Tuesday, June 20, 2006

"...they didn't vote for us anyway."

The purported full sentence from James Baker, back in the Bush 41 days, when asked how an issue under consideration might adversely affect the Jewish vote was, "Fuck the Jews; they didn't vote for us anyway."

That spirit of inclusiveness lives on today, as we draw closer to the July primaries and nobody seems to have the foggiest idea if our Voter ID law is actually legal or not.

Beyond concerns over whether the state is ready to enforce the new law, opponents on Monday repeated the arguments against the photo ID that were heard during the past two legislative sessions.

Joe Beasley, Southern regional director for the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, compared the requirement to the poll tax and grandfather clause, laws that kept Southern blacks from voting during the Jim Crow era.

But Randy Evans, who represents the Georgia Republican Party on the elections board, said GOP legislative leaders made sure the law allows voters who don’t have valid photo IDs to get them as easily as possible.
"As easily as possible." That's why, at last check, there was exactly one (1) bus with a history of frequent breakdowns available to those without access to mass transit or carpooling to an officially approved Voter ID center.

But why would the GOP care? The party manages to draw African American voters in the very low single digits in their primary (that was the case in 2002, at least).

They didn't vote for them anyway.

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