Republicans’ War Against Voters

It hasn’t been seen since the days of segregation. The Republicans have mounted a campaign, devised and financed by the Koch brothers, who have been accused by The New Yorker of “waging war against Obama,” to prevent the largest number of Democrats possible from voting in the next election. According to the organization The Advancement Project, which campaigns for civil rights, “we haven’t seen such a decline in voting in a century.”

In the 1980s, the conservative theorist Paul Weyrich said, “I do not want everyone to go vote. Our power is increased when participation drops.” Thirty years later, thanks to the same Weyrich, fewer Americans (Democrats, of course), will vote in November 2012.

In fact, as many as 38 states, led by a conservative group called the American Legislative Exchange Council, funded by the Koch brothers, have put restrictions in place on voting rights. For example, Alabama and Kansas require proof of U.S. citizenship before voting. Florida and Texas limit the actions that certain liberal organizations can take to enlist new voters. Florida and Iowa prohibit voting by those who were sentenced to long terms in prison. Vermont ended a practice dating back to 1973 to allows registration on voting day. There is no limit to the Republicans’ vision of control over the states.

Six states require those voting to produce an identity card. In the United States, more than 10 percent of Americans do not have them, including 18 percent of youth and 25 percent of blacks, two groups who vote heavily in favor of Democrats. “In my life, since we eliminated the racist laws, there has never been such an effort made to limit the right to vote,” said an outraged Bill Clinton in July. The GOP has tried everything to make Barack Obama a “one term president.” Their dirty tricks may well come back to hit them in the face next November.