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PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
Sun Jan 6, 2013, 12:48 PM Jan 2013

Milwaukee's own John Gurda: GOP's motto: 'Grab all you can'

Gurda is a true gem. This is his latest piece:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/gops-motto-grab-all-you-can-r787ung-185710671.html

And a snip:

Is there anyone on either side who takes seriously the pious Republican rhetoric about voter fraud, overwhelmed poll workers and a dysfunctional GAB? The unspoken agenda here is vote suppression - a chilling tactic in a representative democracy. The right to vote is every bit as sacred and should be every bit as free as a public library card or access to public parks. That's what makes America such a grand experiment. We impose stiff penalties when people abuse their rights, but we begin with an assumption of access, saying "yes" instead of finding new ways to say "no." What's next in Wisconsin: poll taxes and literacy tests?

Rule by an aggressive minority is bad enough, but the new maps have done something even more pernicious: They have made confirmation bias a matter of law. To the same extent that they increased the number of "safe" seats for both parties, Republicans have diminished the opportunities for Wisconsinites to hear and consider opposing viewpoints. The advantage has shifted to "pure" Democrats and "pure" Republicans - those least able to compromise. Checks on extremism have eroded, and the prospects for bipartisan action on any issue have crumbled. As long as "we" elect "ours" and "they" elect "theirs," what possible incentive can there be to listen to the other side and craft legislation that most of us can live with?

We've been down this road before, as you might imagine. Partisanship has flourished and political skullduggery has triumphed more than once in years past. In the 19th century, when newspapers wore their political allegiances on their mastheads, it was nearly as easy for a reader to confirm his or her biases as it is today. Political campaigns were often libelous and sometimes violent, and graft was the accepted lubricant that kept the wheels of government turning smoothly.

There were also periodic attempts at gerrymandering. One of my favorite Gilded Age political quotes is attributed to Henry Clay Payne, a Milwaukee utility magnate and Wisconsin Republican boss. When Democrats swept his party out of office in 1890 - a redistricting year, as it happened - Payne offered some sage advice to a Democratic colleague. "Grab all you can get," he said. "We fellows always did while we had the power."
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Milwaukee's own John Gurda: GOP's motto: 'Grab all you can' (Original Post) PeaceNikki Jan 2013 OP
About time... ewagner Jan 2013 #1
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