What Could The Billionaires Who Now Own The Republican Party Possibly Have In Mind With The Systematic Policy Of Disenfranchising American Voters?

Anti-democratic forces and fascist elements in states where the GOP won decisive majorities last year-- from Maine and New Hampshire down through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and down to Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida-- have been working relentlessly to disenfranchise millions of voters who they suspect of being likely Democratic Party supporters. If the shenanigans they're trying to pull stand, there is no possible path to victory for Obama and virtually no way to prevent a complete fascist-oriented takeover of all the branches of government-- sans checks and balances. Think Scott Walker, John Kasich, Rick Snyder and Rick Scott on steroids. The nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice:

Over the past century, our nation expanded the franchise and knocked down myriad barriers to full electoral participation. In 2011, however, that momentum abruptly shifted.

State governments across the country enacted an array of new laws making it harder to register or to vote. Some states require voters to show government-issued photo identification, often of a type that as many as one in ten voters do not have. Other states have cut back on early voting, a hugely popular innovation used by millions of Americans. Two states reversed earlier reforms and once again disenfranchised millions who have past criminal convictions but who are now taxpaying members of the community. Still others made it much more difficult for citizens to register to vote, a prerequisite for voting.

These new restrictions fall most heavily on young, minority, and low-income voters, as well as on voters with disabilities. This wave of changes may sharply tilt the political terrain for the 2012 election. Based on the Brennan Center’s analysis of the 19 laws and two executive actions that passed in 14 states, it is clear that:

• These new laws could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.

• The states that have already cut back on voting rights will provide 171 electoral votes in 2012 – 63 percent of the 270 needed to win the presidency.

• Of the 12 likely battleground states, as assessed by an August Los Angeles Times analysis of Gallup polling, five have already cut back on voting rights (and may pass additional restrictive legislation), and two more are currently considering new restrictions.

States have changed their laws so rapidly that no single analysis has assessed the overall impact of such moves. Although it is too early to quantify how the changes will impact voter turnout, they will be a hindrance to many voters at a time when the United States continues to turn out less than two thirds of its eligible citizens in presidential elections and less than half in midterm elections.

What about the Democrats? Are they going to engage effectively and fight back? Maybe. I got this in my in box from the DSCC this morning:

The New York Times just reported on a brand new study on Republican voter suppression tactics, and its findings are worse than any of us could have imagined.
 
According to the report, 5 MILLION voters-- more than decided the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections-- could be affected by this coordinated GOP effort to skew the 2012 elections. Not surprisingly, the suppression effort specifically targets traditionally Democratic voters. The road to the Senate and the White House runs right through the affected states-- Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Nevada, Virginia-- even California.
 
The GOP strategy is simple: Suppress the vote, win the election. The loss of these votes would be more than enough to lose the Senate-- and the White House. If Republicans succeed, they will get just what they’re seeking-- complete and total control of Washington.

... We’re leading the effort to prevent this attempt to change the outcome of the 2012 elections. In Florida, the DSCC formally requested that the Department of Justice do what it could to stop this. We’re also keeping these developments in mind as we build our campaign strategy. The GOP’s efforts will make our voter outreach more important, and more expensive, in 2012 than ever before.
 
The truth is, we’re David in this fight against Goliath. The Koch Brothers and their corporate allies bankroll the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC-- the powerful organization that has pushed these voter-suppression measures.

And then there's a plea for people to sign their petition-- in other words, an attempt to grow their fund-raising list. Ugghhh... Let's hope the Justice Department is more serious.