Posted on 01/21/2013 2:08:06 PM PST by bestintxas
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says the Republican Party should abandon its efforts to curb voter participation through voter ID laws and restrictions on hours for early voting.
“Should we really have gone after reducing the turnout of voters in those places where we thought it would make a difference?” he told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, referring to November’s election, Politico reports.
“The Republican Party should be a party that says, ‘We want everybody to vote,’ and make it easier to vote and give them a reason to vote for the party, not to find ways to keep them from voting at all.”
Powell says the Republican Party has turned much more conservative. “That’s perfectly acceptable, but if you stay that far to the right, you’re losing where the country is. “The country is moving more toward the center.”
He notes demographic changes as well. Minorities are growing as a portion of the population, particularly Hispanics. That’s a group that supported President Barack Obama by a whopping 71 to 27 percent margin last year.
“You have to appeal with policies and programs to these people who are going to be the leaders of our country in a generation,” Powell says.
As for voter participation, Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott appears to have heard Powell’s message. He announced a plan last week to increase the number of early voting days and locations.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
“Sorry friend. It looks like your first comment got deleted by the mods and most of the responses are coming my way.”
You know what my comment was? It was that no one in the GOP wishes to stop anyone from voting other than those who vote more than once or are illegal to vote.
I also said this guy needs to go away quietly to a place where someone can take care of him, and I noted Mali is a nice place am sure.
Powell says, “We want everybody to vote”......
Well they did, all 149% of them
The only attempts to lower voter participation. Were those by Obama who urged his supporters to “get in their (our) faces” and to bring guns to the fight.
Then there was the Eric Holder method of vote suppression using the black panthers.
Or was Super Colon Blow Powell referring to increasing voter participation above 100% for Democrats as happened in parts of Cleveland and Philadelphia??
I thought as much but I have been known to be clueless ;)
You are 100% right in this case. It makes my blood boil how a man that many of us once held in such high regard as Powell could turn into a demonic Judas.
The left, for whatever reason, has blackmailed him. Watched the interview. He doesn’t make sense. I believe this is what the left does to a lot of those who were once “right” and then “swich” sides...for whatever reason. One only needs to look at Patraeus. Why did Admiral Boorda really commit suicide? Perhaps he had enough integrity, above that which he was being blackmailed for, to commit suicide.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.