Posted on 04/04/2012 10:58:11 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Its high time we, the majority, take our country back:
When certain individuals began chanting their mantra of take our country back, the rest of us hoped that it wasnt a subliminal message to strip away this nations advancements and take us back to some sort of Jim Crow era. But in such a short span of time in office, many conservative elected officials have proved that their goal is precisely to implement regressive measures that begin to chip away at the core of the fundamental constructs of the civil rights movement. The latest enactment of voter ID laws across the country are a prime example of how the right is attempting to wrong us all.
For those who like to pretend that racism never existed in our past, heres another quick reminder: years after slavery was abolished, there were systematic ways to still deny African Americans civil liberties not the least of which was a poll tax. After the 14th Amendment guaranteed equal protection for all, a poll tax was enacted as a prerequisite to voting. Because African Americans (and poor Whites for that matter) found it difficult to come up with the money required to vote, many were covertly disenfranchised from the process. It was a new measure, but it held the same underlying notion of racism and oppression of an entire group of citizenry that slavery itself did.
Today, thankfully, a poll tax does not exist, but as Republican leaders continue to champion and implement voter ID requirements, they are establishing a new form of voting prerequisites and voter suppression. When nearly 25% of African Americans lack appropriate ID in order to vote, its clear who their target is. When college students are barred from voting in the state where they attend school and instead must return to their home state, its clear who their target is. And when the process of obtaining this appropriate ID isnt free by any measure, its distinctly clear who their target is.
Imagine youre a hard-working American who holds two or three jobs just to put food on the table, and now youre required to take a day (or more) off in order to obtain an ID. Not only does this person accrue lost work wages, but he/she also has to factor in the cost of traveling to obtain the ID, as well as fees associated with getting copies of documents like passports or birth certificates. For the individual enduring such difficult times as so many Americans today are, is all the hassle and extra expenses going to be worth it in their eyes? Or will they simply say, I wish I could vote, but I simply cant afford it? And lets not forget the long enduring lines, procedures and bureaucracy that will likely arise for folks in the process of receiving ID cards. It may not be a poll tax, but these new voter ID laws are just a polished version of the same oppressive measures designed to keep people of color and the poor out of the electoral process.
There are currently 13 states across the country that have adopted voter ID requirements, with more pushing for similar legislation. When so many Americans do not possess a drivers license due to an inability to purchase a vehicle or because its simply not necessary in an urban environment, the amount of Americans without valid ID for the polls is staggering. Once again, African Americans, Latinos, the poor and other disenfranchised groups will clearly be impacted the most by these voting requirements. And it should come as no surprise that this sector of society votes Democratic a majority of the time.
If Republican officials and those who support them are so upset by the direction of the country and so insistent on the fact that we are a center-right nation, why dont they prove it with fair elections? By conjuring up ridiculous requirements that are obviously designed to reduce the number of voters, they only validate the fact that their Party and their vision for the future is antiquated and the majority is not on their side. Instead of playing dirty politics, perhaps they should just run an election on the facts and allow everyone to freely vote. After all, what are they so afraid of?
Maybe its high time we, the majority, take our country back.
Ok Al, how are these people cashing their checks if they don’t have ID?
This guy is a pimple on the ass of America.
Who doesn’t have some sort of ID anymore? Even kids are born with Social Security numbers these days. You can’t get on a plane, train, or a Greyhound bus without ID, you can’t cash a check or buy antihistamines without an ID, and etc.
As far as Mexican complaints against the law go, well, MEXICO requires voters to show ID when they vote so what’s the problem?
You're welcome, Al!
I watched his entire the show the first time he did the Martin/Zimmerman thing. He spent the whole show calling Skittles “skillets”. You know the staff was laughing at him because no one ever corrected him.
I certainly hope you’re right.
Right. Sharpton is definitely not part of my majority and his views are not mainstream with the majority either.
His vitriolic is going to stir the silent, suffering masses and he will regret the events he helped shape.
Right message...wrong messenger!
“When nearly 25% of African Americans lack appropriate ID in order to vote, its clear who their target is.”
Why don’t they have appropriate ID, REV. AL?! Maybe because they don’t want anyone to know who they claim to be so they can get more than one government check?!
Do you suppose this fat stupid aborigine has any idea the party he supports is responsible for the racism he complains about?
Stupid racist Al and his bunch took the country over in 2008 but are too incompetent and corrupt to maintain anything. The only thing transparent has been the hate they spew.
What an idiot.
“If Republican officials and those who support them are so upset by the direction of the country and so insistent on the fact that we are a center-right nation, why dont they prove it with fair elections?”
******
4 Indiana Dems charged with election fraud in 2008 presidential race
Which country is that? Uganda?
Al audience would have been hearing the substance for which the street name is ‘skittles’ if the fool had used the correct name.
Hey Al, they can use this type of picture, and 100% of the males would qualify.
100% of the women have welfare check cashing pictures, problem solved.
None of this would be happening if we had a black president.
I think you got that backwards Al. We’re going to take OUR country back.
How do they get away with this absurd nonsense that asking a voter for I.D. has anything to do with racism..why isn’t he challenged? You have to have I.D. to purchase alcohol or cigerettes, but not to vote? He just doesn’t want any measure that would protect against fraud as we saw with ACORN. Someone challenge this fraud publicly..let’s play that undercover FBI tape..civil rights is just a criminal racket.
(absent this ecØnomy, it'd be larger wager ;-)
He labels himself an ‘african-american’
Which country is he talking about ?
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