Rick Hasen is also at U.C. Irvine. He stated that the Republicans and Democrats are polarized...there is no overlap of moderates in the House and the Senate....the moderates have either retired or became more extreme. He said that campaigns are run with "no holes bared". He is expecting post election litigation as suits have already doubled in the last few years.
Hasen said there is some voter fraud in the absentee voter counts...but hardly none in voters impersonating others. Not one election has been stolen this way. The voter I.D. laws being proposed is aimed at a problem that does not exist....it is designed to suppress voting by the poor. He said that 750,000 people in Pennsylvania don't have government issued photo I.D.s. The court has set the law back to the legislature and said that they need to figure out a way to get I.D.s to people.
He said that a close election could result in people going to the streets to demonstrate against voter repression and perceived fraud. Election officials are praying "Lord, let this election not be close." There is concern in Ohio about long lines at the polls because of reduced voting hours. If the polls close with long lines of people waiting....there will be trouble.
He also said that if the Republicans loose this election, there may be a fight in the party with the moderates trying to take back the party from the Tea Party folks.
Connie Rice said that there use to be bipartisanship like when Tip O'Neal and Reagan ...over a few whiskys... came together for the better good. She said that Obama's promise to bring both sides together was naive...but we were hopeful he would inspire unity. She said the Republicans pledged to do nothing to help the president and to get him out of office. Shee said the sides are like gladiators trying annihilate each other. She is concerned that the Republicans are now resorting to voter suppression since that can't change the minds of minority and poor voters.
Connie talked about Romney's comment on the 47%. She said that here is "Mr. Cayman Islands tax shelter...I won't show you my taxes" talking about the 47% "freeloaders". She said the elite have "gamed the system" and passed laws to their advantage. These are Mitt's colleagues. "They played casino capitalism and tanked our economy."
She said that it is likely that voters will take to the streets because there is a racial hostility/exclusion/suppression being felt. "The opposition to this Black President feels racial...setting up racial paranoia."
She said she can only imagine less partisanship if there is some kind of "Armageddon".
Leslie Berestein Rojas said that the Dream Act started out bipartisan but the conservative "red meat" base backed themselves into a corner. She said that the Republican constituency is aging and dieing off. They fear the minorities will take over and this is forcing them to panic and use extreme means to win.
Marty Kaplan said that people are sick and tired of the bickering but they are so polarized they can't stand hearing the other sides opinions. He said that we need standard laws on how to run elections in all states and that a national nonpartisan election panel should be appointed to come up with uniform rules.
How did this country get so far to the Right? Media's influence...fever pitch spread of information...some not true. There is a rebellion to fact checking on the Right. Facts matter...we need to insist on reality and not making up an alternate reality.
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