A Florida Democrat has a message for his GOP governor: Stop trying to suppress voter turnout to help your party.
Gov. Rick Scott has come up with a list of 180,000 voters who his administration suspects are ineligible to cast ballots in the battleground state. The problem? Florida has cast such a wide net that it seems to have snared many legitimate voters.
A Miami Herald analysis shows that Hispanics, Democrats, and independent minded voters are most likely to be targeted by Scott's initiative — potentially hurting President Obama and other Democrats in November.
That's outraging Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch. "He's got to stop this," the lawmaker said of the governor on The Ed Show on Thursday.
"The whole plan is to suppress voter turnout, whether by scrubbing the roles or whether by convincing people it’s just too difficult. That’s what we have to remind them. They can’t give up,” he added, noting that several of his constituents received letters saying they were ineligible to vote — even though they are American citizens.
The strategy of zapping voters from the rolls isn't exactly revolutionary. As the Herald notes, "Florida went looking for potential noncitizen voters, following the lead of Republican secretaries of state in Colorado and New Mexico — two other Hispanic-heavy swing states this election year."
Something similar happened in the run-up to the chaotic 2000 presidential election in Florida, when it was discovered that thousands of black voters were wrongly prevented from casting ballots because they had names similar to convicted felons. George W. Bush won the state by 537 votes.
An NBC-Marist poll released Thursday showed President Obama leading presumed Republican nominee Mitt Romney 48% to 44%.
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Wasn't Scottie involved in illegal activities before and still got elected guv? Maybe he should be scrubbed! This does not speak well for floridiots as we call them up here in N>C> Of course, we have our own idiot republicans in control after 140 yrs and they tried voter suppression (vetoed) cut planned parenthood, slashed education. mandated scans for abortions. But, our hill billy neighbors just could not resist and let them back in control. Oh well, we tried to keep them out of power say for another 140 yrs.
North Caroilinna did one thing right. They elected a Democratic Gov. to veto all the stupidy of Rep.
How can republicans pretend to be American and try to cripple democracy at the same time? They run their operation like the Chinese. We have to decide whether we want to become the new China by voting for republicans, or fix the problems we have, by electing a mass of democratic representatives. Obama will win, maybe by a short margin, but if we don't hand him a democratic congress, it will be a wasted 4 years.
How did this guy get elected??? Unbelievable.. Do I smell a recall?
Sure, because every time you cry baby liberals don't get what you want you go make a drum circle, not bathe for a month, and protest for a recall election.
Get a clue : Every time an election doesn't go your way, it's because the people have spoken. There is no conspiracy.
Call it what you like but the people have a legal right to protest whatever they want
The right to vote is something we hold dear in America. But it has been under attack by the Republicans along with everything else in America. The rights of the people are being taken one at a time.
I totally agree pam52, this year really seems like the GOP is set on taking our country backwards.
THIS year? How about the last 20?
Best be on the safe side if you live in FL:
http://orlando.about.com/od/politics/qt/floridavoting.htm
Just think, in some countries, people are required to vote! In Australia, for example, it is against the law not to vote!
Something has gone very wrong in the USA when the Republicans get away with making it difficult and costly to vote!
I honestly wonder if this is constitutional? Oh, yeah, with our Supreme Court it will be if ever challenged! They're liable to make you give a pint of blood when you vote.
Republicans don't want to represent America. They want to rule it.
Then there's Florida's Governor Scott,
Thinks drug dealing's a Democrat plot,
'Fore elections, his fame's
Faking Medicare claims.
You think this guy's a con man, or what?
Just think, we spent over a trillion dollars, lost 6000 lives, uncounted amount of damaged to our military people just to allow Araqies the chance to vote.
Is that what it is coming to here in America.
Florida Governor must be challenged by the Democrats and all individuals if legal rights of voters are taken away by the Governor. It should be a crime and must be investigated and punished.
To all of you that say Recall Governor Scott, Believe me we would love to Recall him but the Florida Constitution does not allow Recall elections. The Republican majority of this state will not even entertain an amendment to the constitution, going as far as tabling all proposals by members of both parties so it never gets out of committee to be voted by the assembly. Come to Florida and experience total domination by one party rule. They even made it legal to take bribes from lobbyists.
Voting and voting well, the distribution of voting wealth, the entitlement to vote? There are questions to be asked.
But the simple voting idea that, once the obvious and agreed upon vote was accepted, the next thought is doubt.
If voting for representation and to both delicate and accept taxes and to oversee governance is straight forward civics.
Voting cannot correct for the essential flawed character of mankind, it can only try.
Ever since the first vote was cast the loser sought to object, a natural tendency overcome by a dedication to the common good.
These primitive visceral feelings were in place before the vote was adopted, when the need to stop fighting became required for survival.
As most religions long recognize, faith requires reinforcement, membership in religion requires listening to the right things to do, and has some ways to condemn and punishment and some ways to redeem and forgive.
However aside from the calendared services, the primitive mind covets and undermines civilizing agreement to accept the vote.
If accept the vote as vast improvement over the abuse of power and intimidation, then you have to also accept the tenacity of holding on to old ideas, old ways and the reluctance of giving up the spear.
Imagine an early town voting for a master huntsman to remove the threat of wolves, but also remember the fearful farmer would not for moment let his guard down. The huntsman must prove his worth, and to do long after the wolves have gone. The farmer will question the need for a huntsman when there are no wolves, but will not give up his spear. When domesticated dogs were introduced, the farmer, the huntsman and the dog became unified first in defense then in offense and again not give up the spear. In sum the idea of voting goes away when it not needed, but the primitive spear progress onto the gun. Primitive times yield under fantastic growth and the vote become the only way to guide the countries direction, and it not the spear or the gun by the fireside that is the means of control, the abuse of the vote would not have normally been foreseen, progress is always slowed firmly anchored in the past.
It should be odd that with fiction horror novels don't educate, and the staple of old morality plays escapes our attention, but it not those vehicles that carry the bad news, as much as our captured attention. Since the invention of the printing press, our attention has been taken over, bit by bit, technology by technology, and well noted by the older member of the passing generations. The farm boy reading novels under the tree rather that attending to the flock, that boy don't pay attention, and what is becoming of us. Arriving at 2012 was inevitable in that by this time all of our attention would be away from voting and self-governance and unaware of the evil intentions of the villains in the dismissed entertainments of our day.
Well to roll forward, those entertainment of the day have name, and that name is "media", and that "media" is paid for entirely from advertisements, and those advertisements are designed as powerful inducements to buy off what you just don’t need. All of your attention has been consumed and you have no more time to give.
This leaves the hapless distracted public from recognizing that media is the message and the owner of media owns the message.
The right to vote, the power behind those votes and every aspect of the voting, has become a commodity purchase at the whole sale and the retail level. We have a system so corrupt, we can only elect the vote thief, and we have paid so little attention that we cannot know who we vote for.
Ask yourself, does this elected official, vote thief, represent what you voted for, how can they represent a radical destructive party and serve your needs?
When you stop long enough to listen, see what is being done, and if that does not match what you expect, then you have made a mistake?
There has been unleashed on the economic system an untethered monster, we want to know, why, but we cannot see that ID from the "Forbidden Planet". This monster was created in quiet rooms, powered by new continents and would eventually do every evil that could not be turned to profit. The centuries of exploitation continued beyond commodities, beyond land, adopting voracious appetite for power and a willingness to oversee destruction, again, again, like in the old movie, we see power meters illustrating the multiplying of imagined infinity of power.
When we elect governors who wear borrowed coats of money, and they say wonderfully beautiful things, splendid things and promise The Moon, you can expect quite a different performance when the act of voter destruction is complete.
Too bad we have surrendered our will to resist, our immune system undermined, our history distorted and what has been war and human disaster is parsed and placed inside plush huggable toys, the stuffed animal creatures that we placate children with have become toy of demented deceit.
Look underneath the moneyed clothing of the endless campaigners, the official that continues to run for office while executing an agenda paid form by the invisible untether monster, but don't believe what cannot be see of under the money barrier, there is nothing to see but the evil intentions.
The VOTE folks, get it!
Wow, you people amaze me. Just because some "democrat" accuses someone of something...its all true.
Why don't you people just recall every person that won an election in 2010.
I have an idea....why don't we recall the president who was elected in 2008.
Recall, recall, recall. Dems do not lose gracefully........and anytime they get in trouble or get behind in the polls....someone comes up with some bogus story and Ed spins it to his faithful few followers.
I am going to stay here as long as possible to voice the other side. Its not right what Ed does and what you guys do when you are threatened with a loss.
Ed is already making excuses for Scott Walker winning again. He is already planning his "they cheated" plan when that happens.
I am getting sick of this and will stand up for it. But I will promise you one thing. I will never call anyone a name or use bad language on this blog....which seems what most of the people here do.
Even the guy that puts the photo of his mother instead of himself. That is a cowardice act.
Go GOP. The truth will set us free and will begin to bring our great nation back to its righteous, moral self.
LOL at you
where is your photo?
though so just another right wing cult troll wannabe.
nope no bad words and no name calling here.
LOL
#10 That does it, the cat stays.
Being a polite seditionist is nothing to be proud of.
Johnny, you have called names. You have never posted anything to back up what you spew. You're here for one reason only. And we all kn ow what that is. It's not to discuss facts. You've posted nothing to discuss. Just bad mouthing the host. What a surprise. Why do you watch if you hate him so much? I dislike Fox Lies. I sure don't watch it. It's blocked on my TVs. I used to try, but it took less than 5 min and any rational individual knows it's not only lies, but stpid easily check lies. But it sounds like you continue to watch someone you hate and totally disagree with. Why? And then come on here with NO facts and think you're going to be listened to. ?????????
It's because he thinks he's REALLY MAKING AN IMPACT, and this is one of the few places where people will respond to him. On a right-wing site, he's just one of the many. Nobody listens to him. It's the equivalent of throwing eggs at cars-people may not like you for it, but at least they notice you.
oh yes, johnny, please continue your "principled", condescending, "holier than thou" position that you "will never call names".
and under the "umbrella" of your position of "never calling names", please continue to be disrespectful to Ed and all democrats with your snarky ignorant comments.
how big of you to take the "high road".
you are the coward here and once again i'm female
You'll all have to forgive johnny studies show self professed conservatives know nothing about the world around them
So you this see that is why johnny does not understand this story has nothing to do with past elections it's about future elections as in all the elligible voters who will not be able to vote in the next one if scott gets his way. Not very hard to find when you see people who are say veterans, that's a major screw up that should be remarkably easy to avoid.
You might be willing to think supressing groups that mostly vote democrat by only republican politicians is to protect elections and not give republicans an advantage at the polls since the demographic numbers the GOP relies on are not looking good for the future but others will not. To all GOP governors who want to "protect" the vote so you folks were elected before these benevolent protections to our voting were in place so you were elected in an unprotected election.....so since the protections didn't exist how do we know you're legitimate? How do we know you didn't get a rigged result after all your valuable and totally needed new restrictive laws weren't in place......think about that
Then there is the real world where the GOP have purged voters from the rolls as what happened in Michigan in 2004 when thousands of left leaning voters found themselves having to register 2 or more times because names were taken off the list as fast as people registered. Being a tea bagging republican is living a life in denial.
You guys are sure asking a lot. Why would they want to get their heads out of the dark places and look at the real world?
Hmmm. What dark place do they have their heads in? I wonder.
between their 3rd and 5th points of contact.
its dark warm and fits just right for them.
Rick Scott should be ashamed of himself for trying to make Florida a libertarian society where only those who believe in the me me ideology can vote and the rest of the citizens have no say. This is NOT democracy. Of course, his financial benefactors (the Koch brothers) are surely proud of him and probably are guiding him along this path. If ever there were a time for us to stand up it is definitely NOW. Otherwise it is hard to say what will happen to this country.
repubs don't care how they win elections. THEY JUST WANT TO WIN.
we see what happened in 2000 in florida (recount stopped by repubs, bush annointed president by his daddy's friends), and in 2004 in ohio, bush and his friend, karl rove are responsible for the hacking of computers that stole 90,000 votes from John Kerry. bush was "president" for 8 years, and stole both elections.
we know that a lower turnout at the polls is good for repubs, this is why they are trying to restrict democratic voters. i worry about the redistrcting and the voter suppresion laws that will disenfranchise millions of voters.
again i say the repukes wiill do anything to make sure obama does not win. all they do is spout hatred, bigotry, and racism and it just keeps getting worse.
Billie Mazza, #13
It really makes you look forward to October, doesn't it.
By the end of October I'll be sitting in my room, drapes drawn, lights off, staring at the wall, speaking in tongues, hugging the cat.
What gets me, Billie, is that in so many cases, they are biting the hand that feeds them. Romney does not care for the blue collar workers or those on social security. Yet, so often they are the ones touting ROMNEY. He'll screw them so bad!!! But you cannot tell them that! Romney lies constantly and the press isn't calling him out on the lies. People then believe the lies! So frustrating!!
as usual i see that johhny has made an appearance and still spouting lies
The use of the ballot vote is guaranteed by the Constitution and when the repugnants start messing with the laws for voting rights are manipulated for crooked means, then its time revolt against the repugnant form of government.
Wow, you mean dead people, felons and Illegal Aliens will not be able to vote in 2012. That is terrible.
Wow you are still trying to push that after every state in the union has proven that doesn't happen. Oh and btw not all states make having a felony denying them their right to vote, Nor does the US constitution but then when has a tea bagging republican do more then push Fox news fake outrage.
Aliens? Illegals?
gee someone must also believe in UFO`s.
but if a Aliens did show up i am betting that it would not be aloud to vote.
LOL but that seems to be on the 10 all time oldies hit list of the wacko radical right.
Pilot, If you really don't know what an Illegal Aliens is come to San Diego, there is a bunch. An Alien is a foreign national visiting or living in the United States, and Illegal Alien is one that violated the law to do so. The political correct phrase is Undocumented Alien, but I prefer the Historic terminology. In addition to violating Federal Entry Laws, they often buy forged Drivers Licenses, Social Security Cards, and violate other laws. They place a significant burden on our Medical System as well as our Education System.
The idea that tons of illegals vote is a considerable stretch, if these folks are worried to call the police why would they risk getting caught. If I'm an illegal I'm not walking into a federal polling place. Prove the voter fraud and maybe people will be okay with these show documents you've never before had to show laws.
If all previous elections before these laws were tainted what about the mid terms? If they were not enabled by then how do we know these governors didn't cheat, ever think about that
what we should be doing is shutting down the theives that supply false documents which will make impossible for illegals to hide
You have to show a photo ID to do almost everything in life.
You can not get a voter ID card with out showing your photo ID.
Liberals want to regulate everything under the sun, but if a person wants to vote 2-3-4 times who cares.
So what the reason that you have to show photo ID in most things in life is because people stand to gain something from it. Whereas that is not a problem with voting as there is nothing to gain from voting under someone elses name nor is the gain worth the risk. Prove where anyone has been convicted of voting 2 or 3 times. You can't because it doesn't happen. So straw man argument. Or as I like to call it Bull @!$%#.
No the reason you have to show a photo ID for most things is to verify your identity and protect you (and everyone) against fraud.
You also have to show an ID to buy beer and cigarettes. Reason: To protect the shop owner from committing a crime. Without it the shop owner only stands to gain criminal charges.
You have to show an ID to cash a check in any bank in America. What does the bank gain by asking you for an ID besides verification that you are indeed who you say you are? Nothing.
So what's wrong with requiring a photo identification to vote, if you need it to buy a pack of cigarettes or beer or cash a check in America? One could argue that identity verification for voting is far more important than buying beer or smokes, or cashing a check.
You can make the lame argument that impoverished people can't come up with four bucks to get a photo ID, but if that's true, how can they scrape together bus fare to get to the polling center anyway?
Excuse me, voter fraud virtually doesn't exist, and when it does, it is usually committed by people who work at the polling places. Voter fraud has never been a problem and you disgusting, right-wing, nazi facist know it. This is simply an attempt to discourage voting by minorities, the elderly, and the young. It is a crime.
Excuse me, voter fraud virtually doesn't exist
Sure you bet...
The liberals mantra is if they do not believe it, then it does not exist...
So when you have a county with a population of 1000 and 1100 people vote, the liberals think nothing wrong with that.
And this is a gigantic load of liberal horse sh#t and you know it. You are saying that elderly, minorities, and young people don't have proper identification? Nonsense. You can't function legitimately in society without some proof of identity.
lol
out off 300 million votes .0003% voter fraud!!!
so it is BS!
but the last voter fraud case conviction was the Indiana SoS.
I haven't seen Open Range for awhile? Did he go to Mars so he could come back as an illegal alien?
The Radical Right its not them, Its the rest of the world that's screwed up. What a bunch of paranoid schizophrenics! Its proof that universal health care is direly needed!!!
These tactics being used by the Republicans sets this country back decades. Noticed they are mainly being implimented in battleground states, states where Obama won in 2008. This is criminal and it should be taken up by the Supreme Court.
my my my think about it! it will hurt them more because it will keep more old bags out of the voting booth because they cant get the id required or others idk
Republicans can't win elections honestly, so they have to steal them. This makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that nobody seems to be stopping them and they're getting away with it
Once again we have a Koch brothers protege running a state. I guess the Koch brothers learned these tactics from their father who spent time in Russia working for Stalin. Also, Rick Scott is far from squeaky clean since his former healthcare company had to pay one of the largest fines for fraud. Rumor is that Rick took the fifth so he was not charged and convicted. These are the leaders of the GOP today. They have no morals or ethics and will do whatever it takes. They are owned by the Koch brothers, Karl Rove, etc.
Don't you dare stop our fellow Floridians from voting.....
We do have to show ID here in Florida. If not picture there is a long list of other id, The election office is very specific on what they take. You just cannot walk in and vote..
They are just trying to discourage people from voting.. I tell people go and vote... Don't let anyone tell you, you can't until you don't get handed a ballot. These Republicains are so dirty... If Romney does win.. It won't be because of a clean victory that is for sure..
All I have to say is GOVERNOR SCOTT DO THE RIGHT THING FOR YOUR FLORIDIANS NOT FOR YOUR PARTY!!!!!! BE LIKE CHARLIE CHRIST....