Republicans Downsize the Electorate

One of the great mysteries of democracy as we know it in this country is how the party of the very rich, the same folks who shamelessly cut taxes for millionaires manage to sell the idea they are the workingman's friend.  Joe Six pack   will echo the lines from millionaire Rush Limbaugh about how the Democrats want to take his money and give it to a welfare Queen.

As H.L. Mencken noted, you will never grow broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.  But the aggregate of voters are not that stupid and Karl Rove and his colluding braintrust know eventually the Joe Six Pack will realize when Paul Ryan destroys Medicare and turns it into Coupon Care, Joe's parents will quickly be bankrupted by their health care costs and they will move in with him. So maybe, the great humble masses who do not make millions will become a problem for Republican candidates.

So what to do, Karl? How do you keep those masses from voting against you?

I got it! You turn away voters at the polls.

You pass a law to prevent VOTER FRAUD in New Hampshire to be sure all those citizens who have neglected to register at Town Hall prior to the election (most of whom are probably working stiffs who cannot get to Town Hall during working hours and these are just the guys who do not make millions)--you make sure they do not get to vote on election day.

Now we all know how big a problem VOTER FRAUD is in New Hampshire, where people mostly vote in small towns and they say hello to everyone who work at the polls, because people in small town New Hampshire tend to know each other--except on election day, when Republican poll tenders tend to look at their neighbors and suddenly see illegal immigrants, communists, terrorists, out of state agitators and psychopaths trying to get into that voting booth without a driver's license or a library card.

Now all we need is a good name for the law. Let's see: How about the VOTER FRAUD PREVENTION ACT.  Or, maybe, the DEFENSE OF VOTING INTEGRITY ACT. No, integrity has too many syllables. How about the SAVE OUR VOTE act? 

Really, the name is so important. That's the way to get to Joe Sixpack. He may not be interested in estate law, but if you make the estate tax THE DEATH TAX then you can protect a hundred million dollars of your estate for your Republican kids.

And if you can turn the Affordable Care Act into OBAMACARE, well that sounds just scary.

You've got to hand it to the Republicans. They are good at the name game. A rose may be a rose by any other name, but when the Republicans call it an INVASIVE SPECIES, it conjures up THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS  and Karl Rove could get it outlawed in the state of New Hampshire.

Actually, that's way happened to the King Crimson Maple, but that's another story.