Sunday, July 21, 2013

GOP Voter Suppression Efforts Increasing in South

Perhaps realizing that their longs for a return of the Old South when blacks were chattel and obviously could not vote, Republicans in legislatures across the South are making frantic efforts to limit the ability of minorities and liberal leaning younger voters to vote.  Rather than facing the fact that what the are peddling is not wanted by more and more citizens, the GOP's last stand effort will be to limit voting to angry white Christofascists and Tea Party members.  It's disgusting to watch, but such is the nature of today's increasingly hideous GOP.  A column in Talking Points Memo looks at the phenomenon which is occurring here in Virginia.  Here are column excerpts:

In an era of declining white majorities in America, Southern Republicans in charge of state legislators are moving hard while they feel they still have the chance to clamp down on the right to vote and if at all possible restrict minority voting. Here’s the latest example

Republicans in the North Carolina state Senate introduced voter identification legislation Thursday that's even more restrictive than a version passed by the state House earlier this year, the Charlotte Observer reported.

The state Senate bill, which would take effect in the 2016 election, removed half of the forms of identification allowed under the state House's legislation, such as cards from the University of North Carolina system of colleges, state community colleges, local governments, private employers and law enforcement agencies. 

Under the proposal outlined by state Senate Republicans, seven types of government-issued identifications would be accepted, namely driver’s licenses, passports, non-driver IDs and military or veteran cards. The state's legislative session ends next week.

As is the norm and as occurred here in Virginia during the last session, the Republicans whine about voter fraud even thought there are almost no documents cases.  The seek to take away citizens' right to vote while fixing a problem that doesn't exist.  I ask again, when are GOP city and county committee meetings doing to start with white robes and hoods being passed out to all members (or will the members simply bring their own)?

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