All those minority votes are illegal, anyway. They don't have ID!

You mean they lack the white right ID?

Some of them are probably strolling around with fake student IDs RIGHT NOW, instead of conceal carry permits like Real 'Mericans.

And if Obama gets his way, anybody can vote on behalf of the people currently residing in the graveyards of America too.

Dead people have voting rights too!

Given the amount of time Republicans keep invoking Reagan, Jesus and the founding fathers who all created America they if anyone should support the opinions of dead people mattering in American politics.

Yeah, dead Americans lived in a simpler time when there weren't so many damn minorities in this country!

Well, there were, they just didn't worry about repressing their vote until they realized the minorities were registering to vote.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnocentric

Two friends on my facebook (I live in PA):

Friend 1:

Friend 2:

Friend 1:

So...Is it "fair enough"? Thoughts?

It would be "fair enough" if it were actually treating a problem. At-the-polling-place vote fraud is not in any way a significant problem. The rate of that problem is small compared to the number of people who'd be disenfranchised, even if transportation is offered, because not all of them would get ID.

My lovely home State of Pennsylvania shipped a voter ID bill to the Governor's desk where its almost certain to be signed. When it gets shot down, it'll only be the second time this year that the Republican dominated legislature and governor get embarrassed trying to gain an unethical electoral advantage in November

the sad thing is, even if the law were to stand, i doubt many elections would be swayed one way or the other, i think the margins of victory would just be altered slightly

Yeah, the results are uncertain I suppose, but I'd like to think I'd be just as pissed about this if the law disenfranchised more Republicans or an evenly split demographic.

What would be really nice is if people learned the facts about these laws and the motivations behind them and reacted by voting out the lawmakers that passed them. But that'll never happen, it's just too easy to connect with people by sending a chain e-mail about dead people voting in elections.

drugsarebad, I take it you didn't read my post (#659)? Or maybe tldr...It's a convo between two PA people.

Anyway, so basically this law is lol Republicans trying to gain votes for the general? The timing pretty much eradicates any possibility this is a legitimate effort to control voter fraud amirite?

Another possible solution to voter fraud: Guns!

Disenfranchising voters is part of the conservative strategy and has been for some time, they win when the total number of people voting goes down so its no surprise that they latch on to anything that suppresses voting.

"I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of the people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down." -Paul Weyrich co-founder of the Heritage Foundation.

Pretty much, like anything that ever involves election law is designed to benefit whichever party is pushing it. There's not like a principled position where a party in power will do "the right thing" just because.

Friend 2 sounds like a smart guy.

Need an ID to fly. Need an ID to enter the Federal Building. Need an ID to get senior discount on a bus. Why don't the Dems help those poor people get IDs?

Yeah, it sure does seem that way. This is just par for the course coming off of Corbett's desk. The rural Pennsyl-tucky areas will eat up the pro-ID law simpleton logic too. Speaking of which...

When our country and constitution is built around a system of government where riding the bus with a senior discount is at it's fundamental core, then you'll be making a great argument. These are all facile analogies & situations where the ID requirement poses a much different purpose and effect.

Another interesting observation of your language here - you think the problem could be solved if the "dems help those poor people get IDs". So you have seemingly ruled out the possibility or idea that the Republicans should feel the need to help as well? Shouldn't the tea party patriot, anti flag-burning, AMURRICA party also give a **** about people's right to vote, no matter who they're more likely to vote for? It seems to be assumed that the passage of this law would carry on the sad pattern (that does exist among both parties sometimes) of only really giving a **** about people's vote if they're going to vote your way. Let me ask you this - if the demographic whose rights are hampered by these laws split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, do you really think these laws would be making their way through several States?

Either way, the voter ID law is an unconscionable hurdle to people's right to vote with nearly no justification that is actually grounded in fact.

Exactly. Just how are these poor people going on vacation if they don't have an ID? Let the ivory tower eggheads answer that one.

Why should the GOP help? Poor people usually vote democrat.

Need an ID to open a bank account. Need to get away from those high check cashing fees.

LOL, that's a scary comment. In the name of preventing a problem with little prevalence and no potential to worsen, the GOP wants to pass a law that will put a hurdle in front of 10-20% of eligible voters. That shouldn't be a concern to them because the burdened voters will more likely be democrats? Like, should they take the same stance on racial issues? Is your position that allowing the full population an equal opportunity to vote is of no importance, or of so little importance that it's worth being compromised for an electoral advantage? This gets overused, but that's truly un-American.

He has to be at this point IMO.