Democracy in Action
Have you been getting that feeling that this year is going to be different?
Early voting starts today in Texas. In Waller County, a primarily rural county about 60 miles outside Houston, the county made the decision to offer only one early voting location: at the County Courthouse in Hempstead, TX, the county seat.
Prairie View A&M students organized to protest the decision, because they felt it hindered their ability to vote. For background, Prairie View A&M is one of Texas’ historically Black universities. It has a very different demographic feel than the rest of the county. There has been a long history of dispute over what the students feel is disenfranchisement. There was a lot of outrage in 2006, when students felt they were unfairly denied the right to vote when their registrations somehow did not get processed.
According to an article in today’s Houston Chronicle:
Waller County has faced numerous lawsuits involving voting rights in the past 30 years and remains under investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s Office based on complaints by local black leaders. Those allegations, concerning the November 2006 general election, related to voting machine failures, inadequate staffing and long delays for voting results.
The article adds,
"I was angry after registering to vote in the 2006 election only to be turned away at the voting booth," said sophomore Dee Dee Williams.
So what are the students doing?
1000 students, along with an additional 1000 friends and supporters, are this morning walking the 7.3 miles between Prairie View and Hempstead in order to vote today. According to the piece I saw on the news (there’s no video up, so I can’t link to it), the students plan to all vote today. There are only 2 machines available at the courthouse for early voting, so they hope to tie them up all day and into the night.
Watching this video sure makes me believe this year is going to be different.
marcy, I don’t know if you’ve addressed this issue but it is really bothering me so maybe you or some of the lawyers that frequent your site can help;
joe lieberman;
for some bizarre reason reid gave lieberman the gavel for one of the pro forma sessions in the senate…I am not kidding and I just don’t get it
can someone ease my mind a little bit and please tell me it’s not possible for lieberman to produce legislation and have it voted on
because if he can, he will
don’t forget, cheney is “president of the senate” and what ever rules cheney wants to make up in his own head will get authority from the supreme court
so someone who knows, please tell me it’s impossible for lieberman to propose law during the pro forma session he’s going to chair
oh, sorry to post off topic, especially as the first post
perris
Do you have a link?
of course I do
great video Marcy. I hope so too. But I’ve been Charlie Brown for so long . . . .
True. But this, at least, answers the question of when Americans will take to the streets. Now if we can just replicate the same in DC.
aha, ls over at firedoglake said they need a quarum to enact legislation
is it possible for the republicans to mount a quarum all by themselves or with a little help from the bluebushdogs?
Just checked.
He WAS in charge yesterday. Webb is Friday. THen we’re back to normal.
great, me feels better, thanx marcy, will report over at the lake
so someone over at the lake posted this;
but that is not real comfort to me, there are a whole bunch of blue bushdogs
From the politico:
Thanks for the video EW. Is it my imagination or did they close a major highway for the march? Nicely done.
I get the feeling a lot of people are really fed up with being disenfranchised by their own government. I hope our elected officials are paying attention…
thank you very much marcy and very sorry about the highjack
Show me what democracy looks like.
This is what democracy looks like.
And I like it a lot. Things are really starting to look up. Thanks for this, Marcy.
andrew napolitono, typically a bushdog on fox sent some shivers me thinks up and down their spines, as reported on think progress right now;
That video makes me really proud of my country.
It sure makes me proud of those students. It doesn’t make me so proud of the asshole who only set up one voting location–one inconvenient to the college campus.
Oh, absolutely, but their response is our future.
Agree. I have a feeling that the asshole in charge of ballot boxes won’t be there still in 10 years, one of these kids will be.
And we’ll all be better off.
yeah, but they sure are happy to collect local taxes from all those students! Who do these people think they are?
Hey Jim, was that your Michelle Obama imitation? “Really proud”?
Yep, and I think that this is a prime example of why she is proud.
Dang EW, those Pilates got you fired up! I walk away from my desk and !poof! there’s three more threads…
Now this is a great thing to see. More, indeed.
Excellent, students! This is what I’ve been waiting to see from our YOUTH!!!
this was inspired by “words” coming out of the mouth of a singular candidate. i wonder if hillary wept just a little when she watched this, as i did. it’s a beautiful thing to behold.
Yes, beautiful. I, too, am proud of those students.
Something’s up; this is weird.
And non-violent ;-)))))
Good on them! Don’t just take it.
In other proud democracy news , Bush Administration is pressuring the winners in Pakistan to keep Musharraf . ( Don’t want them setting the bad example of impeaching a president for dictatorial behavior?) http://www.mcclatchydc.com/hom…..28273.html
These @$$&*(#$!!1 can’t leave soon enough . As soon they get the democracy that they claim to be spreading , they try to mess with it . Way to make friends & influence people.
This just in from the Waller county seat in Hempstead, early counts of today’s voting 1003 for Hillary, 3 for Obama.
I am John Q. Diebold and I approve of this message
Hope Hillary likes BBQ. ‘Cause she’s about to get smoked down here Texas way. I haven’t spoken with a single person planning to vote for Hillary yet, not have I spoken to anyone not planning to vote.
The fire’s ready. Anybody got an apple?
– Nor have I spoken to anyone not planning to vote. duh.
Heh heh; just who are you chatting up down there??
Man, I’ve been talking to everyone. Grocery clerks, my Mexican contacts, attorneys, digruntled conservatives (many of which are old friends), my progressive crowd, writer buddies (usually much less politically attentive than you’d think), tons of people in the tech industry (through my better half), random people anywhere I go.
I haven’t bumped into ANY solid HIllary people, a few comment she’s not so bad, but I’ve bumped into many, many “Obama all the way” folks. I was in Wal-mart night before last and I stepped into one of those Fidelity? sublet spaces at the front of the super center to cop a look at their TV while my gal dropped off some film. The kid in there started chatting me up, and I turned the conversation to election coverage that was on their flatpanel. He wasn’t any kind of political type guy just a guy who worked for a “stocks in box” store in a Wal-mart, and he said, “Obama has my vote, he’s change.”
That’s pretty typical. My conservative friends won’t likely vote in the Dem primary, and they may not be big on Obama, but clearly they HATE Hillary. That energy will bleed over to cross over GOP voters.
Of those that seem like they are going to vote in the Dem primary, most don’t have any strong feelings against Hillary, they just seemed to have tuned into Obama’s message. They’re going to vote for him.
Same with the latinos I know, my yard guy (and friend for 10 years), a contractor I know (and his crew). These are working class Mexican folks. All Obama.
I’m in Austin, but with what I know of this state, born here. I can tell you that Houston and Dallas tilt more conservative, and that it seems to me will tilt both populations away from Hillary. Plus, lots of black folk in both those cities as well.
I can’t say what south Texas will be like, big latino population down there, but my small sample gives no indication of a Hillary tilt with them in Texas.
I’m just one guy with my ear to the ground, but all I’m hearing is Obama. I’ll be very suprised if it’s even close down here.
Hate to stick my neck out like this, but that’s what I’m seeing. I know there’s another Texan or two on the board, any intel?
That is consistent with what I see in general here as well. Hillary doesn’t inspire, she is not magnetic; it is just not in her DNA. It doesn’t matter how much she changes her message; you either have that quality or you don’t, and she doesn’t. Bill Clinton has tons of it, but it doesn’t transfer; even when he is the one doing the talking, it comes off bad trying to be her spokesman instead of himself. She sure hasn’t been helped by the merciless attention, criticism and general assholiness of the media either. Really, Hillary has as much of the “it factor”, and certainly is more articulate, than Bush in 2000; but look at the difference in how they were treated. It makes a dent after a while and Obama has just been slathered for the most part. That said, I kind of feel the same way. As much as I know how knowledgeable and competent Clinton is/would be, and as much as I know that Obama is really a bit of a blank slate and the bandwagon borderline cult like, I just can’t muster any excitement for Hillary. If a craggy guy like me, who is only concerned about the issues (which she really is superior on) can’t buy in; I don’t know who is, I think she is toast.
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. I’m sure Hillary is a perfectly nice and charming to meet in person, but she just doesn’t come off well in front of a crowd. Charisma is simply not something you can practice and perform.
That probably wouldn’t be such an issue, even in this election, if she didn’t come with so much baggage. The electorate simply doesn’t want to sit through four more years of ugly battle between the Clintons and the right wing. It’s not her fault, and I sort of feel for her on this, but that’s just the way it is.
Now you add all that to the fact that she has consistantly polled as the underdog in the general election against any marque repuglitard, and it just leaves her standing up to her knees in mud. Lots of people that may genuinely think she’d be the best choice for both the party and the nation (and like you, I’m not so sure she wouldn’t), simply aren’t going to cast a primary vote against the odds of victory in the general just for her sake.
Seems like there is a reason either to vote for Obama, or not to vote for Hillary just about any way you look at it. Bummer for her, but I kinda like seeing her building seniority in the Senate anyway. Hillary as SML would be able to shape the nation far more effectively and for much longer than she ever could as president.
Hopefully she’ll soon realize that, and focus herself on commitment to the country from where she is really needed, and that’s in the Senate, it’s a fine destiny, she just needs to accept it and flourish.
EW @ 8
It HAS to happen in DC regarding immunity…ASAP…
GO PRAIRIE VIEW! SHOW US WHAT WE HAVE FORGOTTEN… Palli