South Florida, this weekend, 2012…
This is just shameful. Embarrassing for the entire nation. Again. How FL Governor Rick Scott and Ken Detzner, both Republicans, sleep at night I cannot imagine. That, even after both of their Republican predecessors, Governors Charlie Crist and Jeb Bush had the decency to extend early voting hours when lines began snaking around the block in previous years (and we’ve never had much good to say about Jeb Bush’s administration of elections!)
Scott cut Early Voting from 14 days in 2008 to just 8 days this year in the Sunshine State because, apparently, there was just too damned much voting and democracy and stuff going on in 2008.
As Scott refuses to budge, despite the hours-long lines to vote — as much as 6 hours in many places — Democrats have been forced to go to court to sue for expanded Early Voting hours at the last minute, as Lizette Alvarez details at New York Times. A judge has already granted four additional hours in one county, after Early Voting had to be temporarily stopped there for a number of hours due to a suspicious object, which had to be detonated by the bomb squad, was left at one of the polling place. But, ultimately, the suits will most likely be too little, too late at this point.
This all comes on the heels of Scott severely restricting voter registration drives, attempting to even further restrict Early Voting hours, and falsely attempting to purge legitimate voters over the past year and, as we noted yesterday, even purging active duty military voters from the rolls in the bargain.
Last night, in a special Saturday broadcast, MNSBC’s Rachel Maddow detailed this weekend’s Florida disgrace…
Be sure to notice the scenes — documented in photo after photo, at Early Voting polling place after polling place in the video above — of lines around the block with people trying to do nothing more than simply cast their vote in the Presidential Election in Florida. Imagine how many voters saw those lines and simply decided not to bother, or were too elderly or infirm to be able to stand there for six hours.
Well, at least it’s not like Florida is a state with a history of close elections, or one that’s expected to be close at all this year. Most importantly, remember: “We are the world’s greatest democracy”, right?
Oh…and as Ari Berman has been reporting from on the ground, in Ohio, where Republican Sec. of State Jon Husted has similarly attempted to restrict as much Early Voting as possible, the problems at this hour are not much better.
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, this weekend, 2012…
Columbus, Ohio, this weekend, 2012…
[via Michael Finnegan, LA Times]
And here are still more breathtaking photos of Early Voting lines in Ohio. I can’t express enough my respect for those folks who are able to endure 6-hour lines to vote. Neither can I even imagine how countless-many simply choose not to.
An oldie but goodie — Rick Scott’s deposition in an anti-trust lawsuit against his former company Columbia/HCA Health.
(Scott’s company was fined a record $1.7 billion on charges of Medicare fraud. Despite being a lawyer and being CEO of one of the nation’s largest hospital chains, Scott evades answers to even the most basic questions.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIYad3TvY6Q
We are a Banana Republic.
US National Anthem
Brad, you’ve been informing us about election fraud for years!
Sadly,”the powers that be” don’t want to fix the problem.
“I’ll show you politics in America. Here it is, right here. ‘I think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs.’ ‘I think the puppet on the left is more to my liking.’ ‘Hey, wait a minute, there’s one guy holding out both puppets!'”
-Bill Hicks
In the history of fascism, it doesn’t get better . ..only progressively worse.
Propaganda works. Look how many people keep quiet because they don’t want to be called a tin foil hatter etc.
I used to wonder how a country like Germany with such brilliant creative minds allowed Hitler to take power. Now I know.
How long have WE as a collective culture made excuses for our right wing media..saying journalists are lazy.
How long have we allowed our leaders to make horrible choices for our environment, food supply, medicine and jobs by allowing them to get by with the dumb excuses like they just did not know.
If this is true are we to admit that we consistently vote for dumb a—-? If they just did not know when we consistently go to war over false flags…seems like they would just not know and maybe vote once in a while for Mother Earth’s protection and love…for human being’s prosperity and general welfare…to protect animals from cruel and inhumane factory farms.
My first question would be; How many people in those lines are voting for Romney? 1/10?,20?,100?
How about entrance polling?
Rachel Maddow was saying the avg. Romney campaign stop was attended by 5,000 ignoramuses (very painful to watch) while Obamas were attended by 25,000+ on avg.
Shouldn’t Obama be kickin’ ass? by 5?
This is why the whole “horse race” crap by the corporate media is a sham and with it the election.
I am sure Brad Blog will be reporting on this ASAP, but until then, here is what happened in Miami-Dade County yesterday (Sunday):
Voting debaucle in Florida causes chaos, confusion
So Brad, any thoughts on why the lines are so long in Ohio and Florida even with all the early voting days? I’ve never seen lines like this here in California. Even with twice the turnout because they’re swing states, it still doesn’t make any sense unless those states are providing a lot fewer polling places on the average than we do here.
I’m from FL and I have to disagree with Jeb Bush’s “decency” – he may have extended early voting but he also was responsible for stealing the votes that put his brother ahead in ;04 (and probably thought he could do the same on ’08! My theory is ‘he & his cronies’ just didn’t see Sen. O’bama’s bid for the Presidency as a serious threat – therefore, ‘let’s keep the polls open and get even more votes for my ‘brother/colleague in crime’ . . .! 🙁
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