Our Dwindling Democracy...
I know that I've written a lot over these last couple of years about our diminishing freedoms and rights under the Bush Administration. I'm sure a lot of what I've written has been considered hyperbolic and inflammatory. And perhaps some of it was. But if there was any doubt about the intent of this Bush led White House and Republican led Congress to strip away the basic rights and freedoms enjoyed by every citizen while preserving them for a select few, those doubts should be laid to rest right here and right now. Under Bush and these Republicans, democracy in the United States is being stripped away, diminished and taken from us. The Constitution, the Bill of Rights and all they guarantee to our citizenry are quite literally being destroyed right before our very eyes.
Last week, along party lines, the House of Representatives passed H.R.4844, an amendment to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. H.R. 4844 requires that everybody provide a photographic proof of citizenship to vote. That means, everybody is going to be required to have a passport when we go to the polls. A driver's license is no longer going to cut it because it doesn't prove citizenship and a birth certificate won't work because it doesn't have a photograph. A passport is about the only form of photographic proof of your citizenship.
The most common question I've been asked when talking about this issue is, “Don't you want to make sure only citizens are voting?" And my answer to that is, yeah absolutely. But at the same time, we have to ensure that all citizens are able to vote as is provided for under our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Voting is one of the cornerstones of our Republic. It's a foundation of democracy. And under this bill, under this Administration, that foundation is being dangerously eroded.
This bill, if signed into law, will disenfranchise literally millions of legally registered, tax-paying citizens. Passports can cost upwards of $100 dollars to obtain. My dad got his last week for a trip he’s taking and it cost him $150 bucks. Not that these Republicans care, but not everybody in this country can afford to put out that kind of money for a passport.
How many of us know somebody living paycheck to paycheck, hand to mouth? How many of us know an elderly person living on a fixed income? How many of us are or know a student that’s barely getting by as it is? How many of us know somebody on a tight budget that simply can’t afford an extra hundred bucks for a passport? I’d be willing to wager that we all know people in a situation like this if we’re not in it ourselves.
It’s only a hundred bucks for a passport, supporters of this bill say. Sure, but for how many people in this country is a hundred bucks already the choice between having electricity or being able to eat? And now they’re being asked to shell out that hundred bucks to exercise a fundamental right guaranteed to all citizens of this country? This bill is immoral. It’s monstrous. It’s an abomination. It’s patently un-Constitutional and completely un-American. And yet, these Republicans passed it. What does that say about them?
It’s a hundred bucks for a passport today. What will it be tomorrow? What will the next rationalization they use for instituting a higher poll tax be? Because, make no mistake about it, this is a poll tax, ladies and gentlemen. It’s cleverly disguised, but this is the sort of tactic we saw used during the heyday of Jim Crow to deny certain “undesirables” their explicit right to vote.
I might be less upset about this bill if they provided the means for citizens to obtain a passport cost free. But they haven’t. There is no provision under this bill to provide assistance to those that can’t afford it. We’re on our own and it comes down to case of you can either afford to vote or you can’t.
This abomination of a bill passed the House but isn’t expected to make it to the Senate calendar before they recess. So we have some time to mount a fight because trust me, this bill will be back in the next session. If it passes the Senate, Bush will undoubtedly sign this into law. After that, it would fall to the Supreme Court to determine the Constitutionality of the law. And if you think this Roberts-Alito led ultra-conservative Court is going to deem it un-Constitutional, I’d say think again.
It’s never to early to let your Senators know that we will not stand for this. To let them know that we will not tolerate the disenfranchisement of millions of people. To let them know that we will not stand idly by while they try to leave millions of people outside of our political system. Write to your Senators, call them, follow them home, do whatever you feel moved to do. And if you feel so moved, re-post this, pass this on. Let’s get the word out. We’re looking at elections a little more than a month away and I don’t feel that it’s hyperbole to say that these next few election cycles will be the most important in this nation’s history.
This is how the monied elite begins to seize total power This is how we come to have a class of rulers and a class of the ruled. This is how democracy dies, ladies and gentleman.
~By Kevin S.
Last week, along party lines, the House of Representatives passed H.R.4844, an amendment to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. H.R. 4844 requires that everybody provide a photographic proof of citizenship to vote. That means, everybody is going to be required to have a passport when we go to the polls. A driver's license is no longer going to cut it because it doesn't prove citizenship and a birth certificate won't work because it doesn't have a photograph. A passport is about the only form of photographic proof of your citizenship.
The most common question I've been asked when talking about this issue is, “Don't you want to make sure only citizens are voting?" And my answer to that is, yeah absolutely. But at the same time, we have to ensure that all citizens are able to vote as is provided for under our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Voting is one of the cornerstones of our Republic. It's a foundation of democracy. And under this bill, under this Administration, that foundation is being dangerously eroded.
This bill, if signed into law, will disenfranchise literally millions of legally registered, tax-paying citizens. Passports can cost upwards of $100 dollars to obtain. My dad got his last week for a trip he’s taking and it cost him $150 bucks. Not that these Republicans care, but not everybody in this country can afford to put out that kind of money for a passport.
How many of us know somebody living paycheck to paycheck, hand to mouth? How many of us know an elderly person living on a fixed income? How many of us are or know a student that’s barely getting by as it is? How many of us know somebody on a tight budget that simply can’t afford an extra hundred bucks for a passport? I’d be willing to wager that we all know people in a situation like this if we’re not in it ourselves.
It’s only a hundred bucks for a passport, supporters of this bill say. Sure, but for how many people in this country is a hundred bucks already the choice between having electricity or being able to eat? And now they’re being asked to shell out that hundred bucks to exercise a fundamental right guaranteed to all citizens of this country? This bill is immoral. It’s monstrous. It’s an abomination. It’s patently un-Constitutional and completely un-American. And yet, these Republicans passed it. What does that say about them?
It’s a hundred bucks for a passport today. What will it be tomorrow? What will the next rationalization they use for instituting a higher poll tax be? Because, make no mistake about it, this is a poll tax, ladies and gentlemen. It’s cleverly disguised, but this is the sort of tactic we saw used during the heyday of Jim Crow to deny certain “undesirables” their explicit right to vote.
I might be less upset about this bill if they provided the means for citizens to obtain a passport cost free. But they haven’t. There is no provision under this bill to provide assistance to those that can’t afford it. We’re on our own and it comes down to case of you can either afford to vote or you can’t.
This abomination of a bill passed the House but isn’t expected to make it to the Senate calendar before they recess. So we have some time to mount a fight because trust me, this bill will be back in the next session. If it passes the Senate, Bush will undoubtedly sign this into law. After that, it would fall to the Supreme Court to determine the Constitutionality of the law. And if you think this Roberts-Alito led ultra-conservative Court is going to deem it un-Constitutional, I’d say think again.
It’s never to early to let your Senators know that we will not stand for this. To let them know that we will not tolerate the disenfranchisement of millions of people. To let them know that we will not stand idly by while they try to leave millions of people outside of our political system. Write to your Senators, call them, follow them home, do whatever you feel moved to do. And if you feel so moved, re-post this, pass this on. Let’s get the word out. We’re looking at elections a little more than a month away and I don’t feel that it’s hyperbole to say that these next few election cycles will be the most important in this nation’s history.
This is how the monied elite begins to seize total power This is how we come to have a class of rulers and a class of the ruled. This is how democracy dies, ladies and gentleman.
~By Kevin S.
posted by Lila Schow at
8:06 PM
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