There are a lot of disgusting things getting exposed in Missouri, but voter registration drives are not one of them.
A Missouri GOP official bemoaned in an interview published Monday that race had been injected into the conversation about the Ferguson, Mo., shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer.
“This is not just a tragedy for the African American community, this is a tragedy for the Missouri community as well as the community of what we call America,” Matt Wills, Missouri Republican Party executive director, told Breitbart News. “Injecting race into this conversation and into this tragedy, not only is not helpful, but it doesn’t help a continued conversation of justice and peace.”
Wills’s comments came in the context of the Breitbart report that “liberal organizers” had established voter registration booths amid the ongoing Ferguson protests.
“If that’s not fanning the political flames, I don’t know what is,” Wills said. “I think it’s not only disgusting but completely inappropriate.”
Can’t walk down the street. Can’t protest. Can’t register to vote.
Any questions?
“injecting race”
This in describing the oppressive fallout of (yet another) fatal shooting of a black teen by one of America’s white domestic soldiers fka “police”. How in the world could “race” be (improperly) “injected into the conversation”?
Apparently setting up voting registration sites is “injecting race”, however incoherent such a statement may be. Leave aside the fact that this overwhelmingly Black city appears governed almost completely by white folks and “policed” (occupied?) overwhelmingly by white domestic soldiery, however exactly this may happen politically.
I guess at this point one can’t even understand the usage and rhetoric of the American Right—they’re speakin’ their own language. Yup, it’s all just Lib’ruls “injecting race”, that’s the ticket! Lib’ruls making a mountain outta a mole hill, as usual!
Governor Nixon’s office hung up on me when i told them the BBC was comparing Missouri to Bull Connor.
Something tells me that this won’t end well, for anyone. I hope Governor Nixon runs again. It would be fun to watch him go down in flames.
On the other hand, now I have a political reason to not drink Budweiser.
That reminds me, Brendan. Any beers or breweries that are reaching beyond PA that you’d like to recommend or have been tickling your fancy recently?
lakefront in Milwaukee WI is AMAZING.
Neshaminy Creek Brewing in Croydon PA.
People’s Pint in Greenfield MA.
Brewer’s Art, especially the soon-to-be-discontinued Ozzy.
Summit IPA. Delicious.
He is limited to two terms and won elections in 2008 and 2012.
I don’t think you would find it fun if Nixon went down in the general election against someone of the caliber of Todd Akin.
When I heard about the voter registration table, I fully expected some MO GOP official to make some fuck-witted public comment like that.
Asshole.
Oh, these racist fuckwits are quite genuinely disgusted by the idea of blah people being registered to vote, regardless of the time, place, or manner.
And have been since 1619.
On a serious note, the registration drive is heartening. People there MUST get out and vote and take control of their city away from racist thugs. If we don’t use that power while we still have it, who knows how long it will continue to be available.
What the TPGOPer was saying in code was, How dare these Liberals register these uppity N#$%&rs to vote.
It’s barely even in code. The subtext is pretty damn close to the surface.
If it isn’t about race, what is it about?
Somehow I don’t think they recognize that if it isn’t about race it is about cops against people…any people…any time.
According to the 2010 Census, the population of Ferguson is 67.4% African American. That begs a couple of questions. Why aren’t Ferguson’s African Americans voting out the officials who are treating them so badly? Why hasn’t the Missouri state Democratic party focused on voter registration and GOTV efforts in Missouri? Missouri’s governor and one of its Senators are Democrats, so far so good. Missouri’s delegation to the House comprises two Democrats and six Republicans. Seems to me that our party might be more advantaged by spending more money on electing Representatives and less on electing a president. A Democratic president who is unable to get his or her legislative agenda passed just make Low Information Voters doubt our ability to effectively govern.
I’ve been saying that for years. The extreme, myopic focus of a lot of progressives on presidential politics is highly dysfunctional.
Oh, great. St. Louis Co. PD just shot someone.
SLCPD? Why in the name of god are they still even there? The highway patrol and National Guard need to run them out of town.
They shot someone 2.5 miles from Ferguson. Independent of protesters.
And the Saint Louis County Police Department is still running the show (unless the St. Louis DHS Fusion Center has the cops from all jurisdictions running it collectively). Ron Johnson is essentially the PR and community relations officer and not a commander. And the role of the National Guard is to protect the command center (which if I read the livery right is a SLCPD command center).
Wow, just effing wonderful. Jay Nixon is a dumbass.
If that is the best that Missouri can do, why would Ferguson be much better? If I read things right, the racial composition of Ferguson flipped in the space of 20 years. Also, if you listen to what residents have said, the cops stop people for minor offenses with impunity. And I forget what the bar for being prevented from voting is. only convicted felons can’t vote? Do misdemeanors count? I don’t know. Has anyone asked what other things the white power structure in town might do to dissuade people from voting?
Missouri Revised Statutes
Chapter 115 Election Authorities and Conduct of Elections Section 115.133
August 28, 2011
Qualifications of voters.
115.133. 1. Except as provided in subsection 2 of this section, any citizen of the United States who is a resident of the state of Missouri and seventeen years and six months of age or older shall be entitled to register and to vote in any election which is held on or after his eighteenth birthday.
2. No person who is adjudged incapacitated shall be entitled to register or vote. No person shall be entitled to vote:
(1) While confined under a sentence of imprisonment;
(2) While on probation or parole after conviction of a felony, until finally discharged from such probation or parole; or
(3) After conviction of a felony or misdemeanor connected with the right of suffrage.
3. Except as provided in federal law or federal elections and in section 115.277, no person shall be entitled to vote if the person has not registered to vote in the jurisdiction of his or her residence prior to the deadline to register to vote.
The voter registration ends 27 days before the election- early October. Door to door registration drives are in order.
Has anyone asked what other things the white power structure in town might do to dissuade people from voting?
My guess unless the DOJ stays on the job: parked FPD on the street in front of polling places.
Chris Hayes is tweeting about this shooting. The victim was considered by the community to be “mentally challenged”. Community asking why cop didn’t use taser.
Meanwhile in Chicago, the City Council is finally conducting a hearing about why half of Chicago’s mental health clinics were closed over two years ago.
Good question. Maybe they should ask Wilson the same question. Instead he put five bullets in the man.
They say he was in a store brandishing a knife and refused to drop it. Is it impossible for the police to use their taser or do they not have such things?
Not FPD policy apparently to use tasers… Wilson didn’t.
It’s not about Ferguson, America needs to understand! From day one it was clear to me it was about JUSTICE ̶ EQUALITY ‒ OPPORTUNITY ‒ EDUCATION.
Because America elected the first black president, racism has reared its ugly head. It you don’t confront it head on like Eisenhower did in 1954-56 and Johnson did in the sixties with the Civil Rights Act, the Republicans will attempt to reverse all rights from US citizens: women, blacks, hispanics, and gays. The U.S. is far from being a model democracy for the “free” world.
○ Excerpt: LBJ’s Voting Rights Speech “The American Promise” ̶ March 15 1965
President Obama should lead, I wanted to write a diary about his remarks on Ferguson. I didn’t set my expectations too high … halfway I fell asleep on the keyboard of my PC. Predictable, not making choices, not doing the right thing for people left behind. Unbelievable!
As I diaried a few days ago, MLK did take responsibility a made the tough choices. It takes courage. His legacy is forever.
There will be more Fergusons in our future. It is about class. Those on the bottom suffer from poverty and hopelessness. No job, no health care and no way out.
Racism was there. Obama derangement syndrome is bringing it to the fore. It takes all of us to deal with it and ppl are doing good. The reporters, for example, are pretty impressive on this round. Do you think Ferguson PD became what it is because Obama was elected? no. and Obama is making the tough choices. always, always keep in mind he is a community organizer and his actions are always, in my reading, more on the community organizer side of the spectrum than the dictator side of the spectrum. I appreciate your contribution to this blog, but I don’t appreciate your tone of superiority. “America needs to understand” – please, that is offensive.
I’m Caucasian, U.S. citizen … I can’t use the expression as a plea not to look at one killing as an incident, but to look at recent history and the roots in society that need to be changed? What am I missing?
The last 11 days that’s been my argument and I join millions by saying the same, especially for the people in Ferguson who are pleading for change. I lived for 10 years in St. Louis County during the most formative years of my life. Living on a different continent gives great insight and a new perception in weighing values.
○ 9 Things America Needs to Understand About Native Values
○ Shine a Light on Ferguson
○ The Seamy Underbelly Of Ferguson Starts To Appear
I’m always willing to learn, that’s why I read a lot and blog, join a discussion. How is my remark offensive?
very good, I should have time to respond later today
I didn’t realize you were a US citizen. then why not say, “we Americans need to understand”? changes the tone. [I have thoughts to add, but haven’t worked out how to explain what I mean, but my comment here sort of gets at it]
Obama’s a politician. Not a leader.
Leaders aren’t politicians.
Politicians aren’t leaders.
LBJ was a politician. Eisenhower was a politician. No one broke their head, or sic’ed a police dog on them, or turned a water cannon on them, or blew up their church.
Confusing the two will make you permanently disappointed and sad.
I put up the links to bold decisions a president of the US needs to make, both Eisenhower for sending federal troops to subdue Arkansas governor Faubus and his National Guard and Lyndon Johnson for his statement on November 27, 1963 he would push for the Civil Rights Act to go forward. After the march on Selma, LBJ called US Congress back for a night session and told the nation the Voting Rights Act needed to be passed. The president knew the Democrats would lose the South, not for his generation but for a long time. That is changing America.
Although looking back, the extension of the Vietnam War did more permanent damage to US exceptionalism and standing in the world. The Sam Ervin commission and near impeachment of President Nixon sealed the conviction the office of president is where all the wheeling and dealings of a politician takes place. Under Carter we witnessed a brief return to “leadership” but I have not seen it since. Corporate America is leading in decisions made in the Oval Office, that’s not democracy.
With a wink of the eye to Beahmont, our new blog police trolling/thrashing his way around the pond. He ain’t a frog, so he’ll drown in time.
I don’t see LBJ in any of those crowd shots.
I think Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamar in Blazing Saddles said it best:
“Now you men will only be risking your lives, whilst I will be risking an almost certain Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.”
very nice, Davis!
Registering to vote is disgusting. In North Dakota they don’t do it.
Fantastic counterpoint. Why do we need to register to vote at all? It should be automatic, at the very least, or nonexistent. In fact it was nonexistent for most of this country’s history.
Until after the Civil War? Hmmmmm.
“injecting race” “fanning the political flames” the Onion really can’t compete
I’m sure Matt Wills had a detailed, comprehensive alternative plan for the oppressed people in Ferguson to come to terms with how they’re being treated that would be non-violent, acceptable to Wills, and totally conclusive to the situation. But darn the luck! Wills just didn’t have the time to communicate his brilliant plan.
Instead, we’re left with a Republican operative pronouncing voter registration as “disgusting” and “completely inappropriate” without knowing the real reasons for his feelings. Because as we all know, it can’t possibly be about race.