Record

Iowa witnessed record voter participation in its June 3rd primary elections as a result of a provision that allowed the secretary of state to mail absentee ballots to all registered voters due to the covid-19 pandemic. The noble goal of this provision was to save Iowa voters from going into crowded polling centers which would have increased their chances of contracting the virus. Given the ease and convenience of voting by mail, Iowans voted in record numbers, much to the delight of democracy lovers. Well, it turns out republicans were not happy with the record voter participation. They quickly moved in the Iowa state legislature to prevent universal voting by mail in the November elections–a clear cut effort at voter suppression.

On 6/10/2020 a bill that prohibits Iowa’s secretary of state from mailing absentee ballots to all registered voters for the November general elections passed the Iowa state senate by a vote of 30-19. Needless to say, all the 30 state senators who voted for this voter suppression bill were republicans. Because this is one of the most brazen acts of official voter suppression to date, we have no choice but to name and shame these 30 GOP state senators using our famous “handy list”.

Here’s a handy list of the 30 shameful Iowa GOP state senators who are mad that mail-in voting allowed record voter participation in the June primary elections, and are on a mission to prevent that from happening again this November.

Bottom line folks, there’s no longer any doubt that the unpopular policies of the republican party are increasingly turning it into a marginal/regional party. Republican party leaders have long realized that their only chance of clinging to power is to make sure as few people as possible vote, especially minorities who traditionally vote against them. Where, as here, we witness such a brazen attempt at voter suppression by elected officials, we have no otherwise but to loudly call them out.

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out.

You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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An interesting 2008 Huffington Post piece took a deep dive into Sen Mitch McConnell’s past and came out with the startling revelation that there are glaring inconsistencies surrounding the official reasons given for the Senator’s military discharge. Even more startling is the fact that these glaring inconsistencies have strangely escaped the attention of the mainstream media, given the over-the-top attention the same mainstream media gives to the backgrounds of less powerful political figures.

It is interesting that in 2008 when HuffPo took a look at Mitch McConnell’s past, it was because it was feared McConnell would become the most influencial Republican politician under the Obama presidency. Specifically, this was the reason given, “Under what appears more and more likely, under an Obama administration, McConnell – the Senate Minority Leader – is poised to become the highest-ranking Republican in the country. He deserves the same level of scrutiny as other top elected officials. The apparent standard bearer of his party, this anti-gay politician sets policies and national priorities that have a far-reaching impact on us all. The American people deserve to know the truth about this man and what these records indicate from his past.”–excerpt from the 11/22/2008 HuffPo piece.

Well if HuffPo feared in 2008 that McConnell was about to become a very influential politician whose background needed to be seriously scrutinized, its fair to say those fears have been realized a million times over in 2019 because Sen McConnell has become so powerful, he is single-handedly tinkering with the federal judiciary and affecting the lives of Americans in much more ways than even the sitting President Trump does. This means it is even more important now than in 2008 for the truth about his military record to come out.

According to the HuffPo piece, McConnell enlisted in the military in March 1967 and shortly thereafter(4 months) was discharged for an eye condition called optic neuritis–a very treatable medical condition both now and in 1967. Interestingly, McConnell’s military discharge was effected by a letter then U.S. Senator John Sherman Cooper(R-KY) who McConnell had interned for in 1964, wrote to Major General A.D. Surles saying McConnell needed to be “released quickly” in order to attend New York University (NYU). Turns out NYU has no record of McConnell ever applying there but more importantly, in 1967 McConnell already had his law degree. This means there was no urgency for him attending NYU justifying his military discharge.

Naturally, the secrecy surrounding Sen McConnell’s military discharge has spawned a whole host of conspiracy theories, including the kinky one below that was included in a 2013 Daily Kos piece.

Think about that folks, poor Blacks and Browns today cannot get a job at a warehouse to provide for their families because after being subjected to extensive background checks, they are found to have committed inconsequential infractions like possessing marijuana or petty theft. Yet Americans are not allowed to know what is in Mitch McConnell’s background, a powerful politician who makes consequential decisions affecting their every day lives–a total travesty.

Bottom line, because Sen McConnell has become way too powerful and is single-handedly affecting the lives of Americans in ways the founding fathers would never have approved, it is only fair that a serious inquiry be done into his secretive military record. Why was he discharged from the military? Simply put, it is in everybody’s interest that the truth about Sen McConnell’s military record be unearthed, especially now that he is running for reelection in 2020.

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Tag: Record

What Is McConnell Hiding In His Military Records?