It's bad enough that my area has been subjected to the shameful and irresponsible representation of Pete Sessions (TX-32) in Congress.
It's doubly shameful that my area is represented in the Texas House by someone who barely survived her in her 2008 re-election bid and who actively participated in pushing legislation designed to disenfranchise tons of voters merely because they don't have a state photo ID.
The someone is Linda Harper-Brown (district 105), and what she did to support her state's voter ID law raises serious questions about whether she, along with her Republican counterparts nationwide, really believe in participatory democracy.
More below.
Here's part of what Harper-Brown said about the bill:
"Voting is one of our most important privileges and responsibilities as Americans. Today's passage of photo voter ID gives every voter in Texas more confidence that their vote counts," Representative Harper Brown said. "I am pleased that the bill includes the amendment I offered to close a significant loophole that would have allowed individuals to vote without showing any kind of identification. This is a strong voter ID bill that enhances the integrity of our elections process in Texas."
How many of her constituents who are otherwise eligible to vote NOT in any position to stand in line at a local Department of Motor Vehicles office to get the proper identification? Did Harper-Brown or any of her Republican colleagues ever consider that those in this category have to work during the times that DMV offices are open and thus have no time to make a rush trip to the DMV and get this done?
I don't think Harper-Brown or any of her Republicans ever considered those arguments. And contrary to what he claims, the legislation was never about election integrity.
Simply put, they are about denying those who don't look like or think like Republicans the right to vote. It is about cutting down turnout to the point where only Republicans can vote and win.
And what does that mean? One-party rule.
Harper-Brown and her Republican counterparts both nationwide and in Texas may feel comfortable in a one-party government-- the sort we used to see in places like Stalin's USSR or Hitler's Germany, to name a few. One-party rule, however, has no place in our democracy whether Harper-Brown or other Republicans like it or not.
I hope that Harper-Brown and other Republicans like her face the strongest possible opposition in their re-election bids next year. And I pray that there are powerful voter registration drives that will circumvent Harper-Brown's efforts at voter suppression and disenfranchisement.
And I also pray that there are strong challenges to the Texas voter ID law and similar laws nationwide.