based on the constitution and the law, this judicial activist decision is skewed in favor of the lazy who refuse to exercise the necessary work ethic to meet the commonsense requirements to obtain an acceptable photo ID…Justice Simpson and the Corbett administration have chosen to openly enable and fully embrace the ever-increasing entitlement mentality of those individuals who have no problem living off the fruits of their neighbors’ labor.
Dang, don’t hold back now! Tell us how you really feel. I could dissect all that and show how he’s mistaken, but I don’t feel like it tonight.
So, on to happy things. I liked the statement from the Obama campaign:
“Today’s decision means one thing for Pennsylvanians: eligible voters can vote on Election Day, just like they have in previous elections in the state. The right to vote and choose our leaders is at the heart of what it means to be an American. The President and his campaign are committed to making sure that every eligible voter, regardless of party, has the ability to make their voices heard and participate in the electoral process.”
If you are eligible to vote and choose to exercise that right, nothing should stop you. You might be a PBR-guzzling, NASCAR-watching, gun show-attending Conservative. Or you might be a Chai tea-sipping, circle drumming, non meat-eating Liberal. Or anything in between those two stereotypical extremes. Bottom line:
You have the right to be heard.
Spinny Liberal 
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:10 AM
This is the GOP’s mantra these days. If you don’t agree with their views and support Obama then your nothing but a freeloader living off of someone else’s hard work. These people are nothing short of mean and nasty, not to mention clueless.
October 5th, 2012 at 4:53 PM
That is what makes me mad and depresses me at the same time. It’s like I have to constantly prove myself. And explain, “No I’m not a mother of 14 living off welfare, in Section 8 housing, and collecting food stamps.” I have a job, a house, investments, etc. If you listen to them, all Liberals are loser mooches. To that, I extend my middle finger. 😡
October 9th, 2012 at 9:36 AM
And what is tragically funny is that many GOP supporters live in trailer parks. They actually get clobbered by GOP economic policies, yet they treat them like holy scripture.
One part of the GOP (1% -ers) have put another part under their vampirical control. Count Romney is bringing ’em home this fall!
October 10th, 2012 at 9:36 PM
There’s nothing wrong with living in a trailer park. There’s everything wrong with voting against your own economic interests.
Great to see you commenting again, Sedate. 😀
October 3rd, 2012 at 5:17 AM
Interesting … the party behind the voter ID movement also champions freedom, liberties, and less government involvement. Hmmmmm … thanks for the video!
October 5th, 2012 at 4:54 PM
Right? It goes against who they’re supposed to be and what they stand for.
You’re very welcome. I hope lots of people see this video. 🙂
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:14 PM
my mom had to renew her driver’s license last year. she’s had a floriduhhh driver’s license with a picture for decades, but it was up for renewal. now, you’d think that since she’s had the picture i.d. from the dmv for decades, they’d accept that as proof of her being who she is. nah, this is floriduhhh! her passport expired years ago, and she didn’t have anything else that is considered valid. so, she had to get her birth certificate from new yawk. my mom was 86 years old at the time, and she had to go back and forth to the dmv 3 times, and it took several hours just to be sent home with no license.
my sister and i checked on the internets to see what the procedure was. there was a website that would get it for you, and, of course, they charge you for it. if i remember correctly, i think it was 15 bucks, but if you needed it within a few days, it was twice that. oh, let me add that my mom was lucky that we have computers, because she doesn’t know how to use one, so she would not have been able to find out any info. so, we filled out the form that asked for date of birth, parents’ names, etc. and sent it. they took the money, but they wrote and said that the city could not locate the birth certificate. that’s when the long-distance phone calls became necessary. you see, there were a few problems. number one, my mom legally changed her first name when she was in her late teens or early 20s. that meant that she was issued a new birth certificate. the other problem was that, for some reason, my grandfather’s name as listed as benjamin instead of abraham. my grandparents didn’t speak a lot of english when they came here, so we don’t know if they made the error or if it was a clerical error on the part of the city or the hospital. we had to pay the city more money since the site we first used kept the money for doing a search of the records.
all in all, it took almost 2 weeks and wound up costing close to 50 bucks (not counting the long-distance phone calls) and lots and lots of aggravation.
when they say that you need a photo i.d. to vote, even those people who do drive might find themselves up a creek with no paddles, because the laws in floriduhhh are ridiculous when it comes to renewing a license or floriduhhh state i.d. card.
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:19 PM
i forgot to add that no i.d. was necessary in order to get the birth certificate, so it was actually worthless in proving her identity.
October 5th, 2012 at 4:56 PM
That right there is ridiculous. Why bother? Oh yeah it’s so the elderly and poor people can’t vote.