Before Recovery You Must Admit the Exact Nature of Your Wrongs

I read with some humor the editorial in the Plain Dealer  in early February 2013, about the need for reform of the need for election reform.  The Electoral Board tried to make the case that both sides need to come together.   I am sure that they are not naive to believe that these are two equal powers who need to come together to do what is best for Ohioans.  The Plain Dealer editors are not new to the rodeo; they have to see that one party has made a concerted effort throughout the United States to reduce the number of potential voters in order to maintain power.  There are no Democrats working to reduce the number of voters who participate in Democracy, and the Republican party have done all they can to restict access to the ballot box.  They have seen the writing on the wall with demographic changes in the United States and have made an effort to make it harder for minority and poor people to vote.  Mandatory state ID provisions, shorter early voting hours and purging the voter roles are just some of the strategies employed to depress voter turnout.   A proud and lifetime Republican said as much on Meet the Press a couple of weeks ago.  Here is how MSNBC's Morgan Whitaker described it. 

Powell slammed Republicans for more than just rhetoric, slamming the party for the lack of comprehensive immigration policy, “dismissing the 47%,” and for voter suppression efforts.

The Democratic party has absolutely no power in Ohio and therefore has no ability to negotiate regarding election reform.  They can sue and they can try to raise the funds to get issues directly before voters, but they are basically the little terrier that barks way too much at this point.  When did access to the ballot box become so political?  When did one party decide to make voter disenfranchisement a major plank in their platform?   The fourth step in recovery is to admit the exact nature of your wrongs before you can move forward.   The Plain Dealer should be counseling the Republicans to admit that they have tried to suppress the vote as Colin Powell suggested and pledge that are done with that effort.  They will show that they are serious by figuring out a strategy to have ever possible voter a chance to vote without the long lines and hurdles.  They should commit to same day registration and voting, provide free identification in order to expand the number of voters.

Brian

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