Voter ID reconsidered
Sam’s back, baby…tanned…rested…and ready to blog like a mofo. And let me begin my triumphant return by immediately parting company with Jake and–based on the press releases about the voter ID decision–God, Mom, and Apple Pie. Not necessarily in that order.
Friends, here we stand on the brink of what could prove to be one of the most divisive legislative sessions since Reconstruction. The looming fight over the Speaker’s gavel and the House rules could mean that by March 2009, the denizens around the Dome start using the phrase, “Speaker Phil” without so much as batting an eye. And yet the party’s leadership continue to push forward on the voter ID bill, which proved so controversial in the 80th that a man with a partially functioning liver dragged his half-dead self back to the Capitol just in case the bill made it to the Senate floor.
Don’t get Sam wrong. I love a good Martin Luther quote as much as the next protestant. But this isn’t a battle of conscience, nor is it a pressing public policy issue. As Jake points out, 6700 voters statewide shouldn’t be on the rolls. Note that the research doesn’t state how many of those people voted…just that they are registered. So these don’t even represent illegal votes, just potential illegal votes.
Fair enough…nobody wants illegal votes. But what evidence does the GOP bring forward to prove that these frauds have perpetrated widespread election tampering? What evidence does the party with the elephant show to prove that any illegal votes have been cast? What evidence does the R-cause have to convince me that flashing a driver’s license at the polling place will secure democracy?
None that I have seen.
And on the cusp of a powder-keg session, why…for the love of Dan Bernstein…why would the leadership make this bill a crown jewel of their agenda?
It may be legal to push it. Hell, it may even be politically popular amongst the faithful. But we do not need a rerun of the 80th. Texas…yes, our Texas…faces some serious, pressing problems. Voters showing up at the polling place and pretending to be someone else ain’t one of them. Let’s not hamstring the next two years of legislation over it.
We need leadership, not division.
One Response to “Voter ID reconsidered”
By Jake Hatlin on Apr 29, 2008
Sam -
You’re back in just the nick of time. My one man pony show was running out of tricks. However, I thought most people came back from vacation relaxed, you seem more wound up.
Thats what you get for spending 3 weeks in San Fran. You should be spending more time in God’s country, you know…Lubbock.