Why is a Federal Election Day a "Power Grab?"

[Carnal_Flower]

That's how Mitch McConnell describes Dem proposal to make election day a federal holiday. A "power grab." How so, Mitch?

According to Mitch, it would mean "a week's paid vacation" [SIC---MADE UP SHIT] for federal workers to go "work on Democrat campaigns."

WHUT?

It would grant the federal government’s two million full-time employees a paid day off, and would make companies, many of which shut down on federal holidays, more likely to grant their workers a day off. Mr. McConnell derided that idea as “generous new benefits for federal bureaucrats and government employees.”

Is it any wonder he supports and protects Trump?

 

[YDB95]

It's no wonder at all.

Sad truth is, though, this bullshit tends to work. Anything that will give their white trash base a reason to believe they're screwing the elites and the nig...oops, I mean welfare mothers, is going to sell!

 

[phrodeau]

He's a disgruntled workhouse owner who was forced by law to close on Sundays, because of the ostensibly religious (but actually slothful) demands of his workers. Made even more disgruntled by national holidays and being forced to pay someone for 40 hours who only worked 32.

He might be appeased with a simple trade. Add a holiday, and eliminate a holiday. I think President's Day has lost a bit of shine lately.

 

[LincolnDuncan]

That's how Mitch McConnell describes Dem proposal to make election day a federal holiday. A "power grab." How so, Mitch?

According to Mitch, it would mean "a week's paid vacation" [SIC---MADE UP SHIT] for federal workers to go "work on Democrat campaigns."

WHUT?



Is it any wonder he supports and protects Trump?

Ironic coming from the guy who abused his power by obstructing everything a democratically elected president tried to do.

 

[KeithD]

Yeah, registered voters are going to make a power grab for the votes the Republicans are trying to steal from them by every means they can think of.

That said, as I've noted before, I think if election day is made a national holiday, more Americans will just go fishing who are now voting.

 

[bodysong]

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “This is the Democrat plan to restore democracy? A brand-new week of paid vacation for every federal employee who’d like to hover around while you cast your ballot? A Washington-based, taxpayer-subsidized clearing house for political campaign funding? A power grab.”

https://www.democracynow.org/2019/2...o_make_election_day_a_holiday_is_a_power_grab

McConnell mocked H.R. 1, known as the For The People Act


The act contains a package of reforms geared toward making voting more accessible to all Americans. It faced swift condemnation from McConnell, who penned an op-ed against the bill earlier this month, and House Republicans, who accused Democrats of trying to manipulate elections.

The bill would force President Donald Trump, as well as future presidential candidates, to release their tax returns and would require super PACs to make their private donors public as a way of incentivizing smaller donations.

The bill also aims to make Election Day a paid holiday for federal workers ― a proposal that might encourage private businesses to do likewise, thus allowing more voters to get to the polls.

Huffngton Post


Voting is a power grab. By citizens. https:/*******3DwKc3htjv
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) January 30, 2019

It really tells you all you need to know about the priorities of Washington Republicans that a bill to make it easier to vote, increase government transparency, get dark money out of politics & empower working people in our elections is met with such disdain. #ForThePeople https:/*******wl7Ne3z012

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 31, 2019

Many of his critics took things even further. They argued that McConnell’s response exposed part of the GOP’s election strategy: making voting difficult, especially for American workers. As MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes put it: “Nothing to me is more revealing of the core pathology of the modern Republican Party [than] the way that it sees widening access to the ballot and higher turnout as a threat.”

Rolling Stone’s Jamil Smith made a similar point. “This wasn’t just McConnell admitting what we all knew to be true about the GOP,” he wrote. “It was the majority leader slandering people who work for the United States government and certainly don’t have a congressional microphone to defend themselves.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...-republicans-voter-suppression/?noredirect=on

 

[Carnal_Flower]

Oh my, "manipulate elections"! Says the party terrified of losing their gerrymandering scams. And wasn't Merrick garland a "power grab?"

How does one day become "a brand new week of paid vacation to hover around while you cast your ballot?"

Straight up Trump level lying. No wonder they are perfectly ok with all of his gaslighting.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “This is the Democrat plan to restore democracy? A brand-new week of paid vacation for every federal employee who’d like to hover around while you cast your ballot? A Washington-based, taxpayer-subsidized clearing house for political campaign funding? A power grab.”

https://www.democracynow.org/2019/2...o_make_election_day_a_holiday_is_a_power_grab

McConnell mocked H.R. 1, known as the For The People Act


The act contains a package of reforms geared toward making voting more accessible to all Americans. It faced swift condemnation from McConnell, who penned an op-ed against the bill earlier this month, and House Republicans, who accused Democrats of trying to manipulate elections.

The bill would force President Donald Trump, as well as future presidential candidates, to release their tax returns and would require super PACs to make their private donors public as a way of incentivizing smaller donations.

The bill also aims to make Election Day a paid holiday for federal workers ― a proposal that might encourage private businesses to do likewise, thus allowing more voters to get to the polls.

Huffngton Post


Voting is a power grab. By citizens. https:/*******3DwKc3htjv
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) January 30, 2019

It really tells you all you need to know about the priorities of Washington Republicans that a bill to make it easier to vote, increase government transparency, get dark money out of politics & empower working people in our elections is met with such disdain. #ForThePeople https:/*******wl7Ne3z012

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 31, 2019

Many of his critics took things even further. They argued that McConnell’s response exposed part of the GOP’s election strategy: making voting difficult, especially for American workers. As MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes put it: “Nothing to me is more revealing of the core pathology of the modern Republican Party [than] the way that it sees widening access to the ballot and higher turnout as a threat.”

Rolling Stone’s Jamil Smith made a similar point. “This wasn’t just McConnell admitting what we all knew to be true about the GOP,” he wrote. “It was the majority leader slandering people who work for the United States government and certainly don’t have a congressional microphone to defend themselves.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...-republicans-voter-suppression/?noredirect=on

 

[navytime09]

How is this anything other than him admitting to support voter suppression?

That suddenly makes me think about the (R)ussian positions in regards to

... gerrymandering
... voter ID
... Spending billions on single issue voter positions like abortion and gun rights
... anti-anti corruption finance laws
... anti-stronger IRS finance laws(one $ in funding means $6 in federal finance)
... cutting funding on education

Seriously. I don't get what their strategy is other than "Burn it down cause I'm too old to care about it anyways!!!!!!!" How in the actual fuck of humanity do people that were raised in the 50's, partied in the 60's, prospered in the 80's and 90's, can stand there today and bitch about the state of our country?

Fuck you, seriously... fuck you.

If you look at our country as something you inherited from your parents (and I'm speaking to the young bloods out there too) fuck you!!

Yeah these old bastards fucked us. That happened, let's stop pretending like it didn't.

Those old fucks are basically the wellfare children before there were welfare children, it happened ... but please stop thinking about this as a problem that we inherited. It only leads to victims on both sides.

I'll make it big so they can read.

IT IS A DEBT WE OWE OUR CHILDREN!

Our greatest generation, those who choose to say "fuck you" to Hitler. Where people committed suicide because they couldn't serve, let alone for some childish excuse like "bone spurs". Every single person who fought and died in WW2 would stand here today and throat punch the Russ-publican party. Every. Single. One.

That's not who they were, that's not who we are, and hopefully years from now society will look down upon you fucking idiots like we do now when watching those 60 era "hide under your desk" safety videos.

"It is not that at all, it is not an inheritance from our elders but rather a debt to our children." - Someone much smarter than myself, who would tell Rog Stone and D Trump, "Stop acting like a pussy." outside a hospital, in the middle of a war zone, because ... back then fuck your feelings was not something we had to discuss during a global conflict.

It was also, universally understood by the framers of the Constitution that the President probably wouldn't be an asset of a foreign entity. The fact that this topic is up for discussion should be disconcerting, especially when you thrown in the "above reproach" and "unduly familiar" arguments into the mix.

Is he actually subject to the UCMJ since he is the head of it all?

 

[Bill_Cosplay]

Here's a link to the entire bill - For the People Act of 2019. There is a lot more to it than 'a day off.'


https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1/text?q=**B**2search**2**A**B**2hr1**2**D**D&r=1&s=1#toc-HFC872AEED2354E488B6695EC1E78446F


This one caught my eye:
“SEC. 303A. PERMITTING USE OF SWORN WRITTEN STATEMENT TO MEET IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.

I read that they did a study that people are less likely to commit voter fraud in person, but if you give someone the tools to a commit a crime, people will, and you can provide a written statements for a mail-in ballots as well. If you thought Russia could fuck with us before, wait till you see them now.

There is a lot to read there, much more than a new Federal Holiday . . . read it, or just trust that your chosen party is telling you the truth in the paragraph or two or three... that they use to breakdown the nearly 100,000 words in the bill.

This is politics, and the conspiracy theorists in me thinks that the Democrats don't care if it passes, but having the Republicans strike down an "Everybody Vote" bill that most people won't read surely looks good for them.

 

[someoneyouknow]

The plot thickens:

This is not the political system our founders envisioned. Of course it takes money to win elections. But the never-ending fundraising required to win an election takes too much of our attention away from the real work of serving our constituents and our country. It also makes individuals who are not well off or well-connected think twice before running for office.

That's why I'm proud that the new Democratic majority in the House proposed, as one of our first items of business, H.R. 1 -- a sweeping elections and campaign reform bill that will remove the roadblocks many eligible Americans face on their way to the ballot box and help end the dominance of big money in politics. As the new chairman of the House Rules Committee, I look forward to bringing H.R. 1 to the floor for debate.​

This is another reason Mitch is so opposed to H.R. 1. By allowing the common man to once again participate in our democratic process, that increases the chances party favorites won't get the nod. Even worse, all those lobbyists and PACs would have to scramble to figure out what to do. Can't have that.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/02/opinions/campaign-finance-corporate-pac-money-mcgovern/index.html

 

[Carnal_Flower]

Try to stay on topic.

I didn't claim to be talking about the whole bill. You're attacking me for something I didn't do, while meanwhile Mitch McConnell is the one who LIED about what's actually in the bill. He's the one you should be telling to "read it." He's the one misrepresenting it.

Wait, let me guess, you're ok with the Rethuglicans lying and misrepresenting whatever bills Ds try to pass.

Here's a link to the entire bill - For the People Act of 2019. There is a lot more to it than 'a day off.'


https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1/text?q=**B**2search**2**A**B**2hr1**2**D**D&r=1&s=1#toc-HFC872AEED2354E488B6695EC1E78446F


This one caught my eye:
“SEC. 303A. PERMITTING USE OF SWORN WRITTEN STATEMENT TO MEET IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.

I read that they did a study that people are less likely to commit voter fraud in person, but if you give someone the tools to a commit a crime, people will, and you can provide a written statements for a mail-in ballots as well. If you thought Russia could fuck with us before, wait till you see them now.

There is a lot to read there, much more than a new Federal Holiday . . . read it, or just trust that your chosen party is telling you the truth in the paragraph or two or three... that they use to breakdown the nearly 100,000 words in the bill.

This is politics, and the conspiracy theorists in me thinks that the Democrats don't care if it passes, but having the Republicans strike down an "Everybody Vote" bill that most people won't read surely looks good for them.

 

[Bill_Cosplay]

Try to stay on topic.

I didn't claim to be talking about the whole bill. You're attacking me for something I didn't do, while meanwhile Mitch McConnell is the one who LIED about what's actually in the bill. He's the one you should be telling to "read it." He's the one misrepresenting it.

Wait, let me guess, you're ok with the Rethuglicans lying and misrepresenting whatever bills Ds try to pass.

Slow down, there is no attack here. If I wanted to attack you, I'd attack you and I'd be ruthless and your childish name calling would be all you had left. It's all you've ever had.

I'm throwing out the entire bill for everyone to read and look at, and decide for themselves why something would be an attack or not. Like a lot of bills, there are things that are enticing, and then there are things that make me want to shake my head and ask, "Why do you screw up a good idea by throwing in a bad one with it."

You've got problems. (That's an observation too.)

 

[KeithD]

Wait, let me guess, you're ok with the Rethuglicans lying and misrepresenting whatever bills Ds try to pass.

Bingo. Trumpettes gotta Trumpette.

 

[Carnal_Flower]

Sounds like an attack to me:

There is a lot to read there, much more than a new Federal Holiday . . . read it, or just trust that your chosen party is telling you the truth in the paragraph or two or three... that they use to breakdown the nearly 100,000 words in the bill.

As I said, this was not a thread about the entire HR1 Bill. This is about the Federal Holiday proposal and more importantly, Mitch's misrepresentation of it. The paragraphs I quoted did not pretend to be a summary of the entire bill, only the relevant part about the holiday, which truthfully represented it. One day off. I said nothing about what's in the rest of the bill.

Your attack was lame and meaningless.

The real problem is you trusting your chosen party to tell you the truth.

Slow down, there is no attack here. If I wanted to attack you, I'd attack you and I'd be ruthless and your childish name calling would be all you had left. It's all you've ever had.

I'm throwing out the entire bill for everyone to read and look at, and decide for themselves why something would be an attack or not. Like a lot of bills, there are things that are enticing, and then there are things that make me want to shake my head and ask, "Why do you screw up a good idea by throwing in a bad one with it."

You've got problems. (That's an observation too.)

 

[Bill_Cosplay]

Mitch McConnell quote: “Speaker Pelosi and her colleagues are advertising it as a package of urgent measures to save American democracy. What it really seems to be is a package of urgent measures to rewrite the rules of American politics for the exclusive benefit of the Democratic Party.”

If you think that he was only talking about the day off, then you need to improve your critical thinking skills.

Sounds like an attack to me:




As I said, this was not a thread about the entire HR1 Bill. This is about the Federal Holiday proposal and more importantly, Mitch's misrepresentation of it. The paragraphs I quoted did not pretend to be a summary of the entire bill, only the relevant part about the holiday, which truthfully represented it. One day off. I said nothing about what's in the rest of the bill.

Your attack was lame and meaningless.

The real problem is you trusting your chosen party to tell you the truth.

 

[Carnal_Flower]

No it isn't, but that's not the quote that began this thread. See post #1. The "power grab" was specifically about the Election Holiday.

Funny. You're criticizing us for relying on our "chosen" party to represent the bill (instead of reading it all ourselves) but seem to think it's fine to let Mitch sum it up. Why isn't Mitch just as full of crap?

Mitch McConnell quote: “Speaker Pelosi and her colleagues are advertising it as a package of urgent measures to save American democracy. What it really seems to be is a package of urgent measures to rewrite the rules of American politics for the exclusive benefit of the Democratic Party.”

If you think that he was only talking about the day off, then you need to improve your critical thinking skills.

 

[Bill_Cosplay]

You think it's just about that because you're myopic.

No it isn't, but that's not the quote that began this thread. See post #1. The "power grab" was specifically about the Election Holiday.

Funny. You're criticizing us for relying on our "chosen" party to represent the bill (instead of reading it all ourselves) but seem to think it's fine to let Mitch sum it up. Why isn't Mitch just as full of crap?

 

[Carnal_Flower]

Uh, No.

I saw Mitch's whole speech on the Floor of the Senate. I know very well he has blathered his fat ass about the "whole" bill. I know what he's doing. So? That wasn't what I chose to comment on. I chose to comment on ONE part of his diatribe. I never said I was taking on his whole commentary. You want to debate the entire rest of the Bill, fine, that's another discussion.

You're a typical right wing Trumper trying to "score points" through inane argument. Let's get back to the point. Did Mitch LIE (you don't like lies, right?) when he said the Dems are calling for a "paid week's vacation" and is a federal election holiday a "power grab?" That's the issue.

You think it's just about that because you're myopic.

 

[Bill_Cosplay]

You call me a right wing Trumper ... but I may be Democrat claiming to be an Independent because I am disgusted by the fringe hatemongers and childish name callers on this forum who claim to represent my beliefs, yet eschew civil discourse in favor of a divided nation because arguing politics instead of bringing people together gets them off.

Did McConnell lie? I do not know (he might actually believe it). Politicians are given to hyperbole in order to get their point across as quickly as possible. (Hilary still regrets generalizing Trump followers as Deplorables). That misguided and misstated insult was the final straw in some people's minds, but do you see how narrow minded it is to latch onto a single phrase without understanding the why behind it?

A paid vacation, federal holiday is no reason to discredit a bill.

I give the entire bill to you, then I give you a quote that sums up McConnell's true thinking on the bill, and I ask you to look deeper in order to come up with your own conclusion ... why? Because you and the other Democrats on this board have a history (since I've been on here) of latching onto single phrases as if that proves an entire point without looking deeper into the meaning behind it.

If McConnell is latching onto a paid vacation, then maybe (as someoneyouknow) suggested, he doesn't want people looking in other directions of that bill (such as: where the money comes from) ... it could be he thought that was a great rebuttal point ... but the entire bill is a Power Grab by the Democrats to undermine as many of the Republicans campaign methods as they can (and some of those methods need to be examined) while improving their own chances in future elections.

It's a Democrats' bill written for Democrats, and while they have good things in there, they have head shakers as well.

Open your mind and look past your rush to argue a small piece of the equation.

You wanted to know why and the answer is bigger than the question.

Have a good day, Carnal, I have a super bowl to cook for.

Uh, No.

I saw Mitch's whole speech on the Floor of the Senate. I know very well he has blathered his fat ass about the "whole" bill. I know what he's doing. So? That wasn't what I chose to comment on. I chose to comment on ONE part of his diatribe. I never said I was taking on his whole commentary. You want to debate the entire rest of the Bill, fine, that's another discussion.

You're a typical right wing Trumper trying to "score points" through inane argument. Let's get back to the point. Did Mitch LIE (you don't like lies, right?) when he said the Dems are calling for a "paid week's vacation" and is a federal election holiday a "power grab?" That's the issue.

 

[Carnal_Flower]

And yet that's what he did. And more.

I've read his opinion piece in the WaPo and I watched his whole speech. I know exactly what he's saying. If I were to go into all of it, you would merely have Post #1 expanded into ten pages saying the same thing, because his "response" is all the same "eschewing civil discourse in favor of division"--i.e., right wing tactics of lying and misrepresenting what's actually in the Bill. All it does is increase the number of nauseating things to address.

I'll say it again: you're defending McConnell's hyper partisan spin on the Senate floor while attacking "us" for not representing him "correctly" on an online forum. Your priorities are really fucked up.

You call me a right wing Trumper ... but I may be Democrat claiming to be an Independent because I am disgusted by the fringe hatemongers and childish name callers on this forum who claim to represent my beliefs, yet eschew civil discourse in favor of a divided nation because arguing politics instead of bringing people together gets them off.

Did McConnell lie? I do not know (he might actually believe it). Politicians are given to hyperbole in order to get their point across as quickly as possible. (Hilary still regrets generalizing Trump followers as Deplorables). That misguided and misstated insult was the final straw in some people's minds, but do you see how narrow minded it is to latch onto a single phrase without understanding the why behind it?

A paid vacation, federal holiday is no reason to discredit a bill.

I give the entire bill to you, then I give you a quote that sums up McConnell's true thinking on the bill, and I ask you to look deeper in order to come up with your own conclusion ... why? Because you and the other Democrats on this board have a history (since I've been on here) of latching onto single phrases as if that proves an entire point without looking deeper into the meaning behind it.

If McConnell is latching onto a paid vacation, then maybe (as someoneyouknow) suggested, he doesn't want people looking in other directions of that bill (such as: where the money comes from) ... it could be he thought that was a great rebuttal point ... but the entire bill is a Power Grab by the Democrats to undermine as many of the Republicans campaign methods as they can (and some of those methods need to be examined) while improving their own chances in future elections.

It's a Democrats' bill written for Democrats, and while they have good things in there, they have head shakers as well.

Open your mind and look past your rush to argue a small piece of the equation.

You wanted to know why and the answer is bigger than the question.

Have a good day, Carnal, I have a super bowl to cook for.

 

[KeithD]

Your priorities are really fucked up.

Not just his priorities, of course.

He contributes nothing to a erotica story site. What's he doing here at all?

 

[Carnal_Flower]

He's a rebel without a cause.

Not just his priorities, of course.

He contributes nothing to a erotica story site. What's he doing here at all?

 

[Bill_Cosplay]

He's a rebel without a cause.

Not just his priorities, of course.

He contributes nothing to a erotica story site. What's he doing here at all?

Look at you two, a pair of Catty Cathies.

I'm glad Carnal quoted you.

At first I thought, contribute? What is he talking about? I read stories, I come to the forum, have some fun, and I then I thought, "Carnal has a link to her story page and KeithD is a writer extraordinaire, but I'm not.

I don't talk about writing, don't have a link in my sig, no stories on my bio page. How does KeithD know that I don't contribute stories to a story site? BECAUSE, he looked. Why would he look? Because he's a small man who was hoping to 1 Star Vote any story that I may have had. If I was a writer, that wouldn't bother me, but KeithD is petty.

How many real authors have you screwed over KeithD because they made you look foolish or dumb, or exposed your lies. Do those 1 Star Votes makes you feel like a big man?

Thanks for quoting him, Carnal, KeithD proves once again just how distasteful he is in real life.

I'm going to go have another beer and wish the Rams good fortune next year.

 

[Jesus_Ateo]

When the American People vote in large numbers, Republicans lose.

The only way Republicans can win is to keep people away from their polling places on Election Day.

 

[someoneyouknow]

When the American People vote in large numbers, Republicans lose.

The only way Republicans can win is to keep people away from their polling places on Election Day.

Here is what Paul Weyrich, co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, has to say on getting large numbers of people to vote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GBAsFwPglw