Voting in the U.S. will soon be (even) harder to do.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

 

[Romana]

 

[Free]

Inside the Koch-Backed Effort to Block the Largest Election-Reform Bill in Half a Century

On a leaked conference call, leaders of dark-money groups and an aide to Mitch McConnell expressed frustration with the popularity of the legislation—even among Republican voters.

www.newyorker.com

A recording obtained by The New Yorker of a private conference call on January 8th, between a policy adviser to Senator Mitch McConnell and the leaders of several prominent conservative groups—including one run by the Koch brothers’ network—reveals the participants’ worry that the proposed election reforms garner wide support not just from liberals but from conservative voters, too. The speakers on the call expressed alarm at the broad popularity of the bill’s provision calling for more public disclosure about secret political donors. The participants conceded that the bill, which would stem the flow of dark money from such political donors as the billionaire oil magnate Charles Koch, was so popular that it wasn’t worth trying to mount a public-advocacy campaign to shift opinion. Instead, a senior Koch operative said that opponents would be better off ignoring the will of American voters and trying to kill the bill in Congress.

Fuck the people.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

Inside the Koch-Backed Effort to Block the Largest Election-Reform Bill in Half a Century

On a leaked conference call, leaders of dark-money groups and an aide to Mitch McConnell expressed frustration with the popularity of the legislation—even among Republican voters.

www.newyorker.com

Fuck the people.

Oligarchy, not democracy.

 

[Free]

Oligarchy, not democracy.

I think I said that.

Fuck the people.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

I think I said that.

Right. I posted the link to that article elsewhere here too (Nobody Cares), cuz it made me so angry, and I left that out, so felt compelled to include that here.

 

[Govi]

It's a tradition in the old Slave States: they copied each other's Articles of Secession, too. Thus, they were united in the embodiment of their resentment against the Free States for the Free States' lack of cooperation in the slavery business.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

It's a tradition in the old Slave States: they copied each other's Articles of Secession, too. Thus, they were united in the embodiment of their resentment against the Free States for the Free States' lack of cooperation in the slavery business.

Well, saves me a trip to Georgia I guess.

 

[Noodles]

Being an engineer, I tend to think in terms of solving problems. If the law makes it illegal to give stuff to people in line, then put a sign near the polling place that says "line for voting ends here". People beyond that point are not in line. They are hanging out waiting for a chance to *get* in line.
.

Also maybe you are walking along text to the voting line, returning from the store, carrying a case of water, and you accidentally slip and the bottles just scatter.

But bending over is hard, and that was soooo embarrassing with all that audience, so you quickly run off back to the store leaving the mess, for more water, which unfortunately, you drop again.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Free]

Oh Oh CANCEL CULTURE!!!

 

[Jolene Benoir]

Oh Oh CANCEL CULTURE!!!

Isn't Atlanta one of their major hubs? I think it was for NW Airlines before they consolidated. These politicians may not want to irk the CEO of Delta too much.

 

[danielravennest]

Isn't Atlanta one of their major hubs? I think it was for NW Airlines before they consolidated. These politicians may not want to irk the CEO of Delta too much.

Delta was originally founded in Georgia (as a crop dusting business) and is headquartered in Atlanta. Atlanta-Hartsfield is the world's busiest single airport, and Delta operates about half the gates here. Major hub understates things. They are the largest private employer in Georgia by a factor of two, and employ more people (80,000) than the state itself (71,000).

Personal story: I used to work for Boeing in Huntsville, AL. Boeing's main office in Huntsville is between the runways of the local airport, in case they ever do projects involving aircraft. Commercial pilot training starts out with simulators, but eventually they have to fly the actual plane. So Delta would send them to Huntsville to practice takeoffs and landings, because it is about 100 times less busy than Atlanta. So looking out the window where I worked, I would see the same plane taking off, doing a loop around town, landing, and repeat.

One of our contracts was the Avenger anti-aircraft system (no relation to Marvel). It was basically a Hummer chassis, with eight missiles and a radar mounted behind the driver's seat. The bare Hummer chassis would arrive on trucks, then we would mount the other stuff on them. At the end of assembly, we needed to test the radar. So of course they tested it by tracking those Delta training flights, which went right past our parking lot. I'm sure it made life interesting for the pilots to see a missile system tracking them.

 

[Free]

BREAKING: MLB Moves All-Star Game Out Of Atlanta Over Restrictive Voting Law

Major League Baseball commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. announced Friday that the All-Star Game and 2021 draft will be moved from Atlanta after Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed a restrictive voting bill into law last week.

“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box,” the statement read, adding that the new host city is yet to be decided.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Biden Pisses Off Georgia Dems with Support for Moving All Star Game

Georgia Democrats understand where Biden is coming from, but say moving the MLB All Star Game would just punish the Georgia voters who propelled him to the White House.

www.thedailybeast.com

Evernote link because paywall

 

[Free]

Biden Pisses Off Georgia Dems with Support for Moving All Star Game

Georgia Democrats understand where Biden is coming from, but say moving the MLB All Star Game would just punish the Georgia voters who propelled him to the White House.

www.thedailybeast.com

Bullshit. The (Democratic) voters get it. It's not a punishment - it's playing the long view.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Bullshit. The (Democratic) voters get it. It's not a punishment - it's playing the long view.

I think it's important to remember that the MLB organisers are going to be primarily worried about what happens to MLB and the brand rather than about the financial effect of their decision on Georgians.

MLB and Delta are businesses, after all. Whatever the effect of voter suppression in Georgia may have on Georgians, it's not going to carry as much weight in their decision making, I would think, as would the reputational damage that an association with Georgia would cause them.

 

[Free]

I think it's important to remember that the MLB organisers are going to be primarily worried about what happens to MLB and the brand rather than about the financial effect of their decision on Georgians.

Besides, what hurts Atlanta (because really, the beneficial effects of an all-star game are more local than they'll admit to) will benefit Denver, or wherever they move the game to.

 

[Free]

Also,

GOP Loses Its Collective Mind After MLB Comes Out In Favor Of Voting Rights

Republicans of all stripes are crying “cancel culture” after Major League Baseball commissioner Robert Manfred Jr. announced Friday that the All-Star Game would no longer take place in Atlanta following Georgia’s enactment of a new restrictive voter law.

The move comes amid demands that companies headquartered in Georgia denounce the legislation, with some calling for boycotts of those that don’t.

“Today, Major League Baseball caved to fear, political opportunism, and liberal lies” Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said in a statement. “Georgians — and all Americans — should fully understand what the MLB’s knee-jerk decision means: cancel culture and woke political activists are coming for every aspect of your life, sports included.”

They are fucking SCARED.