In many locations across the country, today is Election Day. Naturally, our entire staff is registered, and we'll vote where elections are being held. We even have family going to the work at the polling places, one of whom will be an Officer of Elections for his district in Virginia. His job is simple, but not easy. It'll take endurance, too: he must show up before the first voter, and stay until the polls close, making sure all proper legal procedures are followed, and that everyone who wishes to vote - and is legally authorized to do so - has the ability to have their voice heard.
Over the last few years, many in the GOP hierarchy have attempted to use this ridiculous fear - that the vote of someone not legally registered would be counted and then tip the scales against the favored candidate of the GOP - to enact draconian rules that effectively drive down several types of voters, especially minorities. In light of the copious recall and recount laws that exist these days, we're not only offended at this tactic - we also think it only serves to make Republicans look foolish and drive away voters they might otherwise convince to vote with them.
By the actions they've taken over the last decade, the modern Republican party appears to have some really strange ideas on how to convince minorities and women to vote for their chosen candidates.
In 2008, according to multiple sources, the primary reason those advising John McCain chose Sarah Palin to be his V.P. pick was that she was a woman. After all, they thought - that was why some centrist and independent women liked Hillary Clinton, right?
This time around, some of those same advisors pushed Herman Cain to run for President - and after the last week of announcements about Mr. Cain's alleged conduct, and revelations of sexual misconduct and assault, we can't understand why any Republican political operative worth his paycheck didn't find out about all of these incidents long ago.
Being accused of sexual harassment once may be an accident. Repeating that conduct four times - that we know of - shows a serious lack of judgement.
It's not just the lack of judgement on the part of Mr. Cain that angers us, though.
According to multiple polls of Republican voters and Republican-leaning independents, even after these recent announcements, they STILL prefer Mr. Cain to most of the other choices for President they're being offered right now. It's not that Republicans think Mr. Cain's accusers are lying - a majority think the allegations against him are true.
It's that Republicans and conservatives don't seem to think it matters that one of their leading candidates for President is possibly a serial sexual abuser, someone who appears to have a problem abusing his position of power to try and force women to do things against their will.
While that attitude, by itself, is sick, the more depraved attitude is the racial mirror to the GOP's 2008 Palin tactic; more and more, it appears Republican leaders and backers chose Herman Cain to attempt a run for President because he's an African-American.
For a party that continually attempts to claim they represent a new brand of modern conservatism, all we see in their current attempts to court women and minorities are the same old clueless, chauvinist and racist attitudes, done up in a fancy new dress.
If this is your political party of choice, we hope you realize how you appear to the rest of the world.
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