Chad’s Morning Brief: Rand Paul Speaks About Voter ID, Defunding Obamacare & More
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of August 16, 2013. Give me your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am. Remember, you can listen online at KFYO.com or on your iPhone/Android with the radioPup App.
1. Rand Paul and Voter ID (link)
Senator Rand Paul spoke in favor of Voter ID on Wednesday. Paul also said that there is no evidence that anyone's vote would be suppressed.
Sen. Rand Paul told a Louisville, Ky., audience Wednesday that there is no evidence African-Americans are being excluded from voting, according to a report.
Speaking at the Louisville Forum, Paul said while the government should intervene if an individual’s rights are violated, the Voting Rights Act shouldn’t focus on past instances of discrimination, according to WFPL radio.
“The interesting thing about voting patterns now is in this last election, African-Americans voted at a higher percentage than whites in almost every one of the states that were under the special provisions of the federal government,” he said. “So really, I don’t think there is objective evidence that we’re precluding African-Americans from voting any longer.”
Paul told the audience that he supports voter ID legislation and that comparing such laws to Jim Crow-era legislation is a disservice to the civil rights movement.
“I don’t see a problem with showing your driver’s license to vote,” he said. “I also think that some people are a little bit stuck in the past when they want to compare this. There was a time in the South when African-Americans were absolutely prohibited from voting by selective applications of bizarre and absurd literacy tests. And that was an abomination. That’s why we needed the Voting Rights Act, but that’s not showing your ID.”
Rand Paul is correct.
2. Q&A With Ted Cruz (link)
Today on the show we will discuss a poll that shows Republicans won't be the only one's blamed if the government is shutdown because of Obamacare. The Daily Caller sat down with Senator Ted Cruz and spoke with him about the issue.
Your opponents argue your strategy won’t work because Republicans, without control of the White House or the Senate, do not have the votes. They say it’s simply dishonest to lead conservatives across the country to think it would. Opponents also say that Republicans will take the blame for any shutdown, thus harming your midterm chances. Your response?
Cruz: One thing is for sure: we lose 100 percent of the battles we don’t fight.
With divided government, either side can stop legislation. As a result, whoever is in the stronger position with no action has the advantage at the bargaining table. That’s why Republicans got such a lousy deal with the fiscal cliff — if nothing happened, the result was a massive tax increase on every American taxpayer…a result that President Obama was perfectly happy with. So he had all the leverage. With the continuing resolution, if Republicans stand together, we have the leverage.
President Obama may well choose to force a temporary partial government shutdown, rather than pass a CR that defunds Obamacare. But, if that happens, what happens next? One side or the other has to blink.
Why do people assume that President Obama and Democrats will never ever ever blink, and so Republicans must do so instead? If 41 Republicans stand together in the Senate and 218 in the House, we can insist that any Continuing Resolution does not fund Obamacare. We win by sticking to our principles longer than the Democrats stick to theirs.
And this fight doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Republicans win the fight by winning the argument: going to the American people and making the case that Obamacare is a “train wreck” that is killing jobs and hurting those who are struggling to climb the economic ladder. That’s a winning argument, if only we make it effectively.
In 2010, we ran on repealing Obamacare and won an electoral tsunami. In 2012, we ran a cautious campaign, barely mentioning Obamacare, and got walloped. The way you win, especially in an off-year election, is to stand for principle in way that mobilizes the American people to show up and vote. The way you lose is to stand for nothing and demoralize your supporters. Running away from this fight would do that.
Too many Republicans are obsessed with poll numbers and terrified of who takes the “blame.” Do the right thing, lead, and the politics will take care of itself.
I think that last part is great. Lead and the politics will take care of itself. Republicans need leaders who won't back down and won't apologize for taking a stand. Democrats have been successful with leaders like that, now it's time for the GOP to take a stand.
3. Muslim March on Washington (link)
Out of all days of the year, which would you think would be a bad idea to plan a Million Muslim March for?
A group called The American Muslim Political Action Committee (AMPAC) is planning a one million Muslims march to Washington D.C. on September 11th. The timing of the group's march is seen by many as tasteless (to say the least) considering it is scheduled for the anniversary of the worst domestic massacre in American history perpetrated in the name of Islam. AMPAC ups the tasteless quotient by issuing "demands" for the American government:
We at AMPAC (American Political Action Committee) are planning an historic event for 9.11.13 where one million Muslims will march to Washington D.C. and demand that our civil rights be protected by our government.
We are demanding that laws be enacted protecting our 1st amendment . We are asking President Obama to fulfill his promise from his first campaign for Presidency of a transparent government. Lastly we are asking for the release of the 9/11 commission report to the American people.
The group seems to rationalize the date chosen for their march by claiming that the media has been lying to the American people with regard to the role Islam played in the 9/11 attacks:
On 9.11.01 our country was forever changed by the horrific events in New York. The entire country was victimized by the acts done on that day. Muslim and Non Muslim alike were traumatized but we as Muslims continue 12 years later to be victimized by being made the villains. To this day every media outlet and anti Islamic organization has committed slanderous and libel statements against us as Muslims and our religion of Islam.
Yet our Government either sits idly by and does nothing to protect our freedoms or it exacerbates the problem with its constant war on terrorism in Islamic countries, congressional hearings on Islam in America, and its changes to the NDAA law.
These lies told to the American population has made it impossible for us to do true Dawa. Why do we have to defend our religion while doing Dawa? Why can’t we just share the perfection of the Quran and the beauty of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SWS)?
Other Top Stories:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.
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