The fact that they still might be getting 23 states info like Texas is still pretty upsetting. Especially because Texas will be propped as a poltical weapon against Hispanic immigrants. Texas politicians really are terrible people and they don't represent the true people of this great state. Not shocking but a shame to see them continue to contribute to right wing corruption.
But is Texas even giving all the voter info that Trump/Kovach are requesting? I don't believe they are getting social security or driver's license numbers... just names, addresses, and whether voter voted in past elections. But correct, Texas is bending over. Not surprised though. Much prefer republican states responses like Mississippi ("go jump in Gulf") and Kentucky ("Not enough bourbon to give up data")...
Any conservative posters here want to comment on what their reaction would have been if this was Obama?
They'd be crying about states' rights. Funny, conservatives don't seem to cry about states' rights when Reagan threatens to withholding highway funding or Trump uses a bullshit strategy to push a false narrative.
Not conservative, but could we please focus on the current administration rather than muse about the supposed crucifixtion of the previous administration?
And people wonder why folks are picking up guns and targeting politicians. The more you beat down the populace the harder they will fight back. DD
It's a fair question and if you are not conservative as you say, then you obviously should see the tribalism with Trump supporters and the conflicting nature of how they view Trump vs anyone else. What I'm asking is to view this scenario in a vacuum and ask what the motive would be viewed as under different circumstances. If under any other circumstances are you saying you'd be okay with a president whose previous campaign was under investigation for collusion with the KGB to influence an election, ordering all 50 states to give up voter roles, SSN's, etc.?? Forget Trump vs. Obama vs. Abraham Lincoln... how could anyone be okay with this? You want to know why.... ? Because they think it will help their "team" win. I'll even be honest and say that if a Democrat President did do this and was potentially colluding with let's say France to liberalize the West, there would be some on the left that would be okay with it because they would justify it by saying "well the Right has cheated in the past too with gerrymandering". It's a legit question and BOTH sides need to be called out for their BS tribalism WHEN ITS APPROPRIATE. Now is a time where it's absolutely appropriate. Our election process is under attack and I'd be shocked if the Democrats aren't also looking to fight fire with fire by coordinating with liberal leaning/Russia fearing countries with the ability the influence and hack in the other direction. If they aren't they are fools because Trump and the GOP are obviously not playing by the rules. So again this is a fair question and if you are trying to deflect there are few ways to see that as anything but playing for Team Trump.
he's not conservative. conservatives believed in state rights and would be against the feds taking this kind of action. Definitely not conservative, definitely not liberal. He is saying he is autocratic. Which means it's ok to lie, attack the press when they oppose you, and rig elections. Rojo is pro-banana republic - so no, not a conservative. He is Trump's b****
"I am a libertarian, which means the only thing I believe the government should provide to me is a girlfriend."
I think Kobach and co really blew the PR angle on this. I heard an interview with him, and he said the request specified all of these things, but went on to say only insofar as this information is publicly available. If anyone can buy this data from the state, I don't see why the federal government should be denied. I don't know why they did it in such a big brother way, when they could have used existing channels in every state to just buy the data. Something they can still do today. Even if they wanted to do it on the cheap and have states hand it over for free, they could have at least looked at the laws of each state and crafted a letter for each that customizes the data ask for what is legally available. So I think they screwed up on the approach, but fail to see what's wrong with this commission collecting and analyzing public data. One element that might be a consideration though: if states sell this data, it probably comes with a non-disclosure clause. If the commission uses it, they might have to make the data available to FOIA, which would result in foregone revenues for the states and violate NDAs. Maybe the commission doesn't use the normal channels because they don't want any rules on how they use the data? And while the mission of the commission is stupid -- meddles in the domain of the states, and tries to protect something that isn't at risk, with the implicit goal of finding ways to suppress D votes -- I still kinda hope they do something cool. It seems like a good opportunity to do some interesting statistical study.
My suspicion... that (1) the publicly available info isn't what Trump and his people want. Otherwise they would have simply gone that route. I suspect they wanted info protected by privacy laws such as drivers license and social security number. And (2) I suspect that Trump and his people cared less about getting the data than being able to (dishonestly) suggesting that the "Dem states" were refusing to providing the data and thus continue their dishonest talking point that Trump actually won and was Dems and Clinton supporters benefiting from illegal voters. 'Course, I suspect they were surprised when as many Rep states as Dem states balked at complying. But the truth has never been a roadblock to Trump's story telling...
An analysis of what Kobach (and Trump) are trying to do... http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/03/what-is-kris-kobach-up-to-215332 btw, with Maryland's refusing Trump's "repugnant" request, there are now 29 states refusing...
Dem state Arizona joins the list opposing Trump's "voter fraud" fraud... what a huge, ridiculous waste of taxpayer money! Arizona to oppose handing over voter information to Trump commission https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DD1cZw7XsAE6yz3.jpg Meanwhile, a Maryland's deputy Secretary of State quits the "voter fraud" fraud commission... Maryland official resigns from controversial Trump voter fraud commission: report http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brief...-resigns-from-controversial-trump-voter-fraud