June 23, 2006
A GOP vote-suppression effort fails
Robert Ehrlich, the reactionary Republican Governor of Maryland, has been squabbling with the Democratic-controlled legislature about whether to allow early voting. (The Republican apparat consistently opposes all efforts to improve voter turnout, as part of a broader attempt to make the United States less unpopular with those who hate us for our freedom.)
The legislature passed an early-voting bill. The Governor vetoed it, mumbling, as Republicans afraid of high turnouts usually do, about "fraud." The Governor then ginned up a petition campaign to put the law on the ballot, thus preventing it from taking effect this year, when Erlich himself is up for re-election.
The Gov's friends submitted 21,000 signatures by the May 30 deadline. They needed 17,000 by that date (a third of the 51,000 needed to finally put the law on the ballot). But something more than 4,000 of those signatures were invalid.
Naturally, the Governor's buddies are claiming that the disallowance of the fraudulent signatures on their fraudulent petition to avoid purely hypothetical fraudulent voting was ... fraudulent.
I hope that's clear.
Actually, this is part of the new left-wing trend to undermine conservative iniatives. We've seen similar stunts in Michigan and Missouri recently, so it isn't surprising to see that apparently something similar is happening in Maryland.
As in so many other cases, the conservative concern about what "THEY" (liberals, blacks, poor people, terrorists, Muslims, unions) will do, is in fact a projection of what they are already doing or plan to do themselves. Indeed, it is hard to find a conservative "fear" or "concern" that is NOT projection.
Posted by: at June 23, 2006 07:35 AMThomas,
You know, the GOoPers are so good at dirty (political) tricks, perhaps progressives should engage in a bit of it.
The next time a GOoPer is collecting signatures for an ill-advised citizen initiative/referendum petition, go ahead and sign. Just give an invalid signature. I think I'll use Samuel Gompers, and have my wife use Mary "Mother" Jones.
BC
BC
Posted by: Bargain Countertenor at June 23, 2006 07:59 AMLeft-wing trend to undermine conservative initiatives...say what?? 'Splain, please.
Posted by: Sarah at June 23, 2006 08:09 AMnew left wing trend...what crap...truth is new and unfamiliar to them...
conservatives will tell any lie, distort any fact and twist any truth to make it fit their evil anti-freedom agenda.
greed and profit are their driving forces, not freedom or liberty. And civil rights for all the 'lower classes', those poor liberals and minimum wage earners, well-forget them...
Posted by: Mike Kelley at June 23, 2006 08:23 AMNote carefully how easily the term 'left-wing' comes off the tounge of the lowliest party functionary.
Posted by: mickslam at June 23, 2006 08:40 AMSarah,
I think sarcasm is really difficult to convey without nonverbal cues.
BC
Posted by: Bargain Countertenor at June 23, 2006 03:07 PMFaults are thick where love is thin... Zachary
Posted by: Zachary at November 22, 2006 04:10 AMFaults are thick where love is thin... Zachary
Posted by: Zachary at November 22, 2006 04:11 AMLeast said, soonest mended... Gerrard
Posted by: Gerrard at November 22, 2006 05:20 AMThanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
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