BIG BREAKING NEWS just before going to air for today’s BradCast! [Link to complete audio below.] The full, very conservative U.S. 5th Circuit Court of appeals has just issued a very surprising and very encouraging ruling finding that the Texas GOP’s long-contested Photo ID voting restrictions are, in fact, a violation of the federal Voting Rights Act!
Moreover, a federal court in Wisconsin issues an order allowing those without GOP-approved Photo IDs to be allowed to vote anyway. And, Day 2 of this year’s insane Republican National Convention results in the official nomination of Donald J. Trump for President of the United States.
First up, the very encouraging breaking news out of Texas, where the most conservative appellate court in America has just undercut one of the nation’s most draconian Republican Photo ID voting restrictions. Conservatives had been hoping — despite the lack of voter fraud that could possibly even be deterred by the law — that the full 5th Circuit would overturn the rulings of court after court after court all finding the GOP law has both a racially discriminatory intent and effect. But it looks like it was not to be. The 5h Circuit’s 203-page ruling [PDF] today finds the law in violation of the Voting Rights Act and remands the case back down to the lower court (where it had already been found both unconstitutional and in violation of the VRA), in order to find a remedy that may allow for something like an affidavit to be signed by voters who do not have the strict type of ID now required by Republicans to cast a vote at poling places under the controversial law.
Some 600,000 already legally registered Texans had faced potential disenfranchisement during this fall’s Presidential election. That is now looking much less likely, even as the remedy still needs to be fashioned and the case could still go to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, even a tie there would revert the case back to today’s very positive ruling by the 5th Circuit. In related news, a federal court struck a “critical blow” to the Wisconsin GOP’s version of the same law. The court there has ordered that state to implement a program to allow voters without the newly-requisite Photo ID to vote anyway, by signing an affidavit.
A lot of legal votes may have just been saved today in those two states, as well as in others where similar laws are being challenged by voting rights advocates and/or considered for passage by other Republican-controlled legislatures.
Then, it’s on to our somewhat-truncated (due to the above) coverage of Day 2 of the RNC in Cleveland, where the GOP officially nominated Trump as their standard bearer on Tuesday. Comedian Jimmy Dore of Pacifica Radio’s Jimmy Dore Show and The Young Turks joins us from Cleveland with a report on his bizarre (if not totally surprising) conversations with Republican delegates at the convention. He then goes on to offer his own impassioned case as to why he, a longtime Bernie Sanders supporter, will not support Hillary Clinton this year, and believes that a Trump Presidency would ultimately be no worse, and perhaps even better for the country, than a Clinton Presidency.
Suffice to say, I disagree with my friend Jimmy on a number of points, despite his well-argued case, in our very lively and spirited conversation today. All of that and much much more in another fast-paced edition of The BradCast! Enjoy!
Brad, be careful when interviewing Jimmy. He tends to rant by repeating the same thing endlessly rather than articulate anything new. He’s progressive, but no where near the caliber of you or Cenk.
I think Jimmy Dore articulates his positions quite well. Today, the discussion was thoughtful, and the “Hillary or else,” and “Trump or else” arguments were both solid and convincing. Naturally, while Jimmy is emotionally invested (as am I), Brad must maintain a journalistic tone. Even so, It’s hard to think one argument made more sense than the other. And while Dore may sometimes get the wrong idea of an ostensibly impartial interviewer’s “what if” scenario and take it as if the interviewer is attacking him, I don’t think it deducts anything from his logical persuasiveness.
This evening on TYT when Jimmy Dore was arguing with Ben Mankiewicz on exactly the same subject, and even though things got somewhat heated (!), both parties aired their concerns with more than a fair amount of logic.
A couple of months ago, Jimmy Dore was on the Bradcast with Hal Sparks to provide color commentary after one of the debates between Hillary and Bernie. At that time, Dore made a succinct and logical case for Bernie. On the other hand, Hal had nothing to offer other than “gun control,” and “it’s her turn” (Not that he had much beyond that to work with anyway.)
I find Jimmy Dore’s argument wonderfully compelling and terrifyingly risky. 🙂
Good fun.
I had to put up this great live debate Cenk Uygur did. It was my favorite part of the whole Republican Convention.
Larry Bergan @4 –
You’re right. That guy had no clue who he was up against when sitting down with Cenk. He clearlly thought he could get away with his normally-unchallenged Fox “News” bullshit. Notice, he was the one who fled the convo. Cenk would have kept going with him all day. Thanks for posting it.
Brad,
Cenk is an artist. Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Too bad the video that is making the rounds about him today is the one where Alex Jones tries to get his sinking ratings up, by walking right on to TYT’s set during a taping and trying to get someone to hit him, before lying, and telling people he was invited.
I wish Cenk had hospitalized the pathetic jackass!