Last night, after a six hour debate, the Connecticut House of Representatives passed a same day voter registration bill. Now, it's on to the Senate, where prospects seem good, and then on to the Governor who is fully supportive. This was a great victory for the pretty basic idea that voting is good.
State Representative Russ Morin (D): "People have died for this right to vote,'' Morin said on the House floor. "As long as they're 18 and they're not a criminal, they should have the right to vote.''
Of course, it drove the Republican's insane.
In an impassioned speech, House Republican leader Larry Cafero of Norwalk gave a hypothetical that "a little brat from Virginia'' could vote by absentee ballot in a presidential election in his home state and then vote while away at college in Connecticut.
"What happened to my vote that was legal?'' Cafero boomed on the House floor. "What happened to my vote that was legal?''
He asked about the tight 2010 election when "whether true or not, there were widespread allegations of fraud.''
"You come up with your ID or a book bill or some freaking thing with your address on it,'' Cafero said. "Since I was 4 years old, I knew Election Day was the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. If you can't get it done, wait till next year, pal. Wait till next year.''
"You wanna cheat? You wanna rig an election?'' Cafero asked. "Your vote's gonna count.
Not exactly sure why Virginia was targeted by Cafero's rant, but the quote doesn't do justice to how crazed he seemed. But my favorite part is his reference to fraud allegations from 2010 as being relevant "whether true or not" (they weren't). Great television. Great law. Great Victory!