Former HOUSE SPEAKER JIM WRIGHT denied TX voter ID card

[RandySF]

FORT WORTH — Former House Speaker Jim Wright was denied a voter ID card Saturday at a Texas Department of Public Safety office.

“Nobody was ugly to us, but they insisted that they wouldn’t give me an ID,” Wright said.

The legendary Texas political figure says that he has worked things out with DPS and that he will get a state-issued personal identification card in time for him to vote Tuesday in the state and local elections.

But after the difficulty he had this weekend getting a proper ID card, Wright, 90, expressed concern that such problems could deter others from voting and stifle turnout. After spending much of his life fighting to make it easier to vote, the Democratic Party icon said he is troubled by what he’s seeing happen under the state’s new voter ID law.


http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/11/02/5300503/voter-id-law-snags-former-house.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Just a reminder of who this guy is/was

He was the first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to resign from office because of scandal.

The unravelling of the Texas Democrat's 34-year congressional career began with a year-long House ethics committee investigation of his finances, which resulted in a finding that Wright might have violated House rules in 69 instances. The charges centered around $145,000 in possibly improper gifts Wright and his wife had received from a Fort Worth developer, and the profits from a collection of Wright's speeches that allegedly were sold in bulk in lieu of speaking fees that were limited by House rules.

Wright's personal scandal was supplemented by the May resignations of his chief aide (after a Washington Post interview with a woman brutally assaulted by the aide in 1973) and of House Democratic Whip Tony Coelho because of an unrelated financial controversy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/wright.htm

John Barry wrote a book about the scandal.

[RandySF]

3. And you left out who pushed the investigation:

Newt Gingrich

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Who became Speaker after Dem. Tom Foley's term as Speaker.

[blm]

10. That really was a trumped up case by Gingrich.

.

[elehhhhna]

15. nEWT? tHE GUY WHO BUYS SHIT AT tIFFANY'S ON HIS

5OOk OPEN CREDIT LINE THEN HAS OTHER PEOLE PAY THE BILL? That Newt Blingrich?

[Jenoch]

34. Repuican U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger

from Minnesota was charged and punished with the same ethics vilolation at about he same time. To get around limits on speaking fees, they both sold bulk purchases of their books (the books were simply filled with copies of their speeches).

[sulphurdunn]

17. Fascinating.

What does it have to with voter suppression laws in Texas?

[LisaL]

25. And what does that have to do with a price of tea in China?

[mimi85]

31. OMG......

Now I know where the tea baggers got their inspiration!

[dbackjon]

41. And this relates to this story HOW?

Unless you are in favor of voter suppression please delete your non-germane post.

[SheilaT]

2. If I live long enough, I'll probably no longer have a valid or recent enough driver's license.

I think I'll plan on moving to one of the states that does all mail-in voting.

[pnwmom]

12. Welcome to Washington.

[yellowdogintexas]

32. over 65 or disabled can request vote by mail in Texas

and avoid the ID hassle

[msanthrope]

5. Holy crap...I hope this gets spread far and wide! nt

[gopiscrap]

6. Jesus Christ that's fucking crazy

[CBHagman]

7. On Facebook I've been hearing from relatives who believe voter ID should be a given...

...but I suspect they don't realize how it's applied, how many extra and sometimes onerous steps are added to the process (e.g., in states where prospective voters must travel great distances, submit to extended waiting times, and/or spend extra money to get approved), and how in effect it risks of disenfranchising people who have every right to vote.

The League of Women Voters opposes voter ID laws, as does the Brennan Center, and I from what I hear, academic studies of voter fraud indicate that the incidence of such is fairly rare.

Of course the capper to all this is the fact that multiple Republicans have admitted, on camera, this is all about getting their candidates elected.

[Ms. Toad]

38. There were plenty of people on DU

who insisted voter ID was a good thing when stricter voter ID laws started being introduced several years ago. I got into some pretty ugly discussions with people who insisted that no one should have any real difficulty obtaining an ID.

[JDPriestly]

8. Many elderly people have difficulty getting their birth certificates or discover that their

birth registration papers are insufficient to identify them. These laws are unfair to many people.

Good to see Jim Wright's picture.

[TeamPooka]

9. this law was all about preventing him from voting because he's a Democrat....

and it almost worked on him.
So how many will it actually work on that don't have powerful connections and a famous name?
Sad.

[LisaL]

23. It did work on him. He couldn't vote.

[TeamPooka]

33. did you read the article...?....

"The legendary Texas political figure says that he has worked things out with DPS and that he will get a state-issued personal identification card in time for him to vote Tuesday in the state and local elections."

[LisaL]

39. "Will" is not the same as "did," is it?

And he couldn't vote early as he wanted to originally.
He'd have to vote in a regular election, assuming he actually does get his ID.

[TeamPooka]

42. Straw man diversion tactics in this thread are not appropriate and that's what you're doing

[efhmc]

44. May be pertinent. Since many may will not bother to get the "proper" id

for voting if turned away during early voting. Am voting tomorrow. Didn't vote early. So if there is a problem, I will not have time to fix it. Am already planning on making lots of ugly comments anyway.

[riverbendviewgal]

11. the USA is no longer a bright light for democracy

it has morphed into a corrupt government that suppresses legitimate voters...
It is now a banana republic, at least Texas is.


I used to love visiting...no longer. It is insanity in my southern neighbor.

[Heather MC]

16. I know and yet we still like going to war with other countries to spread "Democracy"

What a bunch of bullshit

Voting should be the most hassel free thing a democrazy has to offer

[A Simple Game]

40. Thankfully more and more people are starting to realize that the last thing you could

expect to see coming from the end of a gun is democracy. Even if that was our primary intention, which it is not, you would have a hard time finding a poorer way to accomplish it.

Even the results of our own revolution against Britain would have to be stretched beyond recognition to be truthfully called a democracy.

[albino65]

20. I agree

Do you have any room up there for us? My wife and I have had enough.

[riverbendviewgal]

28. It is a big country

and if you are eligible you may be accepted

check it out. left side bar gives eligibility requirements.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/immigrate/index.asp

[indepat]

13. Dear Mr. Speaker, the law was designed to deter the unwashed from voting.

It's a shame laws intentionally designed to deter voting aren't unconstitutional, but this is 'murika in the new 'murikan century as envisioned by the right-wing PTB.

[TexasProgresive]

14. "Well, he's a demorate, ain't he,

that's just who we don't want getting to vote."

[Scurrilous]

18. Kick

[SoapBox]

19. I wonder how many political strings got pulled for him.

"...Wright, 90, expressed concern that such problems could deter others from voting and stifle turnout."

NO shit, Sherlock!

[LisaL]

26. Did you not read the OP? Nothing got pulled for him.

He couldn't get an ID.

[baldguy]

21. The law is doing what it's intended to do.

Disenfranchise Democrats.

[Skittles]

36. CORRECT

repukes cannot win on their insane platform so they try to prevent Dems from voting

[LisaL]

22. So now we identified another group that will be affected -

the elderly. Since they are more likely to have an expired license.

[CBHagman]

46. In fairness to reporters covering the voter ID story...

...some of the very first accounts of people who would be adversely affected focused on the elderly, some of whom may have no state-sanctioned record (e.g., birth certificate or marriage license) to prove their identity and/or citizenship.

[grahamhgreen]

24. It's working!

[Tx4obama]

27. Kick! n/t

[Eyerish]

29. kick

[Scuba]

30. They Republicans know Wright is clearly unqualified to vote in Texas. He's a Democrat.

[Jenoch]

35. My mother had a valid driver's license

for several years after she quit driving. Her reaction time would have made it unsafe for her to drive. Afte she showed signs of dementia, my father brought her to the DMV and got her a state issued ID.

On a side note, after she had mild dementia for a couple of years, she was summoned to jury duty. She did not have to report.

[Jamaal510]

37. Every time

Republicans talk so much about how they love "freedom", I want to see Democrats rubbing this in their faces. You cannot honestly say you love freedom when you try to block people from partaking in a basic Constitutional act.

[blkmusclmachine]

43. Good.

Ridiculous policy. And here's the proof.

[efhmc]

45. Wendy Davis and Jim Wright had problems. Did anyone hear of any

prominent repukes having a problem?