Who Cares who Alison Lundergan Grimes Voted For?

Bitchy Mitchy McConnell tells a lot of lies. A LOT of lies. But a very subtle and sneaky one jumped out at this humble blogger during the lone debate with his Democratic challenger: he said Americans have no right to a secret ballot:

Grimes stuck to her days-long refusal to say if she voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012. She insisted that if she answered the question, it would “compromise a constitutional right” to cast a secret ballot.

McConnell quickly scoffed at that. “There’s no sacred right to not announce how you voted,” he said, seated next to Grimes for an hour-long debate hosted by KET, the state’s public television station.

There is indeed no explicit Constitutional right to a secret ballot: because Boards of Election need to track voters and ballots to prevent fraud. But that’s the only place where your right to voting privacy is limited.

But old Jerkle the Turtle goes a step further: not only does he not think you have a right to privacy in the voting booth, he thinks you can be forced to reveal your votes if any old yahoo asks you. This is some truly, scarily insidious, authoritarian, big-government s*** here, folks: “Republicans” think they can force you to tell them how you voted, and that you have no right to privacy.

It’s of a piece with GOP philosophy: they hates them some Fourth Amendment. Repubs think the government should be able to wiretap you, arrest you, torture you, dictate your medical care, and monitor your sex life. So voting rights are likewise non-starters for Big Brother Motherf***ers like McConnell and the rest of his party. Once again, Gentle Reader: Repubs think you have no right to privacy.

We should all of us applaud Ms. Grimes’ strong stand on privacy, and support her right to not say for whom she voted. This seems obvious, but even some Democrats are saying she should tell us all how she voted. Poppy-f***ing-cock. She has the same privacy rights as the rest of us, and we should all have her back on this issue – because we all are in the same boat. Want to be forced to tell your boss how you voted, or your parents, or a “news” organization? This writer does not, and you shouldn’t have to, either.

This election isn’t just about candidates, folks: it’s about our freedom from Big Government Repubs and their NSA-Patriot Act-Morals Police-Brute Squad vision of America. We all need to vote against any candidate who would take away our rights, and support any candidate who supports our rights.

Your humble correspondent doesn’t give a single turd from a tufted titmouse’s ass how Ms. Grimes voted. It’s her right to keep it private, and good on her for asserting that right.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Why I Voted Against Mitt Romney

Note first that Mr. Blunt and Cranky did, in fact, vote against Romney, rather than for Obama. He last voted for a Presidential candidate in1976;  since then, it’s always been a vote against the greater of two evils. So it was this year. Reasons being:

Number A: We cannot trust Romney. He changes positions and direction more often than a weathervane in a tornado; he lives a life of secrecy and untruths; and there have been multiple reports and recordings of his speeches when he thinks he is among his “own kind”. These speeches show a man who is nothing like the image he presents to the rest of us.

Letter 2: His proposed policies either are the same as Obama’s; or they don’t stand up to scrutiny.  His policy on Iran is the same as Obama’s (and Shrub’s), for example. His tax policy is mathematically impossible. These are talking points meant to persuade the gullible members of the electorate, instead of serious policies to be used when in office. Bottom line: we do not know what he’d do if he got into the Oval Office.

Thirdly: Romney’s case of foot-in-mouth disease is right up there with Bush the Dumber or Dan Quayle. He has offended our allies, our trading partners, and vast swaths of the American population. And he Does. Not. Understand. Why. Someone that clueless might make a good venture capitalist, but cannot possibly be a good President: the leader of a diverse nation must possess the ability to understand different points of view, and communicate effectively across cultural and political lines.

This writer may not be a particularly huge fan of Obama, but we know what we’ll be getting if he is re-elected. With Romney, there is no way of knowing what he’ll do if he gets his mitts (pun intended) on the reins of power; but it is not likely to be good for the country.

Mr. B & C