Election 2020: HR. 1 Passes House

Via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.10.21, Vince Coyner at Am Think,  Why Election Integrity Matters. To have to write such an article shows how far down the rabbit hole we've gotten.From Hans von Spakovsky at The National Interest writes H.R. 1 Is a Threat to American Democracy. Period. "H.R. 1 would mandate same-day and automatic voter registration, and encourage vote trafficking of absentee ballots. It would eviscerate state voter ID laws and limit the ability of states to verify the accuracy of their voter registration lists." Just to start. J Christian Adams at PJ Media writes Democrat Election Bill H.R. 1 Nullifies Constitutional Bargain

It does something else you won’t hear much about: H.R. 1 nullifies the constitutional bargain of 1787 that made the United States possible. The supporters of H.R. 1 are the new secessionists – the ones who aim to undo the foundations of the Union.

States were given power to run their own elections for a reason. Decentralization of control over elections promotes individual liberty. No central authority can interfere and impose bad ideas and malevolent actions over states.

Power, the Founders believed, should be kept close to people. The advocates of H.R. 1 don’t want power close to the people. They want it in Washington, D.C.

Which explains why Clyburn thinks Civil Rights, Voting Rights Should Have Special Filibuster Exception Like Budget Does (Breitbart). At Da Week, Damon Linker in The revealing showdown on voting rights blames Republicans for daring to resist. 

Sally Zelidovsky at Am Think digs a little deeper in The Bennie Thompson Affair

Late into the night of March 3rd on a partisan vote of 220-210, the Democrats passed the Orwellian-designated “For the People Act” (or H.R. 1) -- with all Republicans voting “nay” save for two who did not vote and all Democrats voting “yea” save for one lone stray. That stray Democrat is none other than Representative Bennie Thompson for Mississippi’s 2nd congressional district -- not exactly a household name but a House lifer since 1993, nonetheless.

Now, Bennie is no ordinary stray. Although not as visible nationally as other progressives, he was an original cosponsor of H.R. 1 which only makes his change of heart all the more breathtaking. A dutiful foot soldier in the progressive movement for close to 30 years, govtrack ranks Thompson 37th among the most politically left representatives -- right up there with the most pious Poputchiki (fellow travelers) of the American left: Ocasio-Cortez, Jackson Lee, Grijalva, Jayapal, Schakowsky, Tlaib, and so forth and so on. You can view Thompson’s full report card here.

What caught my attention is his reason for switching to a “no” vote. In comments to Fox News, Thompson explained “My constituents opposed the redistricting portion of the bill as well as the section on public finances” and "I always listen and vote in the interest of my constituents."

Also from the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.10.21, Nice Deb at Am Greatness, Newly Revealed Emails Show Green Bay Officials Gave Keys to 2020 Election to N.Y. Dem Operative. Nothing fishy here. 

In Green Bay, a Democrat activist was actually given keys to the room where absentee ballots were stored before the 2020 presidential election.

The city received a total of $1.6 million in grant funding from the Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life, according to Wisconsin Spotlight. A Democrat operative from New York named Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein became a “grant mentor.”

Spitzer-Rubenstein was the Wisconsin head of the left-wing National Vote at Home Institute, and has worked for several Democrat Party candidates. The Democrat mayor’s office gave the liberal activist access to Green Bay’s absentee ballots just days before the election.

The Wisconsin Spotlight’s report has prompted several Wisconsin lawmakers to call for the resignation of Green Bay’s mayor, and for an investigation into the city’s handling of the November presidential election.

According to the report, the emails show that Green Bay’s “highly partisan” Democrat Mayor Eric Genrich and his staff usurped city Clerk Kris Teske’s authority and let the Zuckerberg-funded “grant team” take over in “a clear violation of Wisconsin election statutes.”

Max Morton at at Am Great Choose Your Ground "Now is not the time for impotent tough talk and posturing with weapons at protests."

Following the November 3 election and subsequent January 6 protest at the Capitol, the current regime set out to eliminate political opposition by casting them as “white supremacists” and “domestic extremists.” They intend to use the legal authorities, tactics, and techniques that were previously employed against Al Qaeda and ISIS against those ordinary Americans who refuse to accept the ruling elite’s political ideology.

Simply put, the most deadly counterterrorism machine from the world’s most powerful country is coming for you. You, ordinary American, are the target. Now is not the time for impotent tough talk and posturing with weapons at protests. The Second Amendment, and all of our rights, are critical to a free society, and we should seek to understand how best to exercise and defend them from authoritarian factions of the ruling elite. This is the time to get smart on how to counter this assault on liberty and avoid falling into the traps the ruling elite are setting for traditional America.

To wit, CNN  Jayapal asks for investigations into three GOP members for their role in instigating the Capitol Insurrection. The FBI already did, and said nothing happened. Sundance at CTH has a prediction, with Garland Confirmed as Attorney General 70-30, Now Watch the Next Move

With Garland confirmed there will be multiple people and groups who supported President Trump targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice. The extremist Lawfare group is openly advocating for more political targeting; to wit Garland has stated his intent to continue weaponizing the DOJ where former AG Eric Holder left-off.

Althouse notices the ACLU attempting to become a civil rights organization again, now that Trump is gone.  "The Capitol buildings and grounds are quintessential places for free speech and protest, accessible by people from all walks of life who gather there to express their views, demonstrate, picket, and hold vigils."

"But if those places are permanently fenced off, the public and our constitutional right to assemble and protest will be in jeopardy. That is why the ACLU and the ACLU of the District of Columbia are urging leaders of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate not to permanently fence off the Capitol, which would turn its architecture into a national symbol of fear and hostility towards the public’s presence.... The Capitol complex, where all our elected lawmakers come together to legislate in the open view of the public, has been recognized around the world as a celebrated symbol of democracy. If Congress were to permanently retreat into a militarized zone ringed by fencing topped with razor wire, it would send the kind of message that heads of autocratic regimes send by cloistering themselves away from their populaces in armored fortresses.... The public will suffer diminished access to public grounds with unique importance in the exercise of their constitutional rights to assemble and to petition the government. That exclusion will be especially acute if people want to participate in spontaneous protest in response to rapidly unfolding events—such as the protests for racial justice that arose last summer...."

 And also from the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.10.21 This Ain’t Hell: SecDef Austin Extends DC Deployment Through May 23 For National Guardsmen. Will they really have neutralized the QAnon threat by then?