Monday, September 30, 2013

Yay! We're Getting Sued!

The Federal lawsuit against the new voter suppression law in North Carolina will, as we understand it, challenge four parts of the state law: the state's decision to cut back on early voting by a week; the elimination of same day registration during that early voting period; the prohibition on counting certain provisional ballots that are not prepared in a voter's specific precinct; and the adoption of a strict photo identification requirement "without adequate protection" for voters who lack that required ID.

7 comments:

Henery said...

Off topic a tad, but what a great time to shut down the National Parks and especially the Blue Ridge Parkway! I mean, it's not peak leaf season with the highest period of economic impact on the businesses and towns along the Parkway. Oh, wait a minute....

Anonymous said...

Henery, if you think about it this lies in the hands of the Democrats. The House had a plan but the Senate rejected it. Good point, it is not a good time to shut down the government, actually never is a good time to shut down the government. I realize Dems do not want to take away funding for Obamacare; however, it is already a plan doomed for disaster. n

Not Really said...

Anon 11:16 said "I realize Dems do not want to take away funding for Obamacare; however, it is already a plan doomed for disaster."

I'm sorry, but this is just nonsense. The fact is none of us can see into the future and see how the Affordable Care Act will play out, and it is an insult to the intelligence of anyone with an ounce of common sense to say otherwise. The fact that so many people on this country seemed convinced of a doomsday scenario tell me that the right-wing politicians and media outlets have done a very good job of planting this idea in people's heads and unfortunately a lot of people have lost sight of something very, very basic: we do not know how things will play out in the future. Why are the Republicans so scared to actually let Obamacare be implemented? I think they're afraid it might work.

What is also absolutely astonishing to me is that so many people on the right can rant about Obamacare without realizing that the part they seem to be most set against, the individual mandate, was based on a plan developed by conservatives in the 1990s. (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/health/policy/health-care-mandate-was-first-backed-by-conservatives.html) And let's not forget that one of the things Mitt Romney was very successful with in Massachusetts was his own version of Obamacare.

And speaking of Romneycare... did things in Massachusetts go to hell in a handbasket when it was implemented? No, they did not. So that would be at least one real bit of evidence against the doomsday scenario for Obamacare, but facts tends to get lost in the political grandstanding and scaremongering.

Sadly, all I see on the right these days -save a few voices of reason like John McCain- are blowhards enamored of their own voices and more interested in seeing the president fail than in making this country a better place. As a thinking person who still identifies as a moderate, this has pushed me towards voting Democratic. To paraphrase what I saw on a bumper sticker recently: "Democrats aren't perfect... but Republicans are nuts."

Whatshisname said...

Anonymous, we've had months to discuss Obamacare but the Republicans aren't interested in discussing it, only elminating it. Now they want to put a gun to our heads to even open a discussion. Sorry. If you want to talk about plans doomed for disaster, how about we talk about the war in Iraq? A war that has cost us trillions, the payment of which we heard not a peep from the fiscally conscious right. But to talk about the possibility of a law that might actually help real Americans here in the good ol' USA? Well, that's a plan doomed for failure. They hypocrisy of the right is overwhelming.

brotherdoc said...

There has never been a sensible, clear altrnative to Obamacare offered by the Right. The old system left far too many unable to get health insurance and all of us paid for it, whether in public health concerns or excessive costs for service. This thread is supposed to be about the case the DoJ has brought against the NC voting suppression act. On that topic I would simpy point out that while the case may take a long time to come to a settlement, it is the right way to go to protect democracy with a small d. In a government that really is of, by, and for the people, access to the polls should be made easier, not harder, for all citizens.

Anonymous said...

The sensible, clear alternative is to get rid of Obamacare. It is worse than nothing.

This case that was filed by Holder is just another example of Democrats doing anything to perpetuate voter fraud. Voter ID does not hamper anyone from voting. Neither does voting on election day.

Anonymous said...

Not Really, my point was the government shut down. Personally, every last one of them should be voted out Democrats and Republicans alike. There is absolutely no reason for a government shut down.