GOP’s hideous strategy to survive as the “white party” - By Joan Walsh

[DonViejo]

Trifecta of voter suppression, despair and gerrymandering means a plan with no new ideas. But also: No new voters!

JOAN WALSH

Republicans like to think of themselves as the Christian party, so it never entirely made sense that they oppose what’s become known as “Souls to the Polls,” a big push by black churches on the Sundays before Election Day to bring worshippers directly from the pews to the polls in states with early voting. But of course they oppose it, because their love of Jesus comes second to their love of discouraging African-Americans from exercising their right to vote.

So after Wisconsin went overwhelmingly for President Obama with a strong black turnout in 2008, GOP legislators cut the number of early voting days in half, and specifically closed the polls on the Sunday before the election. But black voters struck back by shifting “Souls to the Polls” to two Sundays before Election Day in 2012. And it worked. After an inspiring Milwaukee rally outside the county building, lines to obtain ballots and then to cast them stretched down hallways and snaked around corners. For hours, every voting booth was full. Families came with tiny children, many still dressed for church. I noted at the time “it was the Obama coalition in microcosm – mostly younger whites, women and African-Americans.”

Obama won the state again, this time more narrowly, thanks to continued strong African-American turnout. The Republican plan didn’t work.

Now Wisconsin Republicans have done away with “Souls to the Polls” entirely. Thanks to a bill just signed by Gov. Scott Walker, there’s no weekend voting in Wisconsin at all anymore, even though research shows weekend voters are younger, poorer and less white. Scratch that: It’s not “even though”; it’s specifically because they’re younger, poorer and – especially – less white.

more
http://www.salon.com/2014/04/01/gops_hideous_strategy_to_survive_as_the_white_party/

[Scuba]

1. Walker and his cronies do this because they KNOW that the People will never choose them on policy.

[Half-Century Man]

2. Give them a break

They are rigging the game as fast as they can. They are staying up late to come up with new and exciting ways to hurt the masses for profit.

[kairos12]

3. This is the only rethug strategy they have, get used to it.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

4. Election day is a holiday in some states. Make it National.

[dem in texas]

5. Voted to repeal ACA over 40 Times, Out of touch

The fact that the ACA enrollment is going to blow the doors off while the repubs voted 40 times to repeal it show how out of touch they are with common working people in the US. They can restrict voting and gerrymander the districts for only so long. Old white republicans are dying off with no new blood in the line. The sooner to better! America will be a better place when they are gone. This is written by a 74 year old white lady who is a life long Democrat and proud of it!

[Cha]

6. Fuckers.. Get Rid of Walker, Wisconsinites!

[SunSeeker]

7. This has GOT to be illegal. What possible rational justification do they have for this new law?

[raising2moredems]

8. Don't forget the "5th Wednesday of the month"

When the pukes pushed voter id, some offices where citizens needed to get a copy of their birth certificate were only open on the 5th Wednesday of the month. Or in other words, once or twice a year!

They are also trying to suppress college students voting (as are pukes in other states). We all know young voters don't vote for the "right" candidates. We all need to do our part to get Millennials to the polls in off-year elections.

[Flying Squirrel]

9. Well, Jesus was a white man..

[Jamaal510]

10. The concept of

easier access to voting should be something that all Republicans support, considering how much their party supposedly values "freedom" and the Constitution. Voting is in fact a Constitutional right, after all. But...nope. They just don't want those of us who aren't Republicans to be able to vote. It's pathetic how inconsistent they are when it comes to their rhetoric versus their actions.