The right to vote

Bill Hobbs, the Republican's paid flack, is upset about the possibility of identity theft and not so concerned about the right to vote.

Hobbs has been lamenting about the theft of Davidson County voting data that contained Social Security numbers. That's a valid concern and one that needs to be addressed. However, Hobbs is most concerned about the risk of identity theft and his solution is to create photo voter ID cards. He blames Democrats for not favoring the idea.

What Hobbs doesn't say is that photo cards make it more difficult for people to vote and that has a bigger impact on the Democratic turnout than it does on the GOP. Such measures have been employed by the party for some time to support Republican candidates that would have less of a chance in a system that encouraged people to go to the polls.

Photo IDs won't solve the problem because people shave, they lose weight and a host of other things happen that change their appearance. Some form of identification number will still be required to protect the integrity of the system.

But, as we have seen by the current crop of GOP office holders, integrity is not much of an issue for them. Protecting power for a small elite group is the primary goal.

    - Jim Grinstead

Comments

[Bill Hobbs]

The current crop of Republicans aren't concerned with integrity?

State Sen. Ward Crutcfield, Democrat: Convicted of taking bribes.

State Sen. Jerry Cooper, Democrat: Stole nearly $100,000. Resigned rather than pay the penalty.

State Sen. John Ford, Democrat: Convicted of taking bribes.

State Sen. Kathryn Bowers, Democrat: Convicted of taking bribes.

State Rep. Rob Briley, Democrat: Drunk driving, leaving the scene of an accident, leading police on an extended high-speed chase, sleeping with the lobbyist for the key special interest group with legislation before the committee he chairs.

As for the photo ID issue, the legislation made it easy for anyone, even the poor, to get a photo ID. There is no reliable data showing that a photo ID requirement would prevent anyone from (legitimately) voting.

The "right to vote" is very important - so important that we must do everything we can to stop illegitimate voting. Fraudulent voting diminishes your right to vote by undermining the value of your vote.

Jim, you write that because people's appearances change, "some form of identification number will still be required to protect the integrity of the system."

Okay. Make photo voter registration ID cards with a bar code or mag stripe and a PIN code.

[Jim Grinstead]

You're right, Bill. Those Democrats are bad apples and should be gone. There's no room in politics for corrupt politicians of any party.

And don't forget to add to your list Rep. Chris Newton, R-Cleveland. Somehow his name never appears when you list Democrats caught in the same sting.

But NONE of those people are in the same league as Tom DeLay or Jack Abramoff.

And while we're at it, let's not forget:

- Randy Cunningham, convicted of accepting $1.3 million in bribes.
- Bob Ney, plead guilty to accepting bribes.
- Scooter Libby, convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice, and lying to the FBI. His sentence was lightened by President Bush who decided it was better to protect political cronies than respect a jury's decision.
- J. Steven Griles, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.
- Mark Foley, resigned after a sex scandal involving a 16-year-old male page.
- Bill Frist, reported to have maintained additional stock holdings outside of his blind trust, creating a conflict of interest.
- Curt Weldon, being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of trading political influence for lobbying contracts for his daughter. Weldon did not resign, but in his 2006 re-election campaign, the Washington Post reported that the Republican Party had "all but abandoned" him.
- Dennis Hastert, for allegedly trying to cover up warnings about inappropriate conduct by Mark Foley, and from taking contributions from Jack Abramoff to the tune of over $100,000.

And perhaps my favorite -- Larry Craig who demonstrated a talent for tap on the bathroom floor of a Minneapolis airport.

Such talent does not end there. Don't forget Dick Cheney who can shoot a man in the face, decide he doesn't need to talk about it, then convince the victim to apologize.

As for legitimate data on voter turnout, there are facts to back it up. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/us/21voting.html)

A study, prepared by scholars at Rutgers and Ohio State Universities for the federal Election Assistance Commission, supports concerns among voting-rights advocates that blacks and Hispanics could be disproportionately affected by ID requirements.

Unfortunately there are corrupt Democrats just as there are corrupt Republicans. It's just that Republicans are working harder at raising the bar.