This page was last updated on January 30, 2012.
Voting Rights Protest vs. GOP in Rochester, Saturday, Jan. 28; Tina Shannon; Progressive Democrats of America – PA 4th CD Chapter; January 26, 2012.
Beaver Coalition Rallies for PA Voting Rights against Republican HB 934; Tina Shannon; Progressive Democrats of America – PA 4th CD Chapter; January 29, 2012.
You can learn more about BCR’s leftster management team here.
As you read this piece, consider the following comment of August 23, 2005, made by a current BCR member on the now-defunct Beaver County Coalition for Social Justice website regarding the voting machine issue: “Perhaps provoking them [election officials] with stretched truths is an apporpriate [sic] tactic. But let’s see it for what it is … a tactic.” I keep this in mind when I read anything posted on the BCR collective of websites. When do “stretched truths” become lies?
Since the subject pieces were about the same event I decided to do a two-fer critique.
Below are detailed critiques of the subject pieces.
“We Need Some ‘Street Heat’ on Sen. Elder Vogel, Join Us!
“Dear Friends & Fellow Progressives,
“The right wing in our nation has always and continually made every effort to keep people from voting.”
[RWC] I know there are creative-writing classes, but I didn’t know about creative-history classes. Don’t get me wrong; I’m sure there were some “right wing” bad apples just as I’m sure there were some left-wing good apples. To write about “effort[s] to keep people from voting” and ignore Democrat/left-wing activities is inconsistent with history, however.
In case you missed it, as it appears Mrs. Shannon did, she just described our Founding Fathers/Mothers as a group as the “right wing.” Oops.
You may recall the Gore campaign in 2000 convinced election officials to disallow specified military absentee ballots on a technicality. A U.S. District Court judge ruled the ballots were illegally excluded but the ruling came too late for the excluded ballots to be included in the certified count.
As you read this piece, ask yourself why lefties are so dead set against something that appears to be commonsense. In one of the comments for this piece, BCR Secretary Peter Deutsch wrote, “We hope we will win but let us continue to work hard on banishing voter ID and DRE’s both as well as other likely barriers to fair voting.” Is it really the position of BCR that “banishing voter ID” leads to “fair voting?” Note Mr. Deutsch refers to “fair voting,” not legal voting. When leftists use the term “fair,” it usually means special treatment – either good or bad – for some target group or groups. Mr. Deutsch only used to demand a paper-ballot backup for DREs (electronic voting machines), but now it appears he wants them gone altogether. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen any letters-to-the-editor on the voting machine topic, but the last ones according to my records are here and here.
“At one time only white male property owners could vote. This was expanded to all white males. Then after a bloody civil war, black males gained the right to vote. Then women gained the right to vote after a long battle. Finally young folks from ages 18 to 21, who were fighting and dying in foreign wars, gained the right to vote.
“In the South, where the former slave-owner aristocracy maintained power, a raft of new laws were passed that disenfranchised black voters. There were poll taxes, various voter tests and other obstacles thrown up to stop blacks and poor whites in the South from voting. The Republican Party is renewing this drive to disenfranchise wide sectors of the voting population in order to tighten their hold on the national government.”
[RWC] Mrs. Shannon clearly wants us to believe “The Republican Party” was responsible for the stuff she mentioned in this paragraph, when it was really her Democrat predecessors. Between 1869 and 1877, Democrats came into control of all the former Confederate States and eventually enacted “a raft of new laws … that disenfranchised black voters.” When and by whom were “Jim Crow” laws enacted? Yep, you guessed it. Don’t take my word for it; do your own research.
As for Republicans trying “to tighten their hold on the national government,” I guess we’re to forget there’s a Democrat in the White House and Democrats are the majority in the Senate. To tighten your hold on something, don’t you need to already have a hold on it?
“We are concerned that Sen. Vogel is a supporter of House Bill 934, the PA Voter Suppression Bill.”
[RWC] You’ll note Mrs. Shannon didn’t ask us to read the bill to see for ourselves what it says. There’s a reason. Here’s House Bill 934. Please read it.
Here’s something else Mrs. Shannon didn’t mention. Leftist darling former-President Jimmy Carter supports a photo ID for voting. Darn that Internet! This is info we’re not supposed to know about.
For more, please read my critiques of “The real fraud” and “Voter ID bill discourages many.”
“The right to vote is one of our most important rights. Now it is being challenged with new restrictions. Join us Saturday to voice your protest in person.”
[RWC] So, we don’t want to make sure someone who wants to exercise “one of our most important rights” is who he says he is? In this day and age, a person of voting age – young, old, or anywhere in between – almost needs to go out of his way not to have ID that would satisfy HB 934.
“PROTEST TO DEFEND VOTING RIGHTS
“(Sen Vogel, stop this bill from coming to a vote)
“Saturday, January 28th 12:00 noon
“Sen. Elder Vogel’s office 488 Adams St. in Rochester
“This demonstration is being organized by the Beaver-Lawrence Labor Council, the NAACP, the Minority Coalition, Progressive Democrats, and representatives of local unions and churches. Our only hope politically is to keep building this progressive coalition that is growing & gaining strength right before our eyes. Please come out & help with this. It’s what PDA is all about.”
[RWC] Surprise, the usual suspects!
“Always be suspicious when The Republican Party sets up non-existent problems & proposes legislation to address the supposed issue. They are now introducing bills in all the states where they hold power that will impose new burdens on exercising the right to vote. This bill will potentially disenfranchise 350,000 elderly voters who do not carry an identification card. It will also impact students, minorities and poor people. The purpose of this bill is to depress the vote of people who mostly vote Democratic and give an advantage to Republicans without requiring them to register new voters. At a time when we, as a society, should be concerned with increasing voting among our citizens, HB 934 will make it harder to vote.”
[RWC] A lefty warns of someone “set[ting] up non-existent problems & proposes legislation to address the supposed issue?” It’s hard to contain my laughter.
Maybe I’m missing something. If a person can arrange to vote, why can’t he arrange to get proper ID?
For the sake of argument, let’s defy history and logic and say voter fraud doesn’t exist. For “one of our most important rights,” is Mrs. Shannon telling us we should wait until there is a problem, like latching a barn door after the horses escape?
“The Pennsylvania ACLU says: ‘This is a serious threat to a basic principle of American democracy, and it is critical that you contact your senator today. HB 934 is an expensive voter suppression bill that would make it harder for older citizens, students, people with disabilities, racial minorities, and lower-income people to vote.’”
[RWC] Come on, guys, can’t you at least be original? I swear, if the end were near, we’d see a headline like “World ends tomorrow; ‘older citizens, students, people with disabilities, racial minorities, and lower-income people’ to sacrifice most.”
“After the protest we urge you to call Sen. Elder Vogel at 724-774-0444 as many times as possible to ask if he’s decided to oppose Senate Bill 934. Let’s keep Senator Vogel’s phone lines burning.”
[RWC] Hmm, sounds like Mrs. Shannon advocates behavior akin to a kid throwing a temper tantrum or holding his breath, not the behavior of an educated grownup.
“Please forward this email as widely as you can and call your friends to join us on Saturday.
“I very much look forward to seeing you on Saturday.”
[RWC] Unless you disagree with Mrs. Shannon’s position, of course.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity. <g>
“January 27, 2012”
[RWC] Since this is the after-action report for the protest, you may wonder about it being written the day before the event. It could be a typo, however. Below I address only points not covered in the above critique.
“You might think it depressing to stand in a parking lot in a cold blowing rain on a Saturday afternoon to protest for our voting rights.
“Nothing could be further from the truth.
“Over fifty people, black & white, young and old, stood together outside State Senator Elder Vogel’s office last Saturday at noon. We let him know we don’t like the PA Republican legislators trying to make it harder to vote.”
[RWC] Note the tendency of lefties to see groups – in this case based on age and skin color, not individuals.
I counted the unique persons in the photos posted and there were nowhere near 50. In fairness, the “over fifty people” could have been over time and not all at once.
“HB 934, which would create obstacles to voting, was rushed through the State House of Representatives. We want to make sure Senator Vogel doesn’t allow the same thing to happen in the State Senate.
“Members of the Beaver County Minority Coalition, the Beaver- Lawrence Central Labor Council, the Beaver County Chapter of the NAACP and many local area Unions were present. Local Progressive Democrats turned out in large numbers.”
[RWC] If the overall attendance was only “over fifty people” and it included “Members of the Beaver County Minority Coalition, the Beaver- Lawrence Central Labor Council, the Beaver County Chapter of the NAACP and many local area Unions,” how big could “large numbers … of local Progressive Democrats” be? I guess there could have been a lot of overlap.
“USW International Vice-President Carl Redmond addressed the crowd, after being introduced by Minority Coalition Chair Linwood Alford. He pointed out that the Republican Governor was slashing the budgets for education, child care, community services, environmental protection, worker safety and local governments. Curtailing the right to vote is part of their plan to silence the voice of the working people of our state.”
[RWC] As a reminder, the USW is a political-advocacy business whose leader is a foreign national (a Canadian). Mr. Redmond’s given name appears to be Fred, not Carl.
As for “the Republican Governor was slashing the budgets for education, child care, …,” Mrs. Shannon failed to note Gov. Tom Corbett inherited a projected budget deficit of about $4.1 billion.
More often than not, “working people” is leftyspeak for union members (forced or by choice), just over 37% of government employees and just over 7% of the private sector workforce. A more general definition provided by Carl Davidson (a BCR member) is, “If someone else [signs your paycheck], you’re in the working class.” I suspect most business owners - large or small - (who pay SS and Medicare taxes just as the rest of us) would be surprised to learn they aren’t “in the working class.” Mrs. Shannon herself is a business owner.
“NAACP President Willie Sallis and Beaver County Commissioner Joe Spanik also spoke. The theme of the day was unity in defense of our rights and the gains we’ve made over the years.”
[RWC] As I wrote in a previous critique, I wonder if Mr. Spanik really knows with whom he is in bed when he stands with today’s labor union management and PDA – 4th CD leadership. Most of my friends’ parents were Democrats when we were growing up, and I know I’m pretty safe saying they wouldn’t be caught dead with these folks.
“Unity was not only in the words spoken, but also in the comradery of the crowd. As we work together to make Beaver County and our country a better more fair society, we are getting to know one another. We are beginning to trust one another and understand each other’s motivations. This is the way forward.”
[RWC] Note the author didn’t define “a better more fair society.” When leftists use the term “fair,” it usually means special treatment – either good or bad – for some target group or groups.
“You can get a glimpse of this when you look at the faces in these pictures. It was great to stand in the rain with so many people who are committed to democracy. It gave us all hope for the future.
“Help defend our right to vote by calling Senator Vogel next week and ask him to stop the Senate version of HB 934 for coming to a vote.”
[RWC] Here’s House Bill 934. Please read it.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity. <g>
© 2004-2012 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.