Voter Fraud/Suppression

[Holman]

Right but can we remember a time when a group of former senior military leaders decided to embrace a naked political message and even worse one that is based in fantasy. It isn't a huge deal but it is another indicator things are trending bad.

Agree. But I've already seen MAGA goobers leaping onto the story and claiming "This is iT!! The Military is about to Reinstate TRUMP!!1!"
It is definitely not that.

[gbasden]

Right but can we remember a time when a group of former senior military leaders decided to embrace a naked political message and even worse one that is based in fantasy. It isn't a huge deal but it is another indicator things are trending bad.

Kind of?

Along with more than 780 retired high-ranking officers and former national security leaders — including 22 retired four-star generals and admirals and five former secretaries of defense — Chiarelli signed an “Open Letter to America” endorsing Joe Biden for president. “We love our country,” the signatories wrote. “Unfortunately, we also fear for it.”

I obviously don't think it's based in fantasy, but given that I was totally ok with generals speaking out about Trump's abuses I'm not going to get too upset about a bunch of them speaking their mind on Biden. They are totally wrong, of course, but so is pretty much the entire Republican party.

[Isgrimnur]

Arizona

A grand jury has indicted a Scottsdale Republican woman for allegedly casting her dead mother’s early ballot in the November election in a rare prosecution for voter fraud in Arizona.

Tracey Kay McKee, 63, faces one count of illegal voting and one count of perjury, according to the state grand jury’s May 7 indictment.
...
According to the Attorney General’s Office, McKee’s mother died on Oct. 5, two days before early voting began and election officials began mailing early ballots to voters. The indictment alleged that McKee forged her mother’s name on the ballot and submitted it to election officials sometime between the start of early voting on Oct. 7 and election day on Nov. 3.
...
The case came to the attention of the attorney general’s election integrity unit by way of a Phoenix resident who submitted the names of deceased voters “who may have voted” in the 2020 general election, according to Katie Conner, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office.
...
Conservative activist Merissa Hamilton told the Mirror that McKee’s mother, Mary Deloyht Arendt, was on a list of dead voters she provided to the attorney general in December and that she had the same address as her daughter. Hamilton, who has questioned the results of the 2020 election, submitted a list of 33 dead voters to the Attorney General’s Office that she said might have been recorded as casting ballots in the general election. She also submitted the names of some 400 other deceased voters who she believed had received ballots that were never cast.

[hepcat]

It's those 400 dead people who didn't vote that bothers me. What kind of patriot does that?

[malchior]

It's not clear what Beto is asking for here but I agree that Biden should be putting more emphasis on this - though the chance that this is a case of too many crises to manage is high.

[Zarathud]

That’s a Pelosi/Schumer issue for Congress, not Biden’s call. Bad Beto.

[stessier]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done.

[malchior]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done.

Right. That is what I hope the message is but we have a lot of authoritarian urges arising in our system because Congress is dysfunctional. That's why I'm looking at this a little bit and wondering what Beto is asking for.

[stessier]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done.

Right. That is what I hope the message is but we have a lot of authoritarian urges arising in our system because Congress is dysfunctional. That's why I'm looking at this a little bit and wondering what Beto is asking for.

Beto seemed sane last I checked, but it's probably better to always be on guard.

[malchior]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done.

Right. That is what I hope the message is but we have a lot of authoritarian urges arising in our system because Congress is dysfunctional. That's why I'm looking at this a little bit and wondering what Beto is asking for.

Beto seemed sane last I checked, but it's probably better to always be on guard.

Yep - I have the same feeling. And it might be an authoritarian "urging" but not meant in that way. Obama did some authoritarian things because Congress was being so unreasonable. The type of dysfunction we are seeing is fertile ground for all sorts of benevolent intentions being used to justify abuses down the road.

[coopasonic]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done. apply some pressure

First, I wouldn't call the bully pulpit or political capital powers. Second, in my mind, these things don't have the power they used to. I don't really know the reasons and if I tried I would probably sound like Drazzil. If you can't motivate Manchin you can't get anything meaningful done and they clearly can't motivate Manchin and in a couple years it just won't matter anymore.

I need to start drinking again.

[stessier]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done. apply some pressure

First, I wouldn't call the bully pulpit or political capital powers. Second, in my mind, these things don't have the power they used to. I don't really know the reasons and if I tried I would probably sound like Drazzil. If you can't motivate Manchin you can't get anything meaningful done and they clearly can't motivate Manchin and in a couple years it just won't matter anymore.

I need to start drinking again.

I didn't say it would work.

I also disagree with your first point - those are definitely powers of the office. Soft powers, for sure, but still real.

[malchior]

Yeah - I agree it's a soft power and Coopasonic is right that it doesn't work as it did because it does feel often like every politician is in it for themselves.

[LordMortis]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done.

Right. That is what I hope the message is but we have a lot of authoritarian urges arising in our system because Congress is dysfunctional. That's why I'm looking at this a little bit and wondering what Beto is asking for.

Beto seemed sane last I checked, but it's probably better to always be on guard.

^^^^^
I like Beto a lot but I'll turn on him in a heartbeat if he goes off.

[Isgrimnur]

He went anti-gun in Texas. How sane could he be?

[Zarathud]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done.

All of that political capital is tied up with COVID/Infrastructure. And then using that success to show the US government CAN work. And if the economy is screwed, Biden and the Democrats lose in 2022.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done.

All of that political capital is tied up with COVID/Infrastructure. And then using that success to show the US government CAN work. And if the economy is screwed, Biden and the Democrats lose in 2022.

But if these laws are allowed to pass without any voter protections, Dems will lose not just in 2022 but for the foreseeable future.

[malchior]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done.

All of that political capital is tied up with COVID/Infrastructure. And then using that success to show the US government CAN work. And if the economy is screwed, Biden and the Democrats lose in 2022.

They lose in 2022 in most models anyway...ignoring the one that could mean democracy falls apart was a curious choice.

[Carpet_pissr]

The President can use the bully pulpit and spend political capital to make it a priority and get it done.

All of that political capital is tied up with COVID/Infrastructure. And then using that success to show the US government CAN work. And if the economy is screwed, Biden and the Democrats lose in 2022.

They lose in 2022 in most models anyway...ignoring the one that could mean democracy falls apart was a curious choice.

This is my concern as well.
Is infrastructure reform way overdue and important?
Hell yes!
Is managing the Covid crisis important?
Hell yes!
Is the border issue important?
Also yes!
Healthcare? Equality issues? Civil rights? Yep. Yep and yep.

More important than “keeping our Republic”?
Come on, Joe. The elephant in the room is about to trample us all.

[Blackhawk]

Another point:

Any plan, policy, or agenda that is enacted now is stalled in 2022 and canceled in 2024.

Any success on any front requires a functioning government.

[Smoove_B]

You might want to sit down.

Oh man. The call is coming from inside the house…

Herschel Walker’s wife, who also lives in Texas, voted in Georgia using an absentee ballot.

They have a homestead exemption for the Texas home. It’s potentially illegal.

Linked article here

[Smoove_B]

The cross-pollination of these topics is starting to depress the ever-loving crap out of me.

Texas House passed extreme gerrymandered GOP state House map at 3:30 am last night. Democracy quite literally dying in dark

Whites 40% population but control 59% districts

Hispanics 39% of population but control 20% districts

Blacks 12% of population but control 2.7% districts

[malchior]

Cool. So this White House is just living in fantasy land. The piece linked is really good...and really frustrating.

[malchior]

[YellowKing]

Voting rights is THE issue. Without it, all other issues are already decided.

[malchior]

Voting rights is THE issue. Without it, all other issues are already decided.

Totally agree. Unfortunately the people who could be doing something don't agree so we're fucked.

[Blackhawk]

All other issues are already decided.

Edited for brevity.

[Smoove_B]

.@lisamurkowski says she’ll vote YES to break a filibuster on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

She’s currently the only Republican senator who is supporting this bill.

Looking forward to Manchin and Sinema staking out positions to the right of a sitting GOP Senator.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

That's to break a filibuster for that one vote, not to change the rules about filibusters. Would still take 9 more GOP votes even if Manchin and Sinema supported it.

[Smoove_B]

Its...something, at least. Or I guess the cynical take is she's announcing it knowing that it won't matter (see the light of day) and it just makes Manchin and Sinema look worse and potentially expose them to even more scrutiny and scorn.

[malchior]

That's to break a filibuster for that one vote, not to change the rules about filibusters. Would still take 9 more GOP votes even if Manchin and Sinema supported it.

Senate rule change just needs a simple majority.

[Alefroth]

That's to break a filibuster for that one vote, not to change the rules about filibusters. Would still take 9 more GOP votes even if Manchin and Sinema supported it.

Senate rule change just needs a simple majority.

Right, but is she saying she'd vote yes on a rule change? I couldn't find any more details.

[stessier]

Well that should be fun.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

That's to break a filibuster for that one vote, not to change the rules about filibusters. Would still take 9 more GOP votes even if Manchin and Sinema supported it.

Senate rule change just needs a simple majority.

Right, but is she saying she'd vote yes on a rule change? I couldn't find any more details.

I'm pretty sure she is not saying that she would vote yes on a rule change, just to end any filibuster on that one bill. Which of course will never get the 60 votes it needs to break so she can say this pretty safely without ever having to actually do it.

[Alefroth]

That was my initial thought too.

It'd be nice if she would vote for a rule change on this, but even then I'm not sure the Dems could get 51.

[Smoove_B]

GOP rushing to pass extreme gerrymandered US House maps:

-Rs would hold 86% of seats in OH where Trump got 53%

-71-78% of seats in NC where Trump got 49.9%

-75% of seats in WI where Trump got 49%

-65% of seats in TX where Trump got 52%

Dems running out of time to stop it

[malchior]

NY Times

Republicans Gain Heavy House Edge in 2022 as Gerrymandered Maps Emerge

On a highly distorted congressional map that is still taking shape, the party has added enough safe House districts to capture control of the chamber based on its redistricting edge alone.

A year before the polls open in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans are already poised to flip at least five seats in the closely divided House thanks to redrawn district maps that are more distorted, more disjointed and more gerrymandered than any since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965.

The rapidly forming congressional map, a quarter of which has taken shape as districts are redrawn this year, represents an even more extreme warping of American political architecture, with state legislators in many places moving aggressively to cement their partisan dominance.

The flood of gerrymandering, carried out by both parties but predominantly by Republicans, is likely to leave the country ever more divided by further eroding competitive elections and making representatives more beholden to their party’s base.

At the same time, Republicans’ upper hand in the redistricting process, combined with plunging approval ratings for President Biden and the Democratic Party, provides the party with what could be a nearly insurmountable advantage in the 2022 midterm elections and the next decade of House races.

[Smoove_B]

Breaking: Ohio governor Mike DeWine signs extreme gerrymandered Congressional map giving Republicans 80-87% of seats in state Trump won with 53% of vote

[malchior]

Our democracy is being dismantled piece by piece in plain sight. It seems unstoppable at this point. The "Republicans" have had a +2-3% advantage in the House since about 2010 when the first wave of gerrymandering occurred. They seem to be building a +3-6% advantage in this second wave. This is like climate change. We can see it happening, can't get anyone to do anything to stop it, and once done it will be very difficult to reverse.

[Jaymann]

And horrifically these asswipes are determined to ignore/deny global warming.