One man's observation of the End of the World.... not.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

What do you think would happen, if US states could completely erase their voter rolls every two years and require everyone to register anew each time within a fortnight?

I should like to think that before it got that bad, the centrist & left civil organizations such as the ACLU would go after such unconstitutional legislation.

What these vote-suppressors keep forgetting, is the clause in the Constitution that essentially says that federal laws trump states' laws, if there is conflict.  The US Constitution provides that the states are in charge of elections, this is true. But, the Constitution also states that no law (state or otherwise) can discriminate against various things.

And these anti-discriminatory Constitutional laws prohibit discriminatory state voting legislation.  The Jim Crowe laws were an example, and they were defeated by exactly those sorts of arguments.

Fortunately, Mitt-let-them-borrow-from-their-parents-Antoinette was not elected, so he won't be stuffing SCOTUS with his shills-for-hire "judges".  Obama is a moderate, and is in fact, more conservative that Ronnie-Ray-Gun was.

[Swatopluk]

The question (in the US) is, who will last longer? Usually the bad guys unless they overreach too much in one go. In 2010 the motivation was on the side of evil and as a result in a census year the GOP dominated the states. Without the new and more extreme gerrymandering they would have lost the House. This may be enough to sabotage the country enough that 2014 will be another 2010. And in 2016 there is no natural heir to the WH on the Dem side and thus they have to run without the O-advantage. Our main hope is that a) SCOTUS will not kill the Voting Rights Act and b) Obama can replace enough justices that the next GOP/TP president has no vacancy to fill there that would tip the court over finally.

Bob, we have seen that rightwing SCOTUS justices rarely care what the constitution actually says. And a radical proposal as mine (I only read about Hungary one or two days later) would not even violate the letter (just the spirit) of the constitution. It would formally not discriminate against anyone. It would just be like the famous Anatole France quote "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich and the poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.".

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

It is always a fight and chances are that it will always be; and it isn't simply a Good vs Evil^TM confrontation but a battle of interests, sometimes a minority vs a majority, but more frequently competing minorities dragging everybody else to it. Right now the Dems seem to be on the side of the majority, but I see them more as pretending to be on the correct side of things so that their benefactors reap the benefits albeit in a more modest fashion than the other guys who shamelessly push for no restraints. As ideologically charged this may sound, it is a struggle against the beneficiaries of the status quo and -again- I am convinced that it will remain so for the foreseeable future.

[Swatopluk]

I see in the Dems mainly (and often shameless) opportunism but on the GOP side I see a lot of genuine evil, which I in this context define as not just looking for material self-interest but an actual desire to do harm. It's not just about redistributing wealth upwards but also about the taking from the non-rich and the misery that causes.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

It may be a reading of the calvinist predetermination: if god placed them there to suffer, suffer they shall, and if they are not among us (the powerful) is because god placed them for our benefit.

[Aggie]

I see in the Dems mainly (and often shameless) opportunism but on the GOP side I see a lot of genuine evil, which I in this context define as not just looking for material self-interest but an actual desire to do harm. It's not just about redistributing wealth upwards but also about the taking from the non-rich and the misery that causes.

Ayuh, I see it in a similar light.  The Dems are still a very right-wing, pro-military, pro-business party, but they have at least understood that you need to make a bit of an effort to look after the country as a whole.  I really can't fathom the GOP mindset; it seems to take great joy in kicking those who are already down.

[pieces o nine]

I see in the Dems mainly (and often shameless) opportunism but on the GOP side I see a lot of genuine evil, which I in this context define as not just looking for material self-interest but an actual desire to do harm. It's not just about redistributing wealth upwards but also about the taking from the non-rich and the misery that causes.

Ayuh, I see it in a similar light.  The Dems are still a very right-wing, pro-military, pro-business party, but they have at least understood that you need to make a bit of an effort to look after the country as a whole.  I really can't fathom the GOP mindset; it seems to take great joy in kicking those who are already down.

Based on non-scientific observations of the (R)ethugs infesting the Ocean o'Sand --[a subset of the GOP, albeit not a minority one here]-- that mindset is driven by one of these situations:

1. Those who were born to some money and have never known want for anything essential to life or well-being.
Genuine lack of any empathy, fostered by attendance at hard-core 'bible believing' churches where the focus is on all the nasty parts of that book and complete indifference to any redeeming passages. True belief that anyone not enjoying the very best life has to offer has consciously, deliberately chosen their lot and should fester in it, in this life and the next.
2. Those who know damn well how close to to being one of "them" they actually are and are terrified by the prospect.
Their solution to dealing with fear is to identitfy with what they aspire to, even if the ever-more-extreme positions taken by that minority will bring about direct damage to themselves and their children. They believe, or pretend to believe, that absolute loyalty to a tiny minority of privelege means that they themselves are already enjoying that privelege -- perhaps not unlike the Calvinist belief that they are among a literal 144,000 from each of the twelve tribes destined for paradise?

[Griffin NoName]

I really can't fathom the GOP mindset; it seems to take great joy in kicking those who are already down.

It's the same as our Tory party. Recent quote to show that Lord wotsit (lots of dosh) understands the poor - you dont have to be a corpse to go to a funeral.