From someone who thinks they really understand what it means to be a truly independent women: the problem with the Miss USA pageant is that “homosexual males are the judges of women’s beauty.”
Riiiiight. That’s the problem.
(I can’t even go there on “They choose women who look like men–no chests, no hips, in other words, not a woman who looks like she’d be in the reproduction business.”)
(h/t: A Kleinheider Joint, where, apparently, the commenters have the stomach to go there.)
If you’re going to use an example of voter fraud as the reason why you need a photo ID bill, and you’re the State Elections Coordinator or the attorney for the State’s Division of Elections, shouldn’t you know the specifics of the case? Tennessee Election Coordinator (and former state Rep.) Mark Goins and attorney Cara Harr do not.
What we know about the Ophelia Ford case is that the three people who plead guilty to faking votes – “two of them cast in the names of dead people†– were poll workers, not voters. And fraud by poll workers is election fraud – not voter fraud.
Election fraud is a systematic effort by those with power to steal an election through vote manipulation and voter suppression. Voter fraud is when a voter attempts to vote more than once or by impersonating someone else.
Not only is it free Baskin Robbins day on the Hill today, but HB0639, the bill that would have required a photo ID to vote, failed in the House Elections Subcommittee this morning! Thanks to Chairman Eddie Yokley (D-Greenville, the Fightin’ 11th!) and Rep. Gary Moore (D-Joelton, the Fightin’ 50th!) who voted no, and Rep. Harry Tindell (D-Knoxville, the Fightin’ 13th!) who voted “no” and correctly labeled the bill as a “poll tax.”
A shout out to Speaker Kent Williams (R-Carter County, the Fightin’ 4th!) too, who wandered in to break the tie on HB1841 (which would urge the state executive committees to jointly establish a calendar of appearances of its gubernatorial candidates in all 95 counties), but who stayed just long enough to ask all the right questions about the constitutionality of the bill’s exceptions and the lack of tangible evidence of voter fraud in the state.
“We need legislation to prevent fraud,” Speaker Williams said, “But I’m not sure your vehicle is the right vehicle.” And then, *poof,* he was gone, leaving the meeting before the vote and without breaking the tie that would have moved the bill out of committee.
Rep. Tindell asked all the right questions and touched on all the salient points including the requirement that the ID be government issue only; the cost – in effort, time and coin – of obtaining such an ID; the number of people in the state who do not have a photo ID; the problem with provisional ballots; and the lack of fairness inherent in the legislation (if it’s going to be required, than it needs to be free for everyone):
Also written into the bill was an exception that would have allowed a voter to be excused from presenting a photo ID by signing a sworn statement of indigency. State Coordinator Goins and Rep. Tindell went head to head on the automatic loophole set up by this exception:
More importantly, though, if it’s enough for some of us to simply sign a sworn statement for their votes to count without having to show a photo ID, then why isn’t is OK for the rest of us?
Rep. Yokley once again made reference to the illegality of voter fraud and the stiff penalty attached – it’s a felony, don’t you know, punishable by a fine and a stiff jail sentence. And even though there is currently no one in jail for committing voter fraud, the proof offered by the Coordinator Goins that voter fraud exists was the famous Oh-My-God-Dead-People-In-Shelby-County-Voted-in-the-Opehlia-Ford-Senate-Election.
But what we know about that case is that the three people who plead guilty to faking votes – “two of them cast in the names of dead people” – were poll workers, not voters. And fraud by poll workers is election fraud – not voter fraud.
And it’s the poll workers who would be checking photo IDs.
Free ice cream two days in a row and a dead photo ID bill. This is the Best Week Ever!
The full court press against voting and voting rights continues tomorrow as the Tennessee House Elections Subcommittee meets at 10 am to considerHB0639 by Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville), the bill that would require “a voter to present qualified photographic identification before voting,” aka a solution in search of a problem.
It’s already been passed in the Senate (thanks for voting “No” Senators Beverly Marrero (D-Memphis, the Fightin’ 30th!), Lowe Finney (D-Jackson, the Fightin’ 27th!), and Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga, the Fightin’ 10th!) with six amendments attached – a poor attempt at leveling inherently unfair legislation. With the six amendments, the law would exempt the indigent, those living in a nursing home or staying in a hospital, the over-65 crowd, and those religiously opposed to having their picture taken.
Good, right? Not really. If you want participatory democracy to be equitable and still require Photo IDs to vote, then you have to make them free and easily accessible for everyone – not just a few exceptions. Perhaps we can put a voter registration and photo booth in every grocery and convenient store in town and staff them 24/7 (for you know, people who work the third shift).
Huh. Voter registration and photo booths in every grocery and convenient store. Now that’s a fiscal note I’d like to see attached to ol’ HB0639.
Ironically, while Tennessee’s elected Republicans continue to work towards making it more difficult for us to vote, they want to make it easier for us buy guns and drink underage.
And for those of you who think showing a photo ID is a reasonable restriction to place on the voting process, I guarantee you that if this passes they’ll be back next year with even further restrictions. Where Florida goes, Tennessee will follow.
So give a call or send an email to the members of the House Elections Subcommittee and urge them to vote “No” on HB0639.
So, let me get this straight. Tennessee State Senator Paul “Not that Paul Stanley” Stanley (R-Memphis) wants to make it easier to purchase alcohol out of state by allowing third party shipping companies to be responsible for checking the age and identity of those signing for the alcohol, but want to make the make it more difficult for the elderly, indigent, and the disabled to vote by making partisan election officials responsible for checking – or not checking - citizenship status?
Number of underage drinkers in Tennessee: 243,000 (in 2003)
Number of cases of voter fraud committed in Tennessee by registered voters: 0
FYI to Rep. Richard Floyd (R-Chattanooga), reading Drudge and listening to talk radio may be harmful to your understanding of your colleague’s legislation not to mention your performance on the floor of the House. I’m sure it’s just another one of those darn “unintended consequences,” like the melting polar ice caps the EPA is trying to curtail with its annoying little regulations.
If you’ve come here looking for a defense of the Memphis Planned Parenthood employee who broke the law by not reporting that a minor child was having sex with a 31-year-old, you can move along.
But if you’re looking for a defense of Planned Parenthood as an organization who should continue to receive federal funds to provide family planning services, to educate individuals about sex, STDs, and contraception, and to advocate on behalf of both men and women who do not have ready access to these services, then you’ve come to the right place.
Yesterday we interviewed Jeff Teague, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee and he confirmed what we knew all along – Planned Parenthood is indispensable and does good and useful work providing comprehensive sex education and complementary reproductive healthcare to individuals of all ages regardless of race, age, income status, religion or sexual orientation.
In the interview, Jeff tells us the real mission of the organization, dispels with quite a lot of misinformation, and shares with us the dangers inherent in SJR127 – the legislation that would amend the Tennessee constitution and get us one step closer to endangering the health of women in the state.
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This Thursday, April 23, is the PPMET Spring Luncheon, a benefit to support all the good work they do. More information is at plannedparenthood.org or call 615-345-0952.
Jon Stewart: “Hey we know you tortured. But at least when we confronted you about it, you lied, and that’s the important part.”
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So, let me get this straight. Tennessee State Senators Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and Mark Norris (R-Collierville) and their merry band of Tennessee House Republicans want to make it more difficult for some citizens of Tennessee to vote (the elderly, indigent, and the disabled, if you must know) by pushing legislation that would require proof of citizenship (via a birth certificate, passport, or driver’s license) to register to vote, and then requiring a photo ID every time they go to vote, at the same time that they are passing legislation asking for less identification to buy a gun?
Wait, wait. And Rep. Curry Todd (R-Collierville) is pushing a bill that would make it easier to obtain an absentee ballot with just a scanned signature, no photo ID required?
Number of murders committed recently in Tennessee by gun permit holders: 3
Number of cases of voter fraud committed in Tennessee by registered voters: 0*
BTW, Florida Republicans are taking the Sunshine state down a slippery slope since they passed a photo ID law. Their latest photo ID law places even more restrictions on the elderly stating that they can no longer use photo IDs issued by retirement homes.**
*What happened in Memphis was “election fraud,” systematic and systemic disenfranchisement by those working within the system, i.e. poll workers, election officials, elected officials, etc. (you know, the people that would be responsible for checking photo IDs and making election laws.)
**A good example of election fraud.
Summary: Our guests include Paul Kuhn of NORML, Jeff Teague of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee, Chris Ford of Tennessee Conservation Voters, and Elbert Ventura of Media Matters for America.
Part 1 – Om nom nom nom nom Intro, to do list (see below), and news items: the Fifth Summit of the Americas, the handshake heart ’round the right-wing echo chamber, and the torture memos.
[27.6MB 24:05 download MP3]
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Independence Day
– Martina McBride
– The Breeders (Last Splash)
Part 2 – Interview with Paul Kuhn It’s 4/20, yo, so we decided to interview our local “connection” to NORML, the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (The Fightin’ Bogarts!). Paul Kuhn, partner with an investment management firm here in Nashville by day and NORML supporter, activist, and board member by night, discusses the mission of the organization, the state of legalization and decriminalization, and his deeply personal connection to the medical side of the argument. [25.1 MB 21:56 download MP3]
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Part 3- Media Matters for America Smackdown Media Matters research fellow, Elbert Ventura, has a list and the tea party organizers are on it. [9.4MB 08:12 download MP3]
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Part 4 – Interview with Jeff Teague Jeff Teague is the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee. Planned Parenthood does such good work to educate men and women of all ages about their reproductive health through – outreach, support, and advocacy – that it simply boggles the mind that they have become a punching bag for the right wing. In this interview, Jeff tells us the real mission of the organization, dispels with quite a lot of misinformation, and shares with us the dangers inherent in SJR127 – the legislation that would amend the Tennessee constitution and get us one step closer to banning abortion. This Thursday, April 23, is the PPMET Spring Luncheon, a benefit to support all the good work they do. More information is at plannedparenthood.org or call 615-345-0952. [27.7MB 24:11 download MP3]
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Part 5 – Interview with Chris Ford An environment legislative update from Chris Ford, Executive Director of Tennessee Conservation Voters and a quick update on some more legislation passing through the state legislature – HB 0335 by Rep. Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis) adds gender identity or expression as a sentencing enhancement factor to Tennessee’s hate crimes statute that currently includes sexual orientation. This bill will be heard on April 22 in the House Criminal Practice subcommittee. [11.1 MB 10:11 download MP3]
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