Governor Christie Says GOP Needs To Win In Order To Control ‘Voting Mechanisms’

[Rob L 3,811]

http://news.firedoglake.com/2014/10/23/governor-christie-says-gop-needs-to-win-in-order-to-control-voting-mechanisms/

Governor Christie pushed further into the contentious debate over voting rights than ever before, saying Tuesday that Republicans need to win gubernatorial races this year so that they’re the ones controlling “voting mechanisms” going into the next presidential election. Republican governors are facing intense fights in the courts over laws they pushed that require specific identification in order to vote and that reduce early voting opportunities. Critics say those laws sharply curtail the numbers of poor and minority voters, who would likely vote for Democrats…

“Would you rather have Rick Scott in Florida overseeing the voting mechanism, or Charlie Crist? Would you rather have Scott Walker in Wisconsin overseeing the voting mechanism, or would you rather have Mary Burke? Who would you rather have in Ohio, John Kasich or Ed FitzGerald?” he asked.

Just in case it was not clear as to how the GOP plans to win elections despite having a shrinking demographic, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie decided to remove any doubt – rigging the vote. In an amazingly honest speech to the US Chamber of Commerce Governor Christie said that the GOP had to control the voting process if they were to succeed in 2016.

Christie’s statements come in the wake of a wave of voter ID laws meant to drive down poor and minority turnout throughout the country – voters who generally vote Democrat. The US Supreme Court recently upheld Texas’ controversial voter ID law and Christie vetoed an early voting bill for New Jersey. Other states have also taken measures to tackle a non-existent voter fraud problem and limit early voting.

Governor Christie also told the Chamber of Commerce he was “tired of hearing about the minimum wage.”

Governor Christie pushed further into the contentious debate over voting rights than ever before, saying Tuesday that Republicans need to win gubernatorial races this year so that they’re the ones

controlling “voting mechanisms”

going into the next presidential election. Republican governors are facing intense fights in the courts over laws they pushed that require specific identification in order to vote and that reduce early voting opportunities. Critics say those laws sharply

curtail the numbers of poor and minority voters, who would likely vote for Democrats

…

“Would you rather have Rick Scott in Florida overseeing the voting mechanism, or Charlie Crist? Would you rather have Scott Walker in Wisconsin

overseeing the voting mechanism,

or would you rather have Mary Burke? Who would you rather have in Ohio, John Kasich or Ed FitzGerald?” he asked.

Subtle. In other words, if Republicans are not in control of elections Democrats might win because people will be allowed to vote. While some conservatives may actually have psyched themselves out into believing voter fraud is a problem in American elections, the crowd over at the Chamber of Commerce got the point – the only chance the GOP has to win in 2016 given the party’s determination to alienate large key sections of the electorate is to rig the vote.

Though the logic is hard to dispute – it would be silly to think after bashing women and Hispanics the GOP will get their vote – the admission is pretty damning. The truth is there are no longer enough conservative white men to carry national elections. This led many analysts to think that the GOP – as a consequence of this demographic development – would transform into a party that played to a more diverse constituency. Man were they wrong.

Instead, the tail wagged the dog and the fading demographic now re-branded the “Tea Party” took over the GOP and forced the party to rely even more on games and schemes to stay in power. Gerrymandering allowed the GOP to keep the House in 2012 despite getting less votes and now voter suppression is the plan to retake the White House despite having a smaller electorate. But even if this strategy works for now it won’t work for long.

Sooner or later the GOP will have to face demographic reality.