Dr.Who
Well-Known Member
You have earned my respect and so your wish is my command.
Googling "obama platform" I found this site:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/
The first issue presented is this:
"Civil Rights:
There is no more fundamental American right than the right to vote. Before the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, barriers such as literacy tests, poll taxes and property requirements disenfranchised many Americans, especially minorities. More than 40 years later, there are still numerous obstacles to ensuring that every citizen has the ability to vote."
I clicked on the link titled "continue reading" and I get this:
“The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen — they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs. . . . We have more work to do.”
— Barack Obama, Speech at Howard University, September 28, 2007
It then says that Senator Obamas plan is:
"End Deceptive Voting Practices
Obama will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote."
The first problem I see is that he has presented no evidence that any obstacles still exist.
So I googled that and this (following a list of long gone historical obstacles like poll taxes) is what I got: (I added the boldface)
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA...ing.topicArticleId-25170,articleId-25127.html
"Other restrictions to voting
Although all the limitations on African Americans' voting have been abolished, they were not the only group affected by restrictions. Native Americans became eligible to vote in 1924 when they were made citizens of the United States by an act of Congress. It was not until 1952 that Congress overturned 19th-century laws that had denied citizenship to Asian immigrants.
Even today, voter registration requirements make it difficult, if not impossible, for some people to vote. In order to register, an applicant must have a permanent address, which the homeless do not have. Thousands of college students who go away to school can vote only “back home” through an absentee ballot. Many Americans find voting a chore because they move homes rapidly, and renewing their voter registration in the new locale is not a high priority."
(his plan quoted above doesn't even address these minor problems)
I have also heard that the need for a photo ID is a barrier.
This site, linked below says this:
http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2005/04/states-heighten-obstacles-to-voting.asp
"20 states now require some form of identification, but Georgia and South Carolina will be the most restrictive, forcing voters to fill out a provisional ballot if they have no picture ID -- a form of voting more easily challenged and disqualified. Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana and South Dakota also require photo ID, but allow voters to sign an affidavit verifying their voter information as an alternative."
Clearly there are many many more examples of dead people voting and people arriving at the polls to discover that they have already voted than there are people who don't have a photo ID AND could not fill out a form if they did not have one.
So if this adds up correctly Senetor Obama's most important civil rights issue is a virtually non-existent problem of obstacles to voting.
In general when I read his speeches or hear about what he wants to do to make changes in our country I find that he is talking about non-issues. I see him primarily wanting to make real changes to make a more powerful federal government in response to unreal problems.
