Guilty But Let Off

Having been glued to the TV for days watching the impeachment trial saga play out, in the end I couldn't bring myself to fully listen to the utterly odious and contemptible Mitch McConnell attempt to explain for the benefit of history his lame and disgraceful reasons for not convicting Trump. In my book he gets absolutely no credit whatsoever for condemning Trump's actions in the strongest terms, whilst gutlessly refusing to do his duty in the earnest hope that others will via criminal or civil means.

Even ignoring the blatant self-interest of this most unattractive of politicians, the sheer hypocrisy of the man is breath taking for having made his decision on the baseless 'unconstitutionality' argument, a situation entirely of his own making by refusing to allow the case to begin whilst Trump was still in office. It's almost certain that he alone could have ensured a conviction by doing the right thing and thus bring enough Republican votes with him, but he's got his place in history along with his 42 colleagues and it's not going to be favourable.

The prosecution case was both thorough and convincing in stark contrast to the rambling theatricals of the Trump defence. By common agreement they were completely 'outlawyered' but of course it didn't really matter what they said as acquittal was fairly-well ensured with so many GOP senators remaining fearful of Trump and losing their comfy jobs. Hats off though to the magnificent seven who now have to cope with ferocious attacks from an emboldened former president and his army of vindicated thugs.

One of the saddest parts of this whole sorry saga will be the precedent now fully established of election mistrust and that being used by Republican states as justification for further voter suppression. Under the guise of improving election security, some 200 legislative measures are already being introduced that will have the effect of making it as hard as possible for the black vote to be cast. The GOP know they can't win in any other way and 'states rights' gives them licence to effectively be as racially discriminatory as they like. What a horrid, horrid state of affairs when one dreadful sociopathic man can be allowed to wreak such damage on a great democracy. 

So, as we prepare to go to the polls in May, armed for the first time with our own means of putting crosses on bits of paper, rather than the special short stubby pencils that allow the crosses to be rubbed out by election officials or MI5 and thus facilitate vote rigging, be thankful we don't have a federalised system and 435 ways of running elections in the UK. This from the Vox website:-    

State GOPs have already introduced dozens of bills restricting voting access in 2021

In 2020, voters turned out at the highest level in 100 years, thanks in part to expanded vote-by-mail. In response, state-level Republicans are introducing an unprecedented amount of legislation to restrict voting rights, according to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice.

State legislators in 28 states have filed 106 bills restricting the franchise thus far in 2021 — and the overwhelming majority have come from Republicans. Compare that to last year at this time: Then, only 35 such bills had been filed in six states.

“We are seeing a backlash,” says Eliza Sweren-Becker, the report’s lead author. “Rather than going out and trying to persuade voters, we’re seeing legislators trying to shrink the electorate in order to ensure job security for themselves.”

The proposed legislation largely falls into two categories: bills that either increase the difficulties individual Americans would face absentee voting or that give officials greater leeway to shrink the voter pool. Some are attempts to roll back voting rights expansions necessitated by the pandemic; others are retreads of policies Republicans have pushed before, like expanded voter identification laws.

The passage of these laws will, essentially, depend on whether Republicans control both the statehouse and the governorship in the states in which they’ve been introduced — a reality in 18 of the 28 states. And while Sweren-Becker says their constitutionality would hinge on the way each bill is written and implemented, a lot of them have a decent chance at sticking around.

The news isn’t all bad: A whopping 406 bills have been introduced in 35 states that would expand access to voting, including permanently codifying the absentee voter policies that allowed voters in some states to cast their ballots early and remotely. Some states will consider both expansive and restrictive voting rights bills; which path the state follows will likely hinge on which party controls the legislature.

At the national level, Democrats in Congress are pushing a number of voting rights bills. Last year, the House passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would provide for federal oversight in states with a recent history of racial discrimination in voting laws. On Thursday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) reintroduced his annual Vote From Home bill with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), which would mandate universal absentee voting — or the ability to vote by mail without an excuse — for federal elections and disallow states from imposing “additional conditions or requirements on the eligibility of the individual,” save for the postmark deadline.

“Last year we saw a widespread expansion of vote-at-home access as a safe and secure way to participate during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Blumenauer said in a release. “We should continue to make voting easier, not harder.”

At each level of government, the fight over the future of how America’s democracy operates is in full effect — and states are moving quickly.