President Johnson signs Act into Law
Just as I begin to wonder if there is anything I can write that is not related to the Newtown massacre or the "Fiscal Cliff" fiasco, George Will publishes an article and saves the day! The article printed this week nationally, ran with a headline reading; "Not Voting is a choice too! Seeing that headline certainly got my attention, so I gave it my all! The gist of the article? That the Obama Administration is attempting to strip the constitutional rights of states to control voter registration. Yep, an entire article dedicated to alleging the big bad Obama folks are again acting unconstitutionally by...wait for it...working to guarantee that all eligible Americans be legally registered to vote! Shocking!
Oh my, another sinister effort to ignore the Constitution...except, there is NOTHING in the Constitution granting states the exclusive right to oversee voter registration! In fact, since passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1964, the Federal Government has had the authority to oversee all election laws passed by states having a history of discriminating against minorities. More importantly, most of those states used to employ literacy tests and poll taxes to keep minorities from exercising the franchise. Perhaps Mr. Will forgot the 24th Amendment prohibiting these forms of discrimination was enacted in 1964 (coincidentally?).
But to bolster his argument that Obama and "Liberals" are pushing an agenda to limit states rights, he intimates that Obama wants to make voting mandatory. Really? Well according to Hans von Spakovsky (oh yes, we all know Hans right?) from the Heritage Foundation ...you know that silly Liberal think tank..(if you aren't catching my sarcasm, the Heritage Foundation is now going to be led by former Tea Party Senator Jim DeMint). Not quite "Liberal" after all.
Will goes on to write that disenfranchisement or shortened early voting periods is not the real reason for low voter turnout. Instead, Will alleges it is really based on Americans experiencing "contentment." Huh? Contentment? Is that why the GOP campaign for the White House fell short, Americans think things are great and are doing so well, so why complain? His evidence for this ridiculous claim? That there have been no issues at stake that would lead Americans to the polls. Excuse me? He claims Germany had a huge voter turnout in 1932 because they realized they had major political stakes to deal with. Sure George, Germans went to the polls voluntarily to bring Adolf Hitler to power...and that happens when people get involved. Does he think Americans voting in large numbers would be bad for America? Democracy should be practiced by the select few rather than the masses? He then claims that the Electoral College renders voters irrelevant and only now he sees a need to go to proportional voting (that would coincidentally help GOP Gerrymandered Districts control Washington). Perhaps with unlimited corporate spending on campaigns and Super PAC's under the Citizens United decision, the wisdom of the Framers' Electoral College is more evident now than ever!?
So according to George Will, Obama's efforts to ensure eligible voters have the proper chance to register to vote and get their Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote, is an unconstitutional threat to states' rights. And the reason Americans by the millions are not voting in elections is not because of long lines at polling places or difficulties in registering to vote, but instead is due to Americans just being simply copacetic with their lot in life. Will seems to believe there are no political issues at stake to interest Americans? Women's reproductive rights, reforming the tax code, deficit spending, civil liberties, a lingering war in Afghanistan, high unemployment, a slowly recovering economy after the Great Recession, same sex marriage, legalization of marijuana (et., al.) and Americans are too happy to be bothered? I wish to ask Mr. Will a question. How many anti-depressants are you taking? Once again, where there's a Will, there's no way!
Oh my, another sinister effort to ignore the Constitution...except, there is NOTHING in the Constitution granting states the exclusive right to oversee voter registration! In fact, since passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1964, the Federal Government has had the authority to oversee all election laws passed by states having a history of discriminating against minorities. More importantly, most of those states used to employ literacy tests and poll taxes to keep minorities from exercising the franchise. Perhaps Mr. Will forgot the 24th Amendment prohibiting these forms of discrimination was enacted in 1964 (coincidentally?).
But to bolster his argument that Obama and "Liberals" are pushing an agenda to limit states rights, he intimates that Obama wants to make voting mandatory. Really? Well according to Hans von Spakovsky (oh yes, we all know Hans right?) from the Heritage Foundation ...you know that silly Liberal think tank..(if you aren't catching my sarcasm, the Heritage Foundation is now going to be led by former Tea Party Senator Jim DeMint). Not quite "Liberal" after all.
Will goes on to write that disenfranchisement or shortened early voting periods is not the real reason for low voter turnout. Instead, Will alleges it is really based on Americans experiencing "contentment." Huh? Contentment? Is that why the GOP campaign for the White House fell short, Americans think things are great and are doing so well, so why complain? His evidence for this ridiculous claim? That there have been no issues at stake that would lead Americans to the polls. Excuse me? He claims Germany had a huge voter turnout in 1932 because they realized they had major political stakes to deal with. Sure George, Germans went to the polls voluntarily to bring Adolf Hitler to power...and that happens when people get involved. Does he think Americans voting in large numbers would be bad for America? Democracy should be practiced by the select few rather than the masses? He then claims that the Electoral College renders voters irrelevant and only now he sees a need to go to proportional voting (that would coincidentally help GOP Gerrymandered Districts control Washington). Perhaps with unlimited corporate spending on campaigns and Super PAC's under the Citizens United decision, the wisdom of the Framers' Electoral College is more evident now than ever!?
So according to George Will, Obama's efforts to ensure eligible voters have the proper chance to register to vote and get their Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote, is an unconstitutional threat to states' rights. And the reason Americans by the millions are not voting in elections is not because of long lines at polling places or difficulties in registering to vote, but instead is due to Americans just being simply copacetic with their lot in life. Will seems to believe there are no political issues at stake to interest Americans? Women's reproductive rights, reforming the tax code, deficit spending, civil liberties, a lingering war in Afghanistan, high unemployment, a slowly recovering economy after the Great Recession, same sex marriage, legalization of marijuana (et., al.) and Americans are too happy to be bothered? I wish to ask Mr. Will a question. How many anti-depressants are you taking? Once again, where there's a Will, there's no way!
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