This exchange took place in a Paterson, New Jersey church during a town hall meeting. Governor Chris Christie said this in response to an African American man who yelled out, “Fix the public schools!”
“You can yell all you want about ‘Fix the public schools.’ Yeah, I hear you, boy, I hear you.”
So was Christie calling the man “Boy,” or was he saying, “Boy, I hear you” as in, boy oh boy?
You tell me. My feeling is that, even if he didn’t mean to offend, he could have chosen his words more carefully to avoid any misunderstanding. What he did was insensitive and showed a need for more, erm, self-awareness, not exactly his forte.
At the same event, Christie referred to Democratic Speaker Sheila Oliver only by her race and gender, prompting the pastor at the church to demand an apology.
Now the New York Times has a series of graphs depicting exactly how long it took different groups to vote. One guess who waited longer among African American, Hispanic, and white voters. Hint: White voters waited an average of 12+ minutes. Black and Hispanic voters waited an average of 20+ minutes.
Democrats waited an average of 15 minutes, but Republicans? A little over 12 minutes.
Here is a peek at the results. Source: 2012 Survey of the Performance of American Elections, conducted by Charles Stewart III of M.I.T. Much more at the link and here:
This year, more than any other, we’re seeing coordinated attacks on the voting rights of millions of Black folks across the country.
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Well now some of that confusion will hopefully be eliminated in time for the election, and voters will know in plenty of time that they can vote early, as has been the case for years.
Remember, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted once said this:
“The later you make a decision, the more likely it is to cause a problem … Time is of the essence and confusion is dangerous.”
You’d think election officials would be in favor of more Americans voting, not reducing the numbers. But if you’re a Republican, specifically Husted, you know early voting affects Democratic voters favorably; in their minds, democracy is trumped by politics and winning at all costs, so the fewer early voters, the better.
(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Ohio’s request to curtail early voting in the state leading up to the November 6 presidential election.
Ohio, critical to the election hopes of Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, began early in-person voting earlier this month but planned to cut it off on November 2, the Friday before the election, except for members of the military.
Note to other states restricting voters’ rights (to quote Ann Romney): “Stop it!”
Rachel Maddow provides the back story in the above video. The other shoe is dropping, as expected, and the Ohio (Republican) secretary of state Jon Husted has now said he will appeal a ruling by a federal court that overturned previous restrictions on early voting.
And he took his sweet time, which of course makes it much more difficult and confusing to Ohio voters.
Per the ruling, Ohioans are able cast ballots in the three days before election day, but Husted kept everyone waiting and wondering whether or not he would appeal that decision. He was in no rush.
Husted once said this:
“The later you make a decision, the more likely it is to cause a problem … Time is of the essence and confusion is dangerous.”
The pressure is now on, and Husted knows it. He’s making sure any final decisions will come in as late in the game as possible, causing further chaos resulting in fewer Democratic-leaning (black) Ohio residents having access to early voting.
After all, longer lines that deter people who are unable to spend endless hours waiting to vote benefit him and his GOP buddies.
(CNN) – Jon Husted said he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case. On Friday, a federal appeals court sided with the Obama campaign in its protest against a ban on voting in the final weekend–Saturday, Sunday, and Monday–before Election Day.
In a statement Tuesday, Husted called Friday’s ruling an “unprecedented intrusion by the federal courts into how states run elections.”
“Because of its impact on all 50 states as to who and how elections will be run in America we are asking the Supreme Court to step in and allow Ohioans to run Ohio elections,” the statement read. [...]
The circuit court said the injunction does not, however, require local election offices to be open for early voting during the weekend before the election, but said the injunction “return[s] discretion to local boards of elections to allow all Ohio voters to vote” that Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Of course, that decision still leaves it up to boards that could very well decide against early voting. And now our lovely SCOTUS is being asked to make a final decision.
No rush, of course. Take your time.
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President Obama’s support among Catholic voters has surged since June, according to a new poll, despite a summer that included the Catholic bishops’ religious freedom campaign and the naming of Rep. Paul Ryan, a Catholic, as the GOP’s vice-presidential candidate. [...]
… Obama has surged ahead, and now leads 54-39 percent, according to a Pew poll conducted on Sept. 16. Among all registered voters, Obama leads Romney 51-42 percent, according to Pew.
Obama and Romney are essentially tied among white Catholics, which some pollsters call the ultimate swing group.
By the by, 95 percent of African Americans still back Obama over Romney. Can’t imagine why.
The words “powerful” and “effective” don’t do this short segment by Melissa Harris Perry justice.
“This may be practical political strategy: fear of the ‘dangerous black man,’ resentment for the mythical ‘welfare queen.’ It has worked before, but it will not work much longer, ’cause it’s not a dog whistle. We can hear you. And we’re calling you on it.“
Lt. Col Barry Wingard is the lawyer for Gitmo detainee Fayiz Al-Kandari. For their ongoing story + related topics, please click on the link below: Kuwaiti Citizen Detained at Guantanamo since 2002
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