Great Op-ed on how the Republicans self-destruction

Because its hard to vote in Texas. So as an example, I live in Minnesota. Lets highlight the difference in voting.

1. I can register to vote online until election day. Online registration takes 30 seconds of my time.

2. Even if I failed to register online or by mail, I can show up on election day and register to vote at the polls.

3. I dont need a photo ID to vote. In fact, I can just tell them my name and address and just walk in and vote (assuming I'm registered).

4. I can vote by mail without having to provide a reason.

5. If I want to vote absentee, there isn't an arbitrary cutoff for when I can request a ballot. I just have to return it by election day.

6. If I failed to register to vote but requested an absentee ballot, the state will send a registration form with the ballot and I can return both together.

7. Minnesota mandates transparency for all absentee ballots. I can look up the status of my absentee ballot at all times and check if one was sent and if the state received my vote.

There are other key differences as well but this is a just a starter. Needless to say, Texas's election laws are just awful. Even online voter registration would be a huge improvement. The current registration system alone is pretty bad let alone the process of actually voting.

 

Arguing against facts with opinions. Is someone in denial?

Is sitting around and waiting for someone to drag you up to where you "belong", a strategy? You don't consult for the Democrats, do you?

What I've learned today is that if Donald Trump gets the GOP nomination and continues to bring out a record number of voters, then that somehow proves that the GOP has lost - by winning. Great logic.

 

Those are all reasons of course, but they should not stop eligible voters from voting for the most part, unless those voters do not care to vote, then nothing will help.

 

Right but what if you're registered and dont have a photo ID. If you're a low wage worker with fixed hours, it just isn't that easy to go to the DPS.

Also, since Texas doesnt have no fault absentee voting, what if you work during voting hours? What happens if you lack adequate transportation.

Dont discount the reality that reducing barriers to voting makes it more likely that people vote.

Minnesota has one of the highest rates of voting and that's without having early voting.

Every barrier to registration or voting has a material impact on voting rates. Simply saying, people "should" vote discounts barriers to transportation, ID, and time.

 

Those are the facts....

 

Tiny factoid: in November 2014 election, latinos and the general public turned out in roughly the same percentages in California and Texas. Latino turnout was actually slightly higher. I believe 2014 was our first election requiring an ID to vote.

http://www.latinodecisions.com/blog/2015/03/31/official-voter-turnout-data-for-latinos-in-2014/

It's probably harder to vote than it needs to be in Texas, but if we're comparing ourselves to California and asking why we aren't as liberal as them, it's not because of voter turnout or minority turnout. It's because our white people are more conservative.

 

As long as we have all the necessary checks and balances to make certain a vote represents a living, registered US citizen that is of age and has not lost their privilege to vote I'm all for making it easier.

Voting is not a right it is a privilege and a responsibility. We have entered the age of the idiocracy so I'm not sure making it easier is a good idea.

 

or those poor republicans... poor doesn't have a party right?

 

Constitution disagrees.

 

oh, so anyone can vote?

 

Amendment 15: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote..."

Amendment 19: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote..."

Amendment 24: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote..."

Amendment 26: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote..."

 

Please say you didn't go to school in Texas...please...

 

McConnell and Boehner made Trump possible. They were given a majority to stop Obama and basically caved on everything. The held empty votes on token anti-Obama bills they knew would not pass just to appease the base but when push came to shove, Ted Cruz was the only one who tried to do what he was sent to Washington to do (stop Obama). They passed everything Obama wanted with basically no push back but lip service. The Republican base is smart enough to know what McConnell and Boehner did so the whole Trump thing is can be laid at their feet.

 

Why did the part of the country with 90% of the black population have the strictest laws against them? Native-born whites stuck together across class and denominational lines to negate it electorally. Also, Texas has more conservative Hispanics than one possibly realizes.

 

You have a short memory.

Remember when the Republicans threatened to shut down the government because they were trying to obstruct funding Obamacare? Do you remember the BEATING the party took over that?

Meanwhile, any bill....ANY BILL.... passed by the republican congress that would be worthy of appeasing the "pissed off ignorant" would simply have been vetoed by Obama.

The "pissed off ignorant" voters have seemed to forgotten recent history AND the basic Civics lesson we were all taught in 7th grade.

 

It's celebrity worship, short attention spans, and young voters being too many generations removed from draft lotteries or stagflation to appreciate the potential long-term damage of bad leadership, beyond internet-tailored ideological constructs and culture-war buzz terms. If you can't name one good president and one bad president from each party over the last forty years, if you can't recall two or three catastrophic events throughout American history that parallel current circumstances and highlight the risks of electing a completely inexperienced candidate, than Trump can be laid at your feet.

 

The Trump phenomenon is not about Obama. Like Sanders (except with different leanings), it is a revolt about the status quo where joe-6-pack was left and forgotten about 30 years ago. It is about the mass exodus of factories and jobs to Mexico, India, and China.

Indeed, I doubt it very much the folks voting for Trump foam at the mouth when they hear the names of McConnell and Boehmer. Lastly, Obama's name is barely mentioned anymore. Relatively speaking, you are talking about old wars.

 

I guess that explains all those Republican votes for the ACA.