I'll give Pennsylvania Republicans credit for one thing: when it comes to voter-ID laws, they appreciate candor.
After some jaw-dropping quotes from state House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R), Gov. Tom Corbett (R), and Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele (R), we now have this extraordinary line from Republican state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe.
For those who can't watch clips online, Metcalfe was asked during a radio interview about the prospect of a Republican-imposed, state-ID law disenfranchising eligible voters.
"I don't believe any legitimate voter that actually wants to exercise that right and takes on the according responsibility that goes with that right to secure their photo ID will be disenfranchised," Metcalfe said. "As Mitt Romney said, 47% of the people that are living off the public dole, living off their neighbors' hard work, and we have a lot of people out there that are too lazy to get up and get out there and get the ID they need. If individuals are too lazy, the state can't fix that."
So, in the mind of this state Republican lawmaker, folks living in a nursing home, for example, deserve to be condemned for "living off the public dole," and if they lack the means to jump through procedural hoops to overcome the most burdensome voting restrictions with Jim Crow laws, they also deserve to be condemned for being "lazy." The same goes for students, the disabled, veterans, and everyone else in the "47 percent."
Indeed, as far as Metcalfe's concerned, Mitt Romney has his back on this ridiculous position.
And who's Daryl Metcalfe? Ari Berman reports, "Like many Republicans, he's been a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council for over a decade. The conservative group drafted mock voter ID legislation that is remarkably similar to the bill that Melcalfe introduced in the legislature. He says that, 'I was a Tea Partier before it was cool,' and is best known for introducing 'birther' legislation requiring presidential candidates to produce their birth certificate before running for office. He's been linked to right-wing anti-immigrant hate groups and has been dubbed the legislature's 'most prominent critic of gays.'"
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"I don't believe any legitimate voter that actually wants to exercise that right and takes on the according responsibility that goes with that right to secure their photo ID will be disenfranchised,"Metcalfe said. "As Mitt Romney said, 47% of the people that are living off the public dole, living off their neighbors' hard work, and we have a lot of people out there that are too lazy to get up and get out there and get the ID they need. If individuals are too lazy, the state can't fix that."
Lie..even if everyone did get off their "lazy butts" (as he says) and go and get this new voter id, the state wouldn't even be able to have enough time to process them! They don't even have the resources to implement. You’re going to argue that a lot of those people could get the I.D. if they really wanted it. Okay. Let’s assume for just a moment that of the 759,000 75% of them could. By my math, the remaining 25% equals 189,750 people!
Wow. This whole debacle is really putting the true face back on Republicans. I predict this will spell huge success for the Democratic party in the near future.
The notion that everything the GOP tries to do is because they believe half the US is lazy and unimportant pretty much explains the whole party's platform. This whole thing has actually been class warfare all along.
Believe it or not, I'm in the unfortunate position of living in this idiot's district. As soon as I read these comments I called his office to voice my displeasure with his characterization of nearly half of his constituents as lazy freeloaders living off the hard work of others. I asked to speak with Rep. Metcalfe directly and was not surprised when his staffer refused. What did surprise me was that the person answering the phone appeared to have NO idea what I was calling about. I made sure to direct them to one of the many news outlets featuring his comments so they could experience the full impact of these repugnant remarks.
A couple of related points for you, first about our representative and then about this part of PA...
Rep. Metcalfe is the same tone-deaf "I don't care what the people think" PA legislator who held a gun rights rally at the capitol the day after three Pittsburgh policemen were gunned down in an ambush. It's clear that he has no sense of shame and that he has no respect for the people he's supposed to represent. So how did he get elected, you ask?
Simple...PA is a very divided state with the major metro areas leaning heavily Democratic while the center and northern tiers are rural Republican. The divide is fairly stark and occurs much more abruptly than you might think. I live only 20 miles or so north of Pittsburgh but around here it's all Republican all the time. My neighbors buy in fully to the Tea Party/extreme right thinking and we felt very much surrounded by enemies when we were the only family in our area to have an Obama sign on our lawn for the last election. Even within our immediate family you find people spouting the Fox News line as though it's well researched and objective information.
And that's how you end up with someone like Daryl Metcalfe or, at the national level, Mike Kelly representing you. You do remember Mike Kelly, don't you? He's the U.S. Representative who said that the day the ACA coverage for birth control became effective was a defeat of the U.S. on a par with Pearl Harbor and 9/11! Guess I'm going to have to move if I want representation that matches my political thinking.
well he's a sweetheart. In Philadelphia, the people without voter id don't have driver's licenses because they don't drive but rely on public transport, which in a city makes sense. It is taking 4 hours to get a voter id in Phila. And wha
t is all this crap coming out of this man's mouth? If the state really wanted to make access to a photo id possible for working people, they would have photo id offices in registration offices at city halls. The other thing about this way of thinking is that in the 47% of people who have some form of assistance (entitlement or not) are retirees and veterans who had made up a big part of the republican majority... duh... shot your foot off Daryl.
Another moron Republican who likes to lump all people who don't work or who receive state or federal assistance or who don't have an ID together. Jeez. Give me a break with this crap. You gotta love the intolerance of the right wing in this country. It is unbearable to watch the intolerance and the heartlessness of the right wing stomp all over the poor, middle class, the unemployed, the elderly and the disabled. I am disabled. I can't work. I want to work more than God himself. But I can't. I am part of the big 47% so I must be lazy and a loser and I must want to live off the government forever because that's just the kind of person I am. Shut up you loud mouth elitist prikks. Just Shut the Hell Up.
I hate all right wing republican elitists now. I hate all of them. I hate Mitt Romney. I hate Scott Walker and Paul Ryan and this clown above my hate filled post. I hate the entire republican party now, well, almost. I have some respect for guys like McCain and some others who show some class once in awhile. That's not too many, but oh well. I don't care. I hate em' all. I hate Dick Cheney too and his daughter. I hate Sara Palin. I hate the entire Palin family because they still love her and live with her. I hate all of you who will criticize me for posting this. I don't care about you and I don't care for what you stand for any more. I have had it with this country and I have had it with this intolerance. I have watched this country turn into one big vat of hatred and dishonesty filled with things that make me sick. "That's life" "Get over it" Yeah that's it, that's what I'll do, I'll get over it. Ah, shut up. Stop screwing people over. Stop stomping on people of lesser means just because you can. Stop throwing poor and middle class people under the steam roller for political points because you want to have a job and you don't want them to have one. Go to Hell.
An honest man who comes by his hatred deservedly!
Damn, that must have felt good typing that. I agree.
I don't think anyone's going to oppose you for saying it, except for some RW R elitist.
Can't blame you for being angry about this. This discussion proves you are not alone. I think it is appropriate. Kudos
While I haven't read all the comments, so it may have been stated, the most outrageous thing is that the voter ID costs $13.50 to obtain. I was at a PennDOT (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) center yesterday renewing my drivers license. They have signs up that to get the required voter ID costs $13.50. Is this not a poll tax? Is this not illegal? I don't understand how this can be.
My turn to fill the vat with hatred and bitterness. If you can't beat them, join them. Have a nice day.
It costs $13.50 to get a voter id at the PennDOT centers. Is that not a poll tax? Is that not illegal?
I thought those voter ID's were supposed to be free. That IS a poll tax! And, it IS illegal!
They could have mobile photo id offices. But, then, that would be too convenient for those they DON'T want to vote!
Hey Pennsylvania: Who voted this knucklehead in? You people are so thoroughly screwed, you don't even realize it. You're not even getting the benefit of a reacharound, and that's ok?
Re: There is going to be a big business someday of people in a lot of states opening voter ID title companies. They will work with court houses all over the United States in being able in getting birth certificates readily and without delay or difficulty. People deserve to vote and not have the problems they have today in getting voter IDs. This is the only way it can happen. I hope someone important is listening to this ideal? Who cares if you are charged eighteen dollars for a voter ID? It would be well worth it. Voter registration with renewal will be the future of voting. And be will very much like getting a registration sticker for your vehicle. There should be a bar code on the back of the card for easy scanning by the voting or polling station, so no questions will be asked of you when you go to vote.
Lupe
You have very good ideas. But voter registration with renewal can be tricky. I tried it and I was not put on the voter rolls. I found out about that before the deadline for registration in California so I registered again online. Still I wasn't on the voter rolls during the 2008 primaries. So I had to vote on a provisional ballot. It was embarrassing to me. Voting should be simple period.
And they claim Obama is divisive????
Class warfare volley. What a low life scumbag.
Are these the type of people we want running office's of importance in this country! We have a congress who are getting paid for doing nothing, and republicans who wouldn't even vote for a jobs bill for veterans! How disgusting do this party have to get before we vote them out of office? America deserves a better future...We have been held up too long. Tell them to stop wasting our time....
Rachel, Why is Indiana not on your list of states who try to limit voter registration? In 2005 I had my wallet stolen in the St.Louis airport, when I returned to Indianapolis I went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a new driver's license. I was told I had to retake the exam and was given a book to study. I studied it for two hours and went back to the receptionist. She told me I couldn't take the test because I only had my U.S. passport, receipts for utility bills, property tax receipts for my residence and my father's house which I owned, and my birth certificate with a state seal. The reason I was denied was I didn't have a Social Security card.
Indiana has been trying to keep the new Mexican residents of Indiana from getting driver's licenses for some years now by making it almost impossible to get a license or photo I.D. So I hope you will add Indiana to the list of states that are trying to suppress the vote.
I find it incredibly ironic that the same party that champions small government and reduced government spending is also vehemently pursuing this voter ID cause, which in turn requires more government employee labor and therefore government spending. Again, the hypocrisy that serves as the crux of the republican party continues to baffle me.
I am from Butler County and I am regularly horrified at what Daryl Metcalfe proposes for legislation. He is from New York and not Pennsylvania. He and others like him tap into to the fear and racism that is prevalent among older white folks in PA. If people in Butler county knew he was an outsider he would have a more difficult time getting re-elected.
if when you are born, you are automatically given a social security number, that number should be enough to use as an I. D. And it better have your picture on the same card the number is.
This is the caliber of contenders running under the scarlet (R) who do not deserve office. Mike Turzai scarlet (R), Gov. Tom Corbett scarlet (R), and Carol Aichele of scarlet (R) fame, are all working in tandem with Daryl Metcalf scarlet (R), to disenfranchise and block voters of color from voting. Openly referring to TEA party mantra and issues, every TEA-Republican should not be voted into office as they do not wear the (R), but wear the scarlet (R) which should be (T). Having associated with a right-winged anti-immigrant hate group should disqualify him in the eyes of anyone of color. It is up to the people of Pennsylvania to fix their own state internally and on the national level.
The old adage all politics is local, stand truest this coming November. It was at the local level where the TEA party surged into control and they will stay in power if the locals forget or do not vote. The TEA-Republican's have been working vigorously to place a multitude of voter disenfranchisement's into law to effect the better outcome for the TEA-Republican party.
I have been paying into SS since I was nine years old, and I worked paying my taxes up till 8 years ago when my health went south. I am now on SSDI. If I still lived in Pittsburgh, I wouldn't be able to vote because I have no Drivers Licence, I have no need for one since I can't legally drive because of my health. If I had to go out, it would be very hard. I am stuck in bed at least 10 days a month, and I have a hard time around crowds. As for standing in line, they would need to call 911 for me by the time I was done! Does this make me lazy? NO! I paid my dues and I would love to work again! No one wants to hire someone who may be able to show up for work! I am one of the 47% and I am not ashamed of it! Bring it on Republicans, you are only slitting your own throats. I am going to enjoy a Washington filled with Democrats! :)
What happen to the Constitutional laws people swore to uphold, we have died for, are constitution violations breaking the laws of our nation.. what a international message we as a nation are sending, we honor what America stands for, but not really...
This segregation of Voting rights has been approached, by Congress, in our history, 5 times. Five times has some group attempted to deny citizens of their
American Rights.
This is a Domestic Attack from within our nation by conspirators, with corporate, Associations, funded by "PACS"or what ever, to break constitutional laws and Amendments. The Right to vote is in the 14Th,15Th,19Th,24Th, and the 26Th. Amendments, the congress in the spirit of liberty.
I am sorry, Mr. President, this must be dealt with firmly. Gone are the days of Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Jack Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and even US Attorney General Robert Kennedy, dispatched troops, FBI Agents in mass, to uphold the 14th Amendment rights of citizen equality in America.
Apparently today, you can act against the articles of the Constitution without fear, as long as you represent BIG business or big money. The Federal prison cells are empty for constitutional violators, Not a crime?? What is even better and more helpful, to this massive group of or for these conspirators, the news media, rarely refers to the constitution in their reporting, perhaps I need to send them copies for their little pockets, so when they write, they have a factual reference for their comments.
This is a warning of how these small domestic attacks slowly erode the very foundations of "Liberty and Justice for All" as we Americans preach to the rest of the World, who die, for just a chance to have a Constitution close to ours. Soon, we will have the return of some modern legalized slavery, as some citizens assume they write the laws for all of us, and we better like it or they will lower your wages, or block your health care, take your home, let you rent from the rich..
Maybe there should be a Fee to vote, after all if your not financially sound, how can you be trusted to vote the correct way... What do ya think MR. President...