I realize most Americans are so tired of Texas Republicans they just tune out to what goes on down here. But this time your federal tax dollars are involved. San Francisco? Boston? Madison? Philadelphia? Do you think you should fund voter suppression or intimidation in Texas. Our Republican Senate assumes you won't mind at all.
The Republicans in the Texas Senate today amended their pet project, you know the one so important the Senate Rules had to be changed to insure a win in the Senate - Voter Intimidation with a Smile, or as I like to call it the Granny Get Your Gun Act.
Before you slam all of us, really a lot of us here are working hard to insure the tax dollars paid by the elderly and other minorities across our Great Nation are not used to facilitate this attempt to abridge the rights of Minority and Elder Voters - and the 18 to 21 year old voters, of the rights granted to them after long and hard battles to gain the right to vote under the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments to the United State Constitution, with as assist from the 24th. Every Democrat in the Texas Senate voted against the bill, while every Republican supported it.
Today's amendment's are not yet reflected in Texas Legislature Online. Here is the Statesman's report:
Fraser offered two changes to the proposal that were accepted by the Senate majority.
One would make it possible for someone to vote without their voter registration card so long as they present a photo ID or other identifying documents. The other directs the Texas Secretary of State to establish a Web site to educate voters about the ID requirement. Fraser has said he hopes the state can allocate $2 million in federal voter education funds to ensure appropriate outreach; a spokesman for Secretary of State Hope Andrade said such money is available.
Republicans have had some success in courts arguing similar Voter Suppression and Intimidation statues do fail under Equal Protection analysis or as a disguised poll tax. Fortunately, when 18 year olds who were headed to a different Asian war secured the right to vote, the 26th Amendment protected all voters from any abridgment of the right to vote on account of age. This Texas Voter Intimidation bill, although truly a spiritual successor to the infamous Texas Poll Tax by which thousands of voters whose rights were secured under the 15th and 19th Amendments were turned away from the polls as effectively as if notice that gun holders would be nearby had been given (only African American men were granted the right to vote under the 15th, Women had to wait until all women achieved the franchise under the 19th Amendment.
U.S. Const., Amend 26.
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Abridged. Wow. That is rather an easy threshold. Sadly, few look at this amendment as any thing other than a one time shot at give 18 year olds a right they kind of earned by showing up for a war. On Account of Age. Wait, read it again. 18 and Older. No abridgment of the right to vote on account of age. What about a burden placed on elder voters more than other age groups of voters?
But wait - our Lt. Governor might say if allowed off of Senator Patrick's leash long enough. We do not intend in any way to hurt the elderly, gosh some of them might even still vote for us. Here, we'll give them free Id's if they only take the bus in the Texas summer heat and get over to the DMV center. And anyway other alternative state id's are available.
What alternatives? Oh, A Concealed Weapons Permit works just fine, so Granny Get Your Gun, you still can vote! Hunting License, sure who in Texas would stop hunting, even if elderly eyes no longer can truly see well enough to tell the sheep from the goats at a distance, much less grandchildren from the deer? Oddly many elderly Texans practice frugality to the point they don't pay for a license they cannot in good conscience use. They aren't anti - hunting, they still talk with the family when the sporting is done, they just no longer procure the game and see no need to hold the license, even though should Granny Get Her Gun she might be able to vote more easily.
Tugging at his collar, Lt. Gov. Dew whatever says - "but see here - a private pilot's lic . . ." oops even our Lt. Gov. suddenly realizes that Texans are ill served by legions of octogenarian pilots trying to find their way to the polls.
We'll have our allies in the House exempt the elderly! "Call that guy who used to be Dictator - Chadwick, whomever, and have him drum up an amendment, We just can't rely on this new Speaker, he has fits of fairness and intelligence and worse, even independence. I like our chamber better. It's A Fine Life!"
The Democrats in the Legislature who have been reading the Constitution they keep in their pockets (clearly the federal one - no one has a pocket which could hold the Texas one) are starting to smile. The Republican plan is now to abridge the rights of all voters aged between 18 and 80 or so by favoring the elder vote. This is getting as good as Carousel.
The Attorney General finally has come out of hiding (where he fled to avoid appearing in the Senate remains a mystery to most - but clearly he was visiting Cheney at the old undisclosed location, laughing about how Texas hunters and Concealed Weapons owners soon would have more right to vote that those who did not).
Ah, The Seven Deadly Virtues, meant for other folk.
Hush - the AG who is still basking in the victory of securing a right to post a Hollywood version of the 10 Commandments on the Capitol Lawn - Everybody knows we have the right to keep anyone we do not like from voting - we worked overtime to insure that no one displaced by Hurricane Ike just just show up anywhere and vote, even the Secretary of State's office was helpful in instituting extra requirements which we were just trying out to see if they would make good law. ANd they ID requirements that office provided insured that folk who lost their ID's in the hurricane were told they could vote if they replaced them - see, everybody buys into this - and anyway we never win anything in Galveston anyway. The Ag winks - Nah, false information from the Secretary of State - that ain't voter fraud, at most its overzealous, and any way if you just give me some time I'll find that voter fraud epidemic - it has to be here somewhere. But there are distractions, all these calls that maybe I should look in Highland Park or suburban churches - those are good people, they can be trusted to handle other people's Voter registration forms. We just have to keep the - oops was that rabble he almost said? Beside they gotta prove it hurts 18 year olds to qualify it under this here amendment.
The Senator from San Antonio passes out, see his web page where argues it is safe to have concealed guns on college campuses in Texas:
"Because most college students are 18, 19 or 20 years old, and because only Texans who are 21 years of age or older may be licensed to carry a concealed weapon in Texas, very few college students would be eligible to carry a weapon on campus. Texans licensed to carry have been trained and have received a thorough background check before being allowed to carry a concealed handgun. Only honorably discharged or active duty military may be licensed to carry a handgun without regard to age," said Wentworth.
Oh well there goes the we never thought about it defense.
Abridgment by age? When some voters have more ability to establish who they are than others, and when some, even the 18 - 20 year old folk everybody remembers the amendment helped, cannot have the ID by law which they could use if their wallet were stolen the morning of the vote.
Intimidation? The law requires notices of appropriate ID's to posted at every polling place. Doesn't bother me at ell to know the person voting next to me might be there because she carries a concealed weapon? No, nobody in Texas would ever think any body would not be welcome at the polls. No history of Voter Suppression or intimidation here whatsoever.
Granny Get Your Gun, Let's all go fly to the Polls. And let Boston pay for it. How fun.
Somehow I rest secure, knowing the Texas House will review this, and that Chamber clearly is not The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
Wake up America! You're paying for this, you might ought to read it.
And the ultimate irony. One of two alternate ID's can be your Library card from any Texas Municipality. How odd, many municipal libraries in Texas refuse to consider a Driver's License or ID card sufficient Identification that one lives within the city, arguing they are inherently unreliable and often do not reflect one's residence correctly. I had to bring a utility bill to prove to the Austin Library who I am and where I live.
Razzle, Dazzle.