There have been a few occasions where I’ve started posts by saying something like “I’m not trying to ‘pat myself on the back,'” when clearly that’s exactly what I’m doing, and this could be another of those occasions.  Today, as I was driving around I heard the news that our WONDERFUL Supreme Court has decided to “gut” the Voting Rights Act that was the result of so much sacrifice from so many back when I was a “youth.”  This (like the recent reports of our government “surveilling” we the people) came as no surprise to me because this is the same Court “makeup” as the 2000 Court which chose to “crown” George W Bush as president despite the FACT he was not the choice of “we the people” and which managed to “upend” over 100 years of campaign finance laws with the absurd “Citizens United” decision, “judicial activism” in its purest form from the very people who decry “judicial activism.”  Seriously, this is getting SERIOUS!  I have been pointing out the sophisticated ways the “right wing” of the republican party have been slowly CREEPING toward their “permanent republican majority” and this is another vital step in their strategy.  It has long been on the “public record” that republicans believe the fewer the number of people voting the better their chances for success, and this is a key component of that strategy.

In the 2012 election cycle there were numerous attempts by various states in the union to disenfranchise voters.  Their targets:  Blacks, students, poor people, Hispanics, etc. – basically the portion of the voting public that would tend to vote in favor of democrats.  Just last night I watched a portion of the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC (I rarely watch anything on TV that’s considered “news” anymore – it’s ALL biased, although Maddow generally appeals to me as we seem to see things through the same “lens”) and she pointed out a plan being proposed in a section around Houston Texas to reduce the number of polling places from 80 something to around 12.  The interesting part of the plan is that in the sections of that area of the country where people are “affluent” (white)  there would be something like 6500 voters per polling place.  In the poor (Black/Hispanic) areas the ratio would be 67,000 “voters” to one polling place.  This is just one example of the methods republicans are using to make it more difficult for “minority” and/or poor voters to participate in the electoral process.  Almost as soon as today’s decision was rendered you could hear the “conservative” secretaries of state around the nation (especially in the South) proposing new voter ID laws designed to disenfranchise the very voters this law was designed to protect.

If you’ve been following politics for the past 30 or so years (or longer) you know this is the republican plan that’s “coming together.”  I can hear Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, the Koch Brothers, Karl Rove, Mitch McConnell, Roger Ailes, and I could go on and on,  on the sidelines saying “I love it when a plan comes together.”  As I said in a recent post, losing an election doesn’t slow these people down at all.  They have clearly been proponents of “the end justifies the means” theory for years and they’ve finally got to the point where they’re getting a grip on our political “system” from virtually EVERY angle.  And, they’ve got unlimited capital which they’re willing to use to accomplish their goals.   Let me remind you, what the republicans are doing is EXACTLY what the “founding fathers” of this great nation were trying to PREVENT!  The system of “Checks and Balances” was put into our constitution to prevent specific “factions” from being able to control the government.  In this case, it’s a “faction” (the fringe right of the republican party) that publicly professes to HATE government – yet, they (people like the Kochs and other wealthy “elites”) are spending BILLIONS in order to gain a stranglehold on that government they HATE!  It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out why they’re doing this.  It’s all about the POWER and the MONEY!

There’s not enough space on this post for me to go back over the entire history of the process of what’s “HAPPENING,” but let me just summarize by saying they ( this right wing fringe element of the republican party) already have control of two of the most important parts of the “wheels” of government – that is, they control the Supreme Court and they control the “liberal media.”  (something “unbelievable” to me is that two of the Supreme Court justices, Scalia and Thomas, regularly meet with Koch affiliated support groups – and, this is hardly mentioned by our “liberal media” – just think of the ramifications of them doing this) This process has been going on for years and, through their (republicans) control of America’s media (both print and broadcast), they’ve brainwashed “we the people” in a way that’s actually quite clever (and, from my perspective, scary), but also is designed to be destructive to our representative democracy (I guess the correct term for our form of government is “republic”).  I can’t tell you, for example, the number of supposedly educated Americans I’ve met who actually believe our media is “liberal.”  This is the classic “Big Lie Theory” of Joseph Goebbels in its finest form. (for anyone not paying attention, Goebbels was the head of Nazi propaganda during the Third Reich)  If you look at who controls the VAST majority of America’s media it becomes obvious there’s not much “liberal” about any of it.  large corporate interests “own” the airwaves and CONTROL the messaging.  We the people are continually getting our brains “POUNDED” by the messaging that is intended to enrich and enable the corporatocracy that seeks TOTAL control of America’s government.

I could try to explain this in detail, but I’ll trust you to “infer” ( the same skill I teach my 6th graders) from one example.  Have you ever wondered why BP is always putting adds on TV that claim the “Gulf is better than ever?”  Especially, when – if you do a little research – you know that the damage from the huge OIL SPILL of a couple of years ago has left HUGE (under water) columns of oil in the Gulf of Mexico that will be an environmental hazard for years to come.  Why the adds then, “informing” us that the Gulf is “better than ever?”  Well, let me just say, the media outlets would prefer the money generated from BP’s adds to doing actual investigative journalism to expose the realities of the aftermath of the oil spill.  I’m just giving one example, using BP, but think of all the commercials you’ve seen on TV from companies that are selling nothing.  I know I said just one example, but have you ever wondered why Monsanto advertises on TV?  Such a wonderful company.  Well, as a former small “family farmer,” pay attention to the process that produces America’s “Farm bills.”  Again, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to understand corporations like Monsanto have a corrupt “grip” on our national legislature and they don’t want anyone in the “liberal media” exposing what they’re doing to the general public.  The corporate TV interests are more interested in their advertising (to whom?) dollars than the truth about their seeds and their corporate practices.

Back to the issue of the Voting Rights Act (of 1965 – re-authorized 4 times since, upheld many times before this by previous Courts) so I make sure you understand the significance of this Court action.  When I look at the map of the states involved – that is, the ones affected by section 5 of the Act which is the heart of the Act and was the section “gutted” by the Court, most of those states are what are termed “Red” states already.  (do you find it interesting that the color associated with republicans is “red states?”)  That means they’re already voting republican.  So, you might think, what’s the difference? What matter does it make?  Well, if we can get beyond the issue of how important it is in America that EVERYONE has access to the polls, that our government is not making it more difficult for ANYONE to VOTE and, you can get past “Well, they vote republican already” you will be able to see why this court decision is so significant.  It’s really hard for me to put these reasons in a sequential order because they’re all so significant, so I’ll just list them as they come off the top of my head: First, as is the norm now with republicans, while they complain about “judicial activism” (which is very dangerous) this decision, along with Bush v Gore and Citizens United, take judicial activism to really scary heights.  Instead of being the arbiters of America’s “agenda” this court is setting the agenda!   Second, this vote clearly brings into focus the republican’s fears about the “color line” in America and how it’s changing.  Those of us who are “white” will soon no longer be a majority, and with the election of Barrack Obama it’s clear (I”m sure to the republicans) that too many “white minions” are willing to vote for people of color.  These people (the Kochs, Rupert Murdoch, and all the others who are funding this right wing republican party) are planning ahead in an attempt to keep their “majorities” in these mostly southern “bastions” of their WHITE “Christian” base.  For example, in Texas, the Hispanic population is growing rapidly and they vote predominantly democratic.  Here’s a way to “keep them down.” And, finally, (I’m sure I’ll think of other reasons later) when you have the appearance of justices who are not impartial, the very foundation of our system of government is called into question.  In my view, Justices Scalia and Thomas should be removed from the Court for their partisan political activities.  I pointed this out during the Bush/Cheney regime that Bush/Cheney were undermining the foundation of our government through “loyalty oaths” from members of the Justice Department (some who are presumably still there) and the association of Scalia and Thomas with people like the Koch brothers at public functions is just as BAD and should be UNACCEPTABLE.  This whole episode is further evidence that UNACCEPTABLE is no longer an obstacle to members of our nation’s government. (ie – do you remember Bush/Cheney being war criminals and nary an investigation)

Additionally, this Court decision opens the door to political shenanigans in places like Wisconsin, Ohio, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, and other places where Koch brothers (Tea party) funded “conservatives” have assumed control of state and local governments.  Just last year (2012) the Justice Department had to intervene in Pennsylvania (for one example) to block an attempt to disenfranchise poor and/or Black voters during the presidential election.  Had the republicans been able to keep enough “minority” voters from the polls in Pennsylvania and Ohio we’d be forced to stomach Mitt Romney (and his hundreds of Cayman Island Tax haven accounts) and Paul Ryan (he of privatizing Social Security and Medicare).  I’ve stated this many times on this site – people like the Koch’s, Rush Limbaugh (the de facto head of the republican party), Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Ron and Rand Paul, John Boehner, and the list goes on of right wing republicans, HATE the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt.  All of the “rights” that came with the New Deal, the Civil Rights movement, and the “Great Society” of Lyndon Johnson, to name some of the “liberal” movements in America’s history, took years of toil to accomplish.  The American people need to understand that this right wing cabal will be able to dismantle these advances in a matter of months and days if they succeed in gaining their “permanent republican majority.”  And, this action by our Supreme Court is another crucial step in this republican attempt to sidestep the intentions of our founders.  They only need about 4 more seats in the Senate and the White House and, should that happen, I guarantee you that if you think like a “liberal” you will be very, very disappointed.

I’m going to end this by referencing the NSA “eavesdropping” that was divulged by the so-called “traitor” Edward Snowden. (He was actually charged with espionage – I’ll have more to say about that on another day)  Many people I’ve talked to give the unnerving response to being spied upon by our government by saying “I don’t have anything to hide, I don’t care if they’re listening to my phone calls.”  (OK, I know “they” aren’t listening to phone calls, they’re just collecting the data from EVERY phone call and email and ????? you/we do)  It’s this attitude that really makes me nervous.  My parents went through the “Great Depression” and I had great conversations with my grand parents about what it was like.  It was during that era that many of the advances the republicans are trying to reverse took place.  And, in reality, we’re not far from that (the Great Depression) situation today – with nearly 100 MILLION  Americans near or under the “poverty line.”  (This makes me even angrier as I watch and observe the objectives of this right wing republican party – they’re cutting food stamps, meals on wheels [for the elderly], Head Start, unemployment insurance, and other parts of the “safety net” that was the signature of the New Deal and Great Society)  My point is this:  The American public needs to understand, it’s much easier to give up rights than to get them back!  The same attitude that is willing to allow government eavesdropping (despite the fourth amendment to the constitution) is one that looks the other way when the Court “guts’ the Voting Rights Act – our most fundamental “right.”  (And, very curiously to me, is outraged at the thought of any “gun laws” they believe – incorrectly in most instances – will infringe on the second amendment) When the people behind this right wing movement gain a stranglehold on our government, getting rid of them will be much more difficult than if “we the people” band together NOW and say ENOUGH ALREADY!