Everyone misses the 1950s.
It was a simpler time. Dad worked one job, mom cooked and cleaned while the kids went to their cute little segregated schools. Everyone loves the decade that brought us shows like “I Love Lucy,” songs like “Frosty the Snow Man” and fun activities like voter suppression.
The question still remains: Why are Republicans longing to go back? Why does Faux News want to “restore America” to its former “glory”? Maybe the answer lies in that subtle blend of Cold War McCarthyism, discrimination and sexism that only the ‘50s can provide.
For most people (e.g. not old white men) the ‘50s wasn’t a utopia worthy of reliving, but if Speaker John Boehner and Mr. Rick Santorum want to jump in the Delorean, they can be my guest. I’ll stay here, in an era where birth control is accepted, those in need can get access to health-care, no one is barred from voting and the Yankees finally have a salary cap.
If only, right?
The current political landscape is a curious thing. Santorum’s close-minded candidacy on one hand, Newt’s egotistical, grandiose, pathetic attempt to sell books on the other. Amidst all this partisan bickering, the GOP clusterfluff and the women’s rights debate, a new issue is coming into full swing — voter identification.
Voter identification has the potential to disenfranchise millions of minority voters who have fought for decades for their rights. Several states have enacted legislation or are in the process of enacting legislation (before November) that requires voters to show a photo ID.
Showing a utility bill, a Medicare card or even a birth-certificate used to suffice. Now states want photo ID. This seems reasonable on the surface, but it has to be understood why Republicans are jumping on this band-wagon.
The GOP, in its deep love for America, came up with a scheme. Since so many voters are committing voter fraud, let’s tighten the ID laws. As always, the GOP was doing the noble thing, taking the moral high road and putting themselves first.
Yet to Republicans, stepping away from the pandering and looking at facts and figures is a scary thought. The percentage of voters committing voter fraud is close to .0002 percent, or one 5,000th of a percent, according to non-partisan Brennan Center for Justice.
A person is 3,500 times more likely to report seeing a UFO than to commit voter fraud. A George Washington law professor estimates that these laws would prevent between 1,000 and 10,000 eligible votes from being cast for each case of fraud they prevent.
Although these facts are well-documented and well-known, the GOP says everyone needs a photo ID. That means, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, 11 percent of eligible voters would be turned away because they lacked proper ID. That rate jumps to 25 percent in the black community.
Texas Voter ID legislation has been halted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as discriminatory. Because of Texas’ previous history with discrimination, their laws in this area have to be reviewed by the Department of Justice. It’s estimated that 29 to 38 percent of those affected by the law in Texas would be Hispanic.
States passing such laws are trying to justify them by stipulating that they will provide the proper ID free of charge, advertise the changes and educate the voters.
This costs upward of $20 million in reference to similar programs in North Carolina. A large number of voters would have to travel out of their own county to obtain the ID. This would cost money in gas and is just plain unreasonable, which is why many argue it constitutes as a 21st-century poll tax. Not to mention the vast number of elderly voters who lack birth certificates or the means of transportation to obtain them.
It isn’t some adorable coincidence that Republicans across the country are advocating these bills at the same time, most ardently in swing states, all before the November elections. Nor is it a coincidence who is discriminated against.
It should be a simple calculation of costs (millions of votes lost) versus benefits (decreasing our .0002 percent fraud rate). Then you take into account the blood, sweat, tears and lives lost fighting for the right to vote and the decision of what to do becomes much, much clearer.
