PUBLIC PUBLIC VIEWPOINT VIEWPOINT

Republicans Dedicated To ‘Voter Fraud’

Durham--Reading Greg Harton’s column “Voters May Tune Out GOP” (Aug. 19), I tried to find some logical explanation for why Republicans have turned their backs on issues that are important to large blocks of voters. According to Harton, the Republican National Committee is overreacting to programs about Hillary Clinton, which NBC and CNN are developing, by declaring that Republican presidential hopefuls will boycott debates on those two networks if the programs are aired. This, Harton wrote, “demonstrates a GOP “trying to manipulate” coverage of the 2016elections. They remind me of spoiled children taking our ball home because we won’t play by their rules.

They are doing the same with their threats to shut down government if we won’t give up on comprehensive health care. House Republicans have wasted valuable time on 40 unsuccessful votes against Obama Care. Again, if we don’t give in to them, they’ll take our ball (our government) and go home.

None of this makes any sense to me until I factor in a few facts Harton did not mention: the Koch brothers and other billionaires pouring fortunes into selected Republican campaigns;

the Citizens United ruling that grants personhood to corporations so that they can supply even more money to elect their chosen candidates; Karl Rove’s Machiavellian machinations;

gerrymandering congressional districts around the country to favor Republican candidates; their patronizing denial of the right to us women to protect our own bodies; constraints recently placed on the Voting Rights Act; alienation of Hispanic voters by refusing to ofter any solutions to the undocumented limbo so many live in; raising the cost of higher education out of the reach of some of our brightest but less affluent young people; and the Republicans hysteria over virtually non-existent “voter fraud” to make it more difficult for many Democratic citizens (people of color, students, the disabled, etc.) to vote.

The only conclusion that makes even a whiff of sense to me is that Republicans figure they can buy and manipulate control of our government by pushing us Democrats out of the voting booths. So does this mean that to the GOP, “voter fraud” is voting for Democratic candidates?

If so, then I will proudly commit “voter fraud” every election day when I mark my ballot.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 09/03/2013

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