Sneaky……..

We all know about the Right's endless battle to disenfranchise whole swatches of potential voters….."those people."

We have heard ad infinitum about about the rampant "voter fraud' being committed by those same people, with the help of the Dems, of course. 

We cringe at the mention of the SCOTUS vote on Citizens United, which undoubtedly had a major influence on the midterm elections…even though a scant 35 percent of our eligible voters bothered to even do so, probably disgusted with the whole thing. ( http://tinyurl.com/p9ovqrc )

But here in Tennessee where the color red is as vibrant as Volunteer Orange to UT in my city of Knoxville, the Religious Right has found a NEW way to influence election outcomes in their usual covert way. Well, it's really more like FOX Folks telling women and young people not to vote. 

According to Tennessee's constitution, the number of votes for passage of an amendment to said constitution must equal half of the total votes cast for the governor. Voting just for the amendment itself doesn't cut it, and the outcome was might close. This should be really interesting.

"Essentially, the plaintiffs charge, only the votes of people who voted in the gubernatorial election should be tabulated in the amendment referendum. The lawsuit cites several sources, including a website and a Nashville Catholic church’s Oct. 12 Sunday program, in which supporters of Amendment 1 inform fellow supporters that not voting in the governor’s race and casting a “Yes” vote for the amendment will effectively “double” their vote by lowering the number of votes cast in the governor’s race."

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/state/opponents-file-challenge-to-amendment-1_62168976

Does this remind you of anything?

"We don't want everyone to vote, because when everyone votes…we lose."

Same BS, different day.

The Repubs:  Bless Their Little Hearts........

If you're from the South, you know darn well what THAT means, and it ain't complimentary. Just like everything else that the Dems and and the President have tried to do over the last four years, the Repubs have tried (and succeeded mostly) to throw a monkey-wrench into the forward movement.....and AGAINST the "will of the majority of the people" who they claim to work for 

"Just enforce the laws already on the books" they LOVE to scream. Of course, they don't want  anyone to KNOW about their consolidated efforts for decades to hamper the enforcement of such laws...and then BRAG about it.

" The "NRA-ILA puts a great deal of effort into protecting gun owners by urging the Congress to pass 'riders'… that help accomplish our agenda." An NRA press release from November 2011 heralded the riders in the ATF appropriation as "Twelve Big Wins for Gun Owners."

To fully understand the time and money the NRA puts into such efforts you might be interested in the following:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/atf-gun-laws-nra

The investigative challenges are further complicated by a series of riders authored by then-Rep. Todd Tiahrt, (R-Kan.), in 2003 in collaboration with the NRA. One of the Tiahrt amendments, as they're known, requires the FBI to destroy information contained in Brady or NICS checks within 24 hours. When a felon purchases a gun, he commits a new felony. But the FBI now has only 24 hours to figure that out. In effect, the FBI is required to destroy evidence of a crime. "Obviously, bringing the record retention down to 24 hours would preclude any significant investigation," says Julius Wachtel, a retired ATF agent with 20 years of service. "One might as well not even bother."

Lawrence O'Donnell also points out one of their little attempts at hindering investigations of any crime relating to guns or gun powder."The NRA has successfully blocked any requirements for such taggants in gunpowder.."

Of course the Repubs are not totally stupid. They are going to present their own version of gun regulation, CONTAINING MANY OF THE SAME POINTS AS THE ONE PRES. OBAMA PUSHED FOR:

http://www.nationalmemo.com/watch-senator-joe-manchin-calls-nra-attack-a-lie/

"Republicans say they will offer an alternative bill, Grassley-Cruz, but only the fact sheet below has been released..."

Just like Medicare, Social Security, and everything else.....if Obama wants it, there're against it. They'll do it THEIR way.

GROW UP!!

UPDATE