*** Talking Points Memo has the goods on Romney and the Republicans:
Several veterans slammed Mitt Romney on Monday for opposing and mischaracterizing an Obama campaign lawsuit which would expand early voting rights to veterans, cops, firefighters and all Ohio voters.
Romney had claimed — falsely
— that the Obama campaign opposed allowing members of the military and
their families to vote in-person in the three days before the election.
Actually, the Obama campaign wants all people in Ohio — including, for
example, veterans, cops and firefighters — to be able to vote during
that period....
“When it comes to Mitt Romney, I feel like he lives in bizarro world,”
Iraq veteran and former Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) told reporters in a
conference call organized by the Center for American Progress on Monday.
“He’s suppressing millions of votes across our country in this
election, and then he lies and says that President Obama is trying to do
the same thing, when it couldn’t be further from the truth.”
**** Mitt Romney only wants active duty military to be able to vote early in Ohio. Romney is trying to keep over 900,000 military veterans in Ohio from voting early. Jon Soltz of Vote Vets wrote a post at Think Progress:
When I read stories this weekend that said the Obama campaign was suing to restrict the voting rights of military in Ohio, my blood got boiling. Of course, Think Progress has already documented that story, inflamed by the Romney campaign, is patently false.
In fact, the Obama campaign was suing to block an Ohio law which
restricts a very successful early voting program in the state. The
President’s campaign was trying to keep expanded voting rights in place
for everyone, military included. So, why am I still so disturbed?
Because Mitt Romney, by supporting the Ohio law that would do away
with three days of early voting for all but those covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voter Act (‘UOCAVA’), is supporting the restriction of voting rights for as many as 913,000 Ohio veterans.
This includes military retirees with over 20 years of service and
multiple deployments. In short, Mitt Romney supports efforts to make
voting more difficult for the very people who have put their lives on
the line after swearing an oath to uphold our Constitution and
democracy.
Once you leave the military, you are no longer covered by UOCAVA.
Your voting rights are the same as any civilian. That means the early
voting law which Mitt Romney wants to undo, provided hundreds of
thousands of Ohio veterans with more of an opportunity to vote. By all
accounts, Ohio voters liked and used the early voting law. In 2008, nearly one-third of all ballots was cast under the early voting measures, surely many of them veterans....
Romney and the Ohio Republicans don't want early voting because it encourages people to vote. The last thing Romney and the GOP want to see is high turnout of voters like women, minorities, military vets and active duty, young voters, police officers, fire fighters, teachers, and others that have suffered under Republicans. With police officers and fire fighters working rotating shifts, the weekend early voting has allowed them to get to the polls to vote. Why would Romney and the Ohio GOP be against these hardworking men and women being able to vote early?
Let me remind you......
The Republicans in the Ohio Assembly, with the blessings of Gov. John Kasich, passed SB5/Issue 2 to restrict the rights of police, fire fighters, teachers, nurses, and state employees. These good people that live and work in your community haven't forgotten the awful insults and lies hurled at them by the Republicans. They are anxious to cast their votes and stand up for the middle class. You can see why the Ohio Republicans, Gov. John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich, and Mitt "car elevator" Romney don't want to provide more voting opportunities for all people - especially those that would be supporting Democrats.
