Good Guys Win On Pa. Voter ID

Score one for the good guys, Score one for people who believe in hard won rights and freedoms, Score one for everyone on the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama on “Bloody Sunday”.

On Tuesday a Pennsylvania Judge blocked the implementation of a photo identification law that had the potential to disenfranchise almost 800,000 voters in the state.

The law, which is the brainchild of the state's Republican Governor Tom Corbett, and the Republican controlled State Legislature unsurprisingly targeted a huge portion of the Democratic Party's voting base, including African-Americans, Latinos, the elderly, and students.

Back in June, State House Republican Leader Mike Turzai played the role of wide receiver who taunts his opponent after he just scored a touchdown by saying “Pro-Second Amendment? The Castle Doctrine, it’s done. First pro-life legislation – abortion facility regulations – in 22 years, done. Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.”

What Turzai and the Pennsylvania GOP were not expecting was that there would be a flag thrown on the play.

Judge Robert Simpson said in making his decision that “the proposed changes are to occur about five weeks before the general election, and I question whether sufficient time now remains to attain the goal of liberal access” to ID cards.

Kudos to Judge Simpson for pointing out what those of us who have been following this story already knew, there was absolutely no way that over 700,000 people without a state issued voter I.D. card would have one in time for the November 6 general election for a whole host of reasons.

Over the past year and a half the Republican Party has been plotting these draconian laws to combat the overwhelming support from voters that Barack Obama received in 2008 and would possibly get again this year. Mitt Romney's 47% comments once again drove home the point that the GOP does not have the candidates or policies that will swing these voters into their direction so their attitude is just to disenfranchise them.

This past summer Attorney General Eric Holder spoke at the NAACP's annual conference and said “Many of those without IDs would have to travel great distances to get them and some would struggle to pay for the documents they might need to obtain them, “We call those poll taxes.”

The AG couldn't have been more right. Republicans have literally tried to turn back the clock to 1964. With these laws people of all races and backgrounds who fought the Civil Rights battles back in the early 60's have found themselves back in combat gear.

The party also doesn't seem to understand the damage that it has done with all of these constituency groups. The GOP's base of rich, middle aged, white men is shrinking by the hour and yet they can't help but continue to insult and denigrate women, Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, and given the fact Paul Ryan will still have a future in the party after he and Romney lose this election, the elderly.

The state of Texas which has also put forth a new set of voter laws may be a swing state by the time the 2016 Presidential election rolls around due in large part to the booming Hispanic population growth within the state. The R's however continue to double down with language of self deportation and rejection of “The Dream Act”. Mitt Romney at a Univision event a couple of weeks ago used the slur “Illegals”. Not exactly the way to win over a skeptical crowd.

In fairness the GOP played a huge role in the signing of the 64' Civil Rights Act and the 65' Voting Rights Act, but that was a long time ago and the party, forty years later has been hijacked by nut jobs and partisan hacks.

The one silver lining that those of us who are sane have is that we can still show up to the ballot box and say “No” to these clowns.

We should never stop fighting for that right no matter how many Tom Corbett's and Mike Turzai's we have to take on.