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Pennsylvania's Corbett takes a step backwards on voting rights.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) made national news last week when he was asked about his support for a state Republican measure on forced, state-mandated, medically-unnecessary ultrasounds. "I don't know how you make anybody watch," the governor replied. "You just have to close your eyes."
As it turns out, that's not the only troubling thing Corbett said last week.
The Pennsylvania governor also signed into law a voter-ID measure, rushed through the state legislature by Republican policymakers, the latest development in what some have labeled the GOP's "war on voting."
Asked to explain the need for such a measure, Corbett offered a curious explanation (thanks to reader K.M. for the tip):
"When some of the precincts come in with a 112 percent reporting you have to scratch your head and say how does that happen?" questioned Governor Corbett.
At a certain level, that may seem persuasive. If there were precincts in the Keystone State that had 112% participation, then Republicans would have a pretty strong case for new measures intended to crack down on abuses.
But here's the trouble: there are no examples of Pennsylvania precincts, at a time or in an election, coming in with 112% participation. Corbett appears to have simply made this up.
Indeed, Corbett was Pennsylvania's state Attorney General, and before that, a U.S. Attorney. If he had found evidence of such obvious fraud, he had opportunities to investigate and prosecute. That never happened, because the fraud never took place.
It'd be less frustrating if proponents of voter-suppression tactics were more forthright about their motivations. Instead of pretending he's combating a problem that doesn't exist, Corbett and his allies should simply admit what is plainly true: GOP officials are eager to block traditionally-Democratic constituencies from voting, and requiring voter IDs disproportionately affects the poor, the elderly, and minorities.
The facts are obvious. You just have to open your eyes.
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"Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics."
Mark Twain 2012
This is the first category, not the third.
47.3% of all statistics are just made up.
LMAO!!
Right-lyin liars the bunch of them
Governor coverup has this problem with facts, but then we all know facts have a liberal bias.
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments about whether lying is free speech.
Torture numbers and they will tell you anything.
It looks like he's saying...."I just conducted a madatory vaginal probe...smell my finger"
yes...I meant "Mad-atory" as in...insane!...which in itself is made "Mandate".
Health...Mandate...Government????....odd, I thought Repubs were against government mandated health care. So it seems we are in agreement...Obamacare and Romney Care is approved right?
I'm sorry, but this is the Govenor of the state. He should be forced to either prove is statement (LIE) or resign. This is not some idiot congressman, this is THE GOVENOR OF THE STATE! Are there any ethical standards for elected officials or not?
The answer to the question "Are there any ethical standards for elected officials or not" is NOT IF YOU ARE A REPUBLICAN. This has been another episode of obvious answers to easy questions. To paraphrase the Governor, just lie back while your voting rights are stripped naked. Keep your eyes closed an you might enjoy it.
I suggest he perhaps just close his eyes if someone were to probe a body cavity of his without his consent.
There are no ethical standards for anything in this society. Hell there are no legal standards for behavior in this society. When the law becomes "It is OK if you are a Republican" there is no law. The Nixon "Law and Order" party has become the party of anarchy and violence. When every act and every word is judged not against long established human morality, but rather political ideology the result is tyranny. It is sad to watch what was once a great American political party turn itself into a parody of Italian Facists, German Nazis and Soviet Stalinists.
Not
Making S**t up
It's our party platform .
I expect it will be the # 1 story on the evening news ;
I doubt it. Republicans really aren't that unique in their thoughts, nor are they particularly interesting. However, just as "man bites dog" is news, not vice-versa, "republican says/does something that isn't offensive and/or ignorant" would definitely earn a mention.
It is perfectly ok to lie to the American People they don't really check out these things. So, you can kind of fudge the numbers a little and tell little white lies. It's okay because there is a percentage of Americans that will actually belive this. By the time they find out that I lied I have already formed an opinion in the muppets heads. So it's ok. I am lying for the greater good to keep An African American President from serving a second term. Those muppets don't know whats good for them. I know I have to work on my people skills a little more but, please a black president? I am being sarcastic.
Steve, I've always envied your position as a prolific blogger, but now I'm actually starting to pity you. Seriously, monitoring the daily (hourly) stupid coming from the GOP must be maddening--like trying to explain Lady Gaga to a room full of semi-senile/deaf grannies. Do you ever get the urge to just gouge out your eyes with the nearest spork? Steve, you are indeed a warrior on the front lines. I commend you.
Gov. Corbett didn't investigate much when he was either a federal prosecutor or the state's Attorney General. Just ask the good folks at Penn State about his zeal. Meanwhile, the governor has quickly adapting the Republican habit of making up a fact when it pops into his head. I fault the statehouse reporters who didn't catch his lie and demand that the governor explain where 112% of registered voters cast ballots. Since he can't, call him out on it in print or on the air. As Paul Krugman challenged the other day, name one serious pundit on the left or a senior Democratic official, elected or appointed, who does this.
And where are all of these cases of voter fraud? Well, except for the Secretary of State who is heading to prison for fraudulently voting in the wrong precinct. Oh, right: Mitt Romney has commited voter fraud. He lists an apartment in his son's basement as his voting address despite having enough money so that he and Ann could afford to live on their own in any one of their several houses.
I hope the media in Penn will go after this lie. Force the governor to either prove what he said or admit he "misstated" the truth.
Maybe he didn't mean it to be a factual statement.
I think he did mean it to be a factual statement. That way you're lying when you quote him!
PA still does not have its redistricting map settled. Seems the court deemed the repugnicants version just a little bit unconstitutional and our primary is stupposed to be in April. But they sure had time to stop all those folks that have been impersonating me all these years from voting!
Meanwhile, Pileggi is frothing at the mouth to change the electoral vote distribution to a "more fair" system. You know, the more fair one where the majority vote of the state gets all electoral votes, to the one where the majority in a smaller district (say 100,000 voters) gets a 1 vote and the majority of say Philly's District (say 1,000,000) voters that gets one vote.
Besides the obvious 1,000,000 votes being equal to 100,000 votes being "more fair" [rolling eyeballs over here] it causes the state to become impotent in Federal elections because no one can win all 21 votes.
Now if there was a campaign to do away with electoral votes, count me in!!!
the electoral college has outlived its usefulness.
The media in Pa. is as incompetent and useless as the media anywhere in the US>
Most Americans support a national popular vote for President.
A survey of Pennsylvania voters conducted on December 16-17, 2008 showed 78% overall support for a national popular vote for President.
Support was 87% among Democrats, 68% among Republicans, and 76% among independents.
By age, support was 77% among 18-29 year olds, 73% among 30-45 year olds, 81% among 46-65 year olds, and 78% for those older than 65.
By gender, support was 85% among women and 71% among men.
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
Every vote, everywhere, would be politically relevant and equal in presidential elections. No more distorting and divisive red and blue state maps. There would no longer be a handful of 'battleground' states where voters and policies are more important than those of the voters in more than 3/4ths of the states that now are just 'spectators' and ignored.
When the bill is enacted by states possessing a majority of the electoral votes– enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538), all the electoral votes from the enacting states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC.
The bill uses the power given to each state by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution to change how they award their electoral votes for President. To abolish the Electoral College, which would need a constitutional amendment, and could be stopped by states with as little as 3% of the U.S. population. Historically, virtually all of the major changes in the method of electing the President, including ending the requirement that only men who owned substantial property could vote and 48 current state-by-state winner-take-all laws, have come about by state legislative action.
In Gallup polls since 1944, only about 20% of the public has supported the current system of awarding all of a state's electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the most votes in each separate state (with about 70% opposed and about 10% undecided). Support for a national popular vote is strong among Republicans, Democrats, and Independent voters, as well as every demographic group in virtually every state surveyed in recent polls in closely divided Battleground states: CO – 68%, FL – 78%, IA 75%, MI – 73%, MO – 70%, NH – 69%, NV – 72%, NM– 76%, NC – 74%, OH – 70%, PA – 78%, VA – 74%, and WI – 71%; in Small states (3 to 5 electoral votes): AK – 70%, DC – 76%, DE – 75%, ID – 77%, ME – 77%, MT – 72%, NE 74%, NH – 69%, NV – 72%, NM – 76%, OK – 81%, RI – 74%, SD – 71%, UT – 70%, VT – 75%, WV – 81%, and WY – 69%; in Southern and Border states: AR – 80%,, KY- 80%, MS – 77%, MO – 70%, NC – 74%, OK – 81%, SC – 71%, TN – 83%, VA – 74%, and WV – 81%; and in other states polled: CA – 70%, CT – 74%, MA – 73%, MN – 75%, NY – 79%, OR – 76%, and WA – 77%. Americans believe that the candidate who receives the most votes should win.
The bill has passed 31 state legislative chambers in 21 small, medium-small, medium, and large states. The bill has been enacted by 9 jurisdictions possessing 132 electoral votes - 49% of the 270 necessary to bring the law into effect.
NationalPopularVote
Follow National Popular Vote on Facebook via nationalpopularvoteinc
Interesting. If I sue you in court, like the birthers, I can't simply make a claim, I have to PROVE that there is some credibility to my claim.
After eight years of some of THE most aggressive prosecutions for voter fraud by the Bush administration, they essentially came up with zero.
At the same time, we've had numerous convictions of voter fraud by the Republicans for voter suppression. 2006 Republicans in Detroit called 112,000 black voters essentially telling them to stay home. Paul Schurick was convicted for the offense. This is one of many incidents.
So the Republicans are worried about ones and twos and pass laws to prevent that from happening, but these same folks commit voter fraud on the tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands levels and essentially their candidates get elected, yet no action is taken to throw the elections out.
Can't wait to see this all over FIXED news channel. "PA Governor puts a halt to voter fraud, reporting some precincts were reporting in at as high as 375%" .... F the FACTS...
"Not intended to be a factual statement"
Republicans don't need facts because God is on their side.
Facts have a liberal bias.
Even Politifact couldn't find a way for this to be true.
oh sure they can:
'though there's no evidence to suggest people are voting with the wrong id, we call the statement mostly true because there are reports of people coming to the wrong polling place. though they didn't vote the fact they showed up at the wrong place indicates they would have done the fraud if it had been allowed. so we're calling it mostly true.'
Oh good god are you serious beverly? I used to think Politifact was a reputable organization. They are such garbage now.
Read Beverly again, Mouzer. She is calling out politifact for being full of **it.
I know that? Where did you get from my post that I didn't understand??? o.O
Oh because I say 'good god are you serious?' meh. I suppose that makes me too much of a girl. It's like when us girls say 'shut up' when we like something. I was saying 'are you serious' as in I find that Politifact dribble so unbelievable.
How can the republicans go on and on and on about how unconstitutional the individual mandate of "obamacare" is and then turn around and mandate individuals do things? i'm so tired of hypocrites. Ron Paul 2012. Lets return to honesty in politics.
But- why in the world don't you just SAY "He's LYING"..?
EVERYONE, with the occasional exception of Lawrence O'Donnell and very occasionally Ed Shultz, just "dance around" the issue using "nice words" to imply that "he made it up", or "it didn't happen".
Why not just SAY, "He's lying"..?
This is perhaps the most disturbing example of conservative proponents of "voting reform" simply fabricating statistics and problems out of thin air. There is no crisis of voting fraud in America. Our elections -- when not decided by a packed Supreme Court -- are fair and honest, at least when it comes to counting the votes. What is a crisis in America today is the forward march of anti-voting measures rushed through by Republican hacks desperate to freeze out minority voters and those who normally oppose the pro-rich GOP agenda at the polls. Corbett ought to be locked up by the DOJ for unconstitutionally disenfranchising millions of his own constituents. http://www.sunstateactivist.org
Pennsylvania is now officially number 5 on my "might do better to nuke 'em" list, after Texas, Florida, Ohio and Virginia.
I'd still put us behind Mississippi, Kansas and Oklahoma, but definitely in the top 10. Just give me time to evacuate.
And surely dont forget Arizona!!
*facepalm*
Corbett needs to be arrested that way we send a serious message to the rest of these crooks,It really is no time to play around this is unconstitutional let's fight
Corbett controls the police, the prosecutors and the judges, who is going to arrest and prosecute the former Attorney General who covered up the child sex scandal at Penn State. He writes the law, enacts the law, enforces the law, interprets the law and implements "It's OK if you are a republican"
There is good fundamental science behind this. It's called "Finagle's Law of Best Fit". The premise is simple: draw your curve, then plot your data.
Yes, Mark!
Curious, is it not, that so many states are going after voter fraud with draconian- and UNCONSTITUTIONAL-(I.E, IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL STATUTES) LAWS. I smell conspiracy and collusion here.
As a former federal prosecutor, why is my governor not screaming for a RICO investigation by the DOJ? HMMMM?
Have you ever heard of ALEC?
Well..Then OK Pennsylvania! What are we going to do about a governor that lies to the people???????????
What is so new about a political turd lying to his constituents, it is in their DNA, political turds are incapable of uttering the truth.
This makes me think of the line from Homer Simpson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j2Duy_xzEA
His arrogance is unbelievable. The smell of corruption is overwhelming. Even as Attorney General his ethics were non-existent.
All of my Republican friends believe that EVERYONE has the kind of photo ID that the various state legislatures are requiring. Some even believe that it's not a Republican thing at all, it's just to prevent voter fraud. You cannot convince a Republican that an election cannot be stolen by people voting with other people's registration.
HELP! The lunatic far-far-far righties are taking over the country state by state. I'd say head for the hills but they are there too.
Indeed.....facts do tend to have a liberal bias...