In what I can only call absurd the Supreme Court appears primed to uphold the Indiana Voter ID law recently enacted by a Republican majority in the State Legislature to disenfranchise the poor and the minority voters of Indiana. As I have written before, this is a red herring cooked up by Republicans in states where they hold a majority to suppress voter turnout of primarily Democratic voters. The simple fact that these legislatures are able to do this crap should be a reminder to all of us that we can never take our civil liberties for granted. There are constant challenges to our citizenship and our ability to exercise our rights. There are currently three states that require all voters to present photo ID’s to vote they are Florida, Georgia, and Indiana.
The Bush administration has raised the suspicions of Democrats by making what they call “voter fraud” a priority for Justice Department enforcement. No prosecution for impersonating a registered voter, the type of fraud that would be prevented by a photo requirement, has ever been brought, however. “No one has been punished for this kind of fraud in living memory in this country,” Paul M. Smith, a Washington lawyer arguing for the Democrats, told the justices. NY Times
The technicality that the Supreme Court is going to use is devious if not immoral. The “deciders” are going to say that because this is a facial challenge it should not even be argued at this point before the Court. According to their logic the case should not be argued until after there has been damage or in other words after the election has been held. Where did this strategy come from? The Indiana Solicitor General who is arguing the case on behalf of Indiana? No. The strategy was the brain-child of none other than the Bush Administration in their brief filed before the Court in support of upholding not only the Indiana law, but all voter ID laws.
It is way past time that we acknowledge that voting is not a privilege like driving which can be revoked by the state, but a right; a fundamental right on which this nation was founded. Somehow in recent years we have lost sight of the many struggles involved in allowing all Americans the opportunity to vote. It began with a tea party in Boston, then it went to New York, and finally it made its way to Selma. It is amazing to me that in 2008, I have to write an essay in support of the right of all Americans to have unimpeded access to voting. This is indicative of the policies of Karl Rove and his Neo-Con clowns, they don’t care about what is best for America. There only concern is what is best for them and their wealthy friends. How can anyone call themselves a patriot and not support the right for all Americans to participate in our democracy?
These charlatans began with removing the voting rights of felons and no one complained, after all they’re criminals. As if to say that criminals would band together and elect who? The Joker or some other arch fiend! And once they were able to marginalize the criminals then they went after the handicapped and now due to their success they have become so brazen that now the poor and minorities that have not committed any crimes are being attacked. Let’s be honest here, this is voter disenfranchisement pure and simple. The fact that they have been able to achieve getting it state law should be a disgrace to all Americans who believe in democracy and the right of all citizens to enjoy that right.
If the Supreme Court chooses to use the argument that no one has been discriminated against yet, then they will de facto condone election piracy and voter suppression. You cannot take a pass with democracy. You can’t allow millions of votes to be suppressed and then say, “oops, my bad”, we should have looked at this sooner. Have we become so complacent in America to the point where the lost of the right to vote for our fellow citizens is no longer important? Will we not complain until it is just white male property owners who can vote again? The Supreme Court is trying to pull a fast one and is showing just how politicized the Court has become under Bush and his legal hacks.
For those who are waiting for that one defining moment, it won’t happen. Loss of freedom is done in drips and drops, a slow erosion of our morals, our democracy, and finally our resistance. Once we are locked in our goose-stepping then we are capable of anything. We must protect the homeland from undesirables and inferiors. Some will ask what’s so wrong with making everyone show a picture ID, you have to use them anyway in today’s world, right. Wrong there are many people who don’t have a picture ID. There are those who cannot afford them, there is a segment of the population who don’t want them, and there are those who are physically unable to get them. It is just another case of using a nuclear weapon to kill a mosquito.
There is no proof of wide spread voter fraud in America. Even with our porous borders no one has demonstrated that millions of illegal’s are crossing the border to affect our elections. There has been no proof of any voter fraud conspiracies anywhere in America, except that one in 2000 down in Florida or that one in 2004 in Ohio. Why are we creating new laws to protect us from a non-existent threat? The reason for the need is of course to marginalize and disenfranchise millions of voters the majority of who would support the Democrats. Rather than making voting more difficult, maybe we should try making it easier for all Americans to join our democratic process. Instead of trying to narrow the voting pool to support their narrow policies, maybe the Republicans should consider broadening their policies to gain broader support with the American electorate.
Every year the pool of eligible voters that actually vote grows smaller, do we really want to return to the opinions of a view to dictate the direction of the country?
In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. – Franklin D. Roosevelt