“Corporations will invite serious consequences if they become a vehicle for far-left mobs to hijack our country from outside the constitutional order,” warned McConnell, adding: “Businesses must not use economic blackmail to spread disinformation and push bad ideas that citizens reject at the ballot box.”
Read story here.
He’s reacting to criticism of Georgia’s voter suppression law, which especially targets black voters. Among other things, in Georgia, it’s now a crime to hand water bottles to (black) voters waiting in hours-long lines to vote (in black precincts; this doesn’t generally happen in Georgia’s white neighborhoods).
The laws being pushed by Republicans in multiple states are blatantly voter-suppressive. They clearly make it harder, not easier, to vote. It’s an organized, nationwide effort by the GOP to suppress voting. They justify it by claiming restricting voting is necessary to prevent “fraud” which doesn’t exist. The GOP’s incredulous argument is that Trump’s supporters don’t trust our elections because they believe his lies, thus it’s somehow important (why?) to restore their confidence in elections by cracking down on voting (by black people).
If you think this is racist, or even merely unfair to citizens who work and pay taxes, have families, and have as much at stake in public policies as anyone else, then you’re part of a far-left mob, according to McConnell, who also wants you to believe that guaranteeing citizens the right to vote is “hijacking our country,” violates the “constitutional order,” and is “bad idea.”
Poor Mitch has lost it. This had to be expected; he turned 79 in February, and may be getting feeble in the head. Or maybe he’s been hanging out with Hunter Biden and smoking parmesan cheese.
Related story: “Yes, the Georgia election law is that bad.” (Read it here.)
Photo right: Glassy-eyed Mitch McConnell
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Update (4/6/21): CNN posits (here) that McConnell is “well aware that it will draw headlines in conservative media and might help ease his estrangement with Trump’s base voters.” Inflaming a potentially violent mob to gain their favor is well within the capacity for machination of this most cynical of politicians. It’s also about as far removed from responsible governing as it’s possible to get in a constitutional democracy. If that’s what he’s up to, McConnell would be better off to be thought crazy.
Actually police, firemen, a spouse, people running the polling place, ect can all hand out bottled water to people waiting in line. Or the person can like have their own water. the only people prevented from handing out water are partisan participants. Folks who are there as representatives or workers for the Democratic, Republican or other parties. Most states have such laws on the books. Even the State of Washington. (RCW 29A.84.250) It doesn’t specifically mention handing out drinks, but such could be a violation of the statute. Otherwise rascals like George Washington would ply unwary or those given to drink to drink up at their partisan free whiskey table and go vote for George in the House of Burgesses.
Also states do have the upper hand here. If politicians were to choose to use the power they have since corporations are entities created by the state, the state may also dissolve them or prevent them from doing business in a state. I do question the intelligence of CEO’s who have waded into this. They have put their corporations at risk if politicians in Georgia want some payback, and baseball is likely to be sued over moving a game from Atlanta to Denver. A jury or judge may well see politics at work, guess moving the game is worth baseball paying Atlanta and others a big check. Not to mention what fans may or may not do, and is this really a good time for baseball just coming out of Corvid to create a dispute, the leadership of MLB may have just earned themselves an earned error. Taking money out of poor blacks and putting it into the hands of well off whites.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Point #1: The Georgia law prohibits anyone from giving water to voters waiting in line.
Point #2: Washington does NOT have a similar law.
Point #3: RCW 29A.84.250 relates to initiative signature gathering, has nothing to do with voting in elections, and has no provision remotely like the Georgia ban on food and drink.
Point #4: Washington has all-mail voting, no polling places, so such a provision would be superfluous.
Point #5: The Supreme Court having determined that corporations are “persons” entitled to First Amendment protections, any punitive action by a state against a corporation for its political speech would be unconstitutional.
Point #6: The only basis on which MLB could be sued for moving the All-Star game would be breach of contract. No contract, no lawsuit.