Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Oh J.B. Van Hollen!

Oh my! It seems our fearless attorney general has decided he has waited long enough in temper tantrum mode and has now begun demanding that the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take up our state's voter ID law. The same law that judges have been placing injunctions on for months now. One of those judges, Judge Flanagan, calls the law, "the single most restrictive voter eligibility law in the country." This law places unfair requirements on people seeking to exercise their constitutional rights. When it was implemented, I aquired a thick packet of information on how someone can obtain an ID and what documentation they need to prove who they are in getting an one. My favorite requirement for homeless voters was a property tax bill. I don't think I've ever facepalmed so hard in my life. That part of the law right there should be an indicator of how crooked it is.

So now Mr. Van Hollen has taken all he is going to of seeing people exercising their freedom. He's hoping that the court takes up the case before the November presidential election (obviously so Romney can take Wisconsin and Thompson will win over Tammy) With all the injunctions, what does he think the supreme court will do? Not much. Not that we don't know how a certain few judges would rule (looking at you Gableman and Prosser) but the law is so unpopular, they'd never win another election if they even dared uphold it.

Before the law passed and went into effect, Scott Walker and his ilk told us it was going to curb the MASSIVE AMOUNTS of voter fraud in the state. They tried convincing all of us that, dear lord, if we don't show our ID's while voting, it would bring down the entire process itself. It would be a clear attack on liberty! It would make George Washington cry if we didn't have this law! So, it passed. Now we had to show our ID's when we voted (might I add, I've never felt so bad showing my ID to anyone before) and it felt wrong. I also noticed that the lines to vote seemed to take forever, waiting for people to find their licenses and state ID's.

So, just how much fraud is there in a typical Wisconsin election? Well, if Scott Walker wanted to convince you, it would be 100% of all votes in elections! (but only the votes for Democrats, you see.) But....that's not even remotely the case.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, the 2004 presidential election in Wisconsin saw 0.0002% voter fraud. Yes. 0.0002% out of 2,967,624 ballots cast. That is an incredibly small percentage. The same group also finds that any sort of voter ID would not have kept that 0.0002% of fraud from occurring. In the 2008 presidential election, there were 20 known cases of voter fraud in the state. 20! Would voter ID have kept those 20 from voting? No, and everyone in those 20 cases was charged and tried on voter fraud charges. I truly believe the GOP encourages voter fraud, because it just gives them more leverage to pass phony bills and enact more voter disenfranchisement. Republicans believe 20 illegal votes gives them the right to tell thousands and thousands of law abiding citizens here in Wisconsin that they aren't allowed to vote anymore.

What are these laws TRULY trying to do? Disenfranchise. Plain and simple. Not everyone has access to a car to go to a DMV (remember when Walker wanted to close a bunch of those oddly around the same time the law passed?) Some bus lines only route to the DMV ONCE per day. They drop you off, but they won't be back to pick you up. People who live in rural areas don't have adequate access to DMV's. And proof of residency to obtain this ID? Like I said above, one of the requirements for the homeless was a property tax bill. HUH...I guess they wouldn't be homeless if they have a property tax bill, now would they!?

 Oh, and the big thing? THE CONSTITUTION DOES NOT REQUIRE IDENTIFICATION FOR VOTING. For a group of people who espouse such love and adoration for it, their knowledge of the constitution could fit in a droplet of water. And it's not just happening here in our state, it's a nation-wide problem. Republican governors and legislators all over America are trying to do the same thing to their states (i.e. Ohio and Michigan.) It's a giant power grab. The elite keeping the "commoners" from exercising their rights. We need to continue to push back and let them know we will not accept their manipulation of our democracy. What would our founding mothers and fathers say?


3 comments:

  1. Sounds like the pressure from the powers that be (i.e. Koch Brothers, Karl Rove et al) is getting to Van Hollen and his ilk.

    This is what happens when you are not your own man Mr. Van Hollen. Integrity avoids situations like you continually find yourself in.

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    1. I would like to second WhatIsCommonSense's comment. J.B. Van Hollen, it is pathetic what you have let these smaller men drive you into doing. I sincerely believe you were/are better than this. Less than 3 years ago YOU! were the nominative head of the Wisconsin Republican Party. You worked hard to clean up the crime lab crisis and instead of basking in the glory of showing some much needed leadership at the highest level of state government, you are now acting as a water carrier for some folks that are eventually going to be behind bars. SMH. I echo the cry for you to re-establish your integrity with the public. Don't let the lizards give you a snake belly.

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    2. Actually, AG Good Hair has been the chair of many campaigns while AG, including W's.

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