I’m an independent voter but have noticed one thing over the years. Today’s NY Times said that Republican officials are trying to get laws passed to keep new voters from registering before the upcoming Presidential/Congressional/State/local elections.
Whenever a President looks like he (sorry, I have to say he right now) may win re-election the opposing party cranks into gear. For the Republicans, the strategy is to exclude voters. For Democrats, it is to include voters.
Right now it looks like we’re back in Jim Crow territory. The dems try to get every legal voter out there and the rep’s try to keep all new voters out. Who is out? Blacks, anyone from Mexico even if legal, and other immigrants. We have stressed to the world that we are a melting pot, a nation of immigrants.
My father was born here but his parents were from Europe, my mother had a green card from Canada until she died and her parents were from Britain and French-Canada. I’ve Irish ancestors and my husband Scots. Efforts to discourage voters from voting is the worst kind of “democracy” we can live in. Slavery, keeping African-American men and all women from voting, poll taxes, this country has done everything to pervert the process our ancestors fought a war against the Brits to have our own country.
Politics has become a science and I got out of it over 20 years ago because I thought I was a policy person but was expected to do more political work than I thought was right. I didn’t accept lunch from a lobbyist, but if I had to go to a Veterans’ breakfast I may have had a roll and glass of orange juice.
Years ago people always recognized me at the polling site. My husband’s grandmother still works the polls at age 84 (sorry, Nanny) and knows nearly everyone she sees. If someone is on the lists that these lovely ladies can check off when they show a ballot form or whatever a state provides by mail to every registered voter and signs the voting roll, that vote should be valid.
We can’t go backwards in this nation, only forward. We are a nation because we stood up to a nation that has been our ally for many years. Don’t let the color of one’s skin once again dilute the election process. We wanted a free nation and should have one. Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 