NC Republican Representative resigns over racist comments

[FaxModem1]

USA Today

GOP leaders asked conservative activist Don Yelton to resign after controversial remarks.
Story Highlights

Yelton said Voter ID law would hurt Democrats, referenced "lazy blacks"
Local, state GOP representatives denounced Don Yelton's comments
Yelton said he would not change anything, and he refused to apologize

After bragging in a TV interview that the state's Voter ID regulations would "kick the Democrats in the butt," and after making reference to "lazy blacks that want the government to give them everything," a North Carolina conservative activist has stepped down from his Republican Party post.

Don Yelton made the decision to leave after the Buncome County GOP asked him to resign his position as a precinct chairman, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times. Yelton made the comments on Wednesday's edition of Jon Stewart's The Daily Show on television, setting off a firestorm of reaction in social media land.

Yelton told the Citizen-Times that in spite of the circumstances, he would not change anything, and he refused to apologize.

"There's nothing I said that I would take back – so be it," Yelton told the news organization.

Voter ID laws, which require would-be voters to present identification when registering to vote and/or when voting, have been criticized as damaging to Democratic voters who are more likely not to have identification.

"The law is going to kick the Democrats in the butt," Yelton told Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi. "If it hurts a bunch of college kids too lazy to get up off their bohonkas and go get a photo ID, so be it. If it hurts a bunch of whites, so be it."

Yelton also said, "If it hurts a bunch of lazy blacks that want the government to give them everything, so be it."

The Buncombe County GOP released a statement via Facebook denouncing Yelton's comments, calling them "outrageous and intolerant" and indicating North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Claude Pope was calling for Yelton's resignation.

"The North Carolina Republican Party finds the comments made by Mr. Yelton to be completely inappropriate and highly offensive," the statement read. "I would like to make it very clear that Mr. Yelton does not speak for either the Buncombe County Republcan Party or the North Carolina Republican Party."

Buncombe County GOP chairman Henry Mitchell echoed those comments, according to Politico.

"Let me make it very clear, Mr. Yelton's comments do not reflect the belief or feelings of Buncombe Republcians, nor do they mirror any core principle that our party is founded upon," Mitchell said in a statement. "this mentality will not be supported or propagated within our party."

Whoops

[Kitsune]

"He got caught"

[Crossroads Inc.]

Wow.. just..WOW

I mean, I have no illusions that there are PLENTY of people this unabashidily racist in the South. It is just such a sight to catch one ON CAMERA.
I think my favorite part of that was "You know we CAN hear you" "Oh yeah"

But yeah... Why is he being thrown out? Because he got CAUGHT,

[CaptJodan]

It never ceases to amaze me though how many times the story has come out that voter fraud is a non-issue, that voter IDs unfairly discriminate against a certain class of people, and yet it goes ahead anyway (with very little public outrage or push back).

Far more than a racist GOP member, the shocking thing is that this is another example of a GOP member openly admitting that this is designed to unfairly stack the deck on voting. That is where the outrage should be coming from (cause it's not a secret that a large portion of bigots identify with the GOP. That isn't news).

[SMJB]

Indeed.

[Channel72]

Devil's advocate: Should there be any institutionalized measures taken to prevent voter fraud, no matter how statistically insignificant it is?

Maybe states should be required to issue free IDs, or perhaps (gasp) there should be a free federal ID (similar to a passport, but not necessarily valid for international travel) issued to every citizen.

[Kitsune]

Devil's advocate: Should there be any institutionalized measures taken to prevent voter fraud, no matter how statistically insignificant it is?

Maybe states should be required to issue free IDs, or perhaps (gasp) there should be a free federal ID (similar to a passport, but not necessarily valid for international travel) issued to every citizen.

Don't suggest that. . . .
There will be people using it as "the Anti-Christ" is coming

[Singular Intellect]

Devil's advocate: Should there be any institutionalized measures taken to prevent voter fraud, no matter how statistically insignificant it is?

Maybe states should be required to issue free IDs, or perhaps (gasp) there should be a free federal ID (similar to a passport, but not necessarily valid for international travel) issued to every citizen.

Such technology is already becoming widespread and will soon be in everyone's hands. It'll hold all forms of ID and have multiple methods of confirming your identity and voter status. Pockets sized devices that just about everyone carries and keeps on them like a second skin, and they can be updated constantly for security and fraud concerns.

[Lord of the Abyss]

Devil's advocate: Should there be any institutionalized measures taken to prevent voter fraud, no matter how statistically insignificant it is?

Maybe states should be required to issue free IDs, or perhaps (gasp) there should be a free federal ID (similar to a passport, but not necessarily valid for international travel) issued to every citizen.

First, there's the problem that even the most well meaning system right now would disenfranchise many more legitimate voters than it would prevent fraudulent voters from voting, given how miniscule the numbers of the latter are.

And second, there's the problem that the people pushing for it are almost exclusively interested in making it as unfair as possible; the goal is to disenfranchise Democrats and blacks, not stop fraud. Whenever anti-fraud measures are proposed that don't do that, they lose interest.

And third, even if you universally issued a free federal ID, that ID would not be acceptable for exactly the above reason. Any ID used for such a system has to be one that the population targeted for disenfranchisement will find hard to get.

[Haruko]

Yelton said he would not change anything, and he refused to apologize

Dang, we don't get the usual non-apology apology. They make me warm and fuzzy inside. How dare you deprive me the warm and fuzzy, Yelton.

[Dr. Trainwreck]

I read once that Sarah Palin was only viable in American politics because Americans mostly attack politicians on the basis of ideology and not ability to govern. I guess it is true, given that he resigned over being a racist but not over outright admitting that he couldn't give a fuck about democracy.

[energiewende]

How difficult is it to apply for a drivers license or some other state ID? I'm against any state ID for anything as a rule but if our objection here is that people who don't think voting is worth $50 or getting out of bed on a Saturday - who are these people and why do we want them to vote?

Do they really all vote Democrat - I thought the fat and lazy vote swung Republican?

[Rogue 9]

How difficult is it to apply for a drivers license or some other state ID? I'm against any state ID for anything as a rule but if our objection here is that people who don't think voting is worth $50 or getting out of bed on a Saturday - who are these people and why do we want them to vote?

Do they really all vote Democrat - I thought the fat and lazy vote swung Republican?

If the Department of Motor Vehicles is only open during normal business hours (not an uncommon thing in many states) then these people are ones who hold down regular jobs and can't afford to take a day off.

[Broken]

How difficult is it to apply for a drivers license or some other state ID? I'm against any state ID for anything as a rule but if our objection here is that people who don't think voting is worth $50 or getting out of bed on a Saturday - who are these people and why do we want them to vote?

Do they really all vote Democrat - I thought the fat and lazy vote swung Republican?

It really depends on where you live. One of the main problems for the working poor is the hours the DMV (which are quite often packed with hours and hours of waiting and no guarantee that you will even get through the line and most are not open on the weekend, only business hours during the week) is open and their locations (not enough to effectively serve the community and that's in the city, rural communities tend to be more shafted). Also, to apply for a license or ID you often need things like a birth certificate; which many older, especially poor, voters may not have ever had.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

How difficult is it to apply for a drivers license or some other state ID? I'm against any state ID for anything as a rule but if our objection here is that people who don't think voting is worth $50 or getting out of bed on a Saturday - who are these people and why do we want them to vote?

Do they really all vote Democrat - I thought the fat and lazy vote swung Republican?

It can be exceedingly difficult for a poor person who cannot afford to take the time to go to the local motor vehicle division office (either because they have to work to support their family, or the "local" DMV is too far away for a person without a car to get to, or a person with a car, but no free time to get to.) It can also be difficult for them to prove that they are who they say they are (they may not have documents, like their birth certificate, and they might not have enough utility bills at a given address to prove residency.) They may also be functionally illiterate (due to having no choice but to go to the basket-case schools, or being recently naturalized citizens, or growing up in poor barrios, where Spanish fluency is more desirable than English fluency.)

Also ... fifty bucks is easily a utility bill. And I'm not talking something "frivolous" like internet or cellular.

Voter ID laws are never about preventing voter fraud. They are universally about disenfranchising people who aren't old terrified conservative white people. And as for "why do we want them to vote?" Because they're citizens of a nominally-democratic republic and, thus, deserve a say in how it's run like everybody else does. If you're going to go down the "who are these people, and why do we want them to vote?" path, then you'd might as well go back to the way the US used to qualify people to vote ... i.e. the only people who can vote are wealthy white male landowners.

[energiewende]

How about opening a bank account? I don't live in the US but I needed to provide a copy of my birth certificate to do that. Is voter fraud of less importance than bank fraud - surely much more? Since this is a task that is considered an ordinary part of daily life, it doesn't seem especially onerous.

I would suggest that the government simply provides a voter ID card that can be processed by mail. This is how I obtained my drivers' license, again not in the US.

Anyone who can't be bothered to apply for that is likely not in too fit state to make decisions for governing the country, unlike the bulk of those who aren't white landowners.

[General Zod]

Let's take a look at proof of residency requirements for Texas.

Current deed, mortgage, monthly mortgage statement, mortgage payment booklet or a residential rental/lease agreement
Valid, unexpired Texas voter registration card
Texas motor vehicle registration or title
Texas boat registration or title
Texas concealed handgun license
Utility statement (including electric, water, natural gas, satellite TV, cable TV or noncellular phone bill) dated within 90 days of the date of application
Selective Service card
Medical or health card
Current homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy or homeowner’s or renter’s insurance statement
Current automobile insurance policy or an automobile insurance statement
Texas high school, college or university report card or transcript for the current school year
W-2 or 1099 tax form from the current tax year
Mail from financial institutions; including checking, savings, investment account and credit card statements dated within 90 days of the date of application
Mail from a federal, state, county or city government agency dated within 90 days of the date of application
Current automobile payment booklet
Pre-printed paycheck or payment stub dated within 90 days of the date of application
Current documents issued by the U.S. military indicating residence address
Document from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice indicating the applicant's recent release or parole
Current Form DS2019, I-20 or a document issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

The vast majority of these are impossible to have if you don't have a license already, and the average poor person is unlikely to have several others on this list. Add to the fact that the vast majority of employers won't even look at you if you don't have an ID, and the ones that will probably won't issue a paycheck or W-2.

[energiewende]

I think it's more likely that you need any one of those, not all of them, unless Texas has made it illegal to vote if you don't own a boat and a handgun.

[General Zod]

How about opening a bank account? I don't live in the US but I needed to provide a copy of my birth certificate to do that. Is voter fraud of less importance than bank fraud - surely much more? Since this is a task that is considered an ordinary part of daily life, it doesn't seem especially onerous.

I would suggest that the government simply provides a voter ID card that can be processed by mail. This is how I obtained my drivers' license, again not in the US.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/vot ... d=17213376

Out of the 197 million votes cast for federal candidates between 2002 and 2005, only 40 voters were indicted for voter fraud, according to a Department of Justice study outlined during a 2006 Congressional hearing. Only 26 of those cases, or about .00000013 percent of the votes cast, resulted in convictions or guilty pleas.

Tell me again how voter fraud is a legitimate problem that requires extra legislation to fix?

[General Zod]

I think it's more likely that you need any one of those, not all of them, unless Texas has made it illegal to vote if you don't own a boat.

Two documents, per the website. http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/DriverLice ... NonCDL.htm

[energiewende]

If there is no means of checking ID of voters how do we know how much voter fraud is going on? Criminal convictions require an investigation and then proof beyond reasonable doubt.

[General Zod]

If there is no means of checking ID of voters how do we know how much voter fraud is going on? Criminal convictions require an investigation and then proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Is there even a smidgen of evidence beyond paranoid delusions that voter impersonation on any kind of large scale is going on? It's simply too difficult to manage that kind of thing without it being leaked to someone these days.

[energiewende]

If there is no means of checking ID of voters how do we know how much voter fraud is going on? Criminal convictions require an investigation and then proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Is there even a smidgen of evidence beyond paranoid delusions that voter impersonation on any kind of large scale is going on? It's simply too difficult to manage that kind of thing without it being leaked to someone these days.

I have no idea, never having studied this subject. But the evidence presented that criminal convictions are currently low doesn't convince me that it isn't. It's a low-stakes crime that is essentially impossible to prove after the fact, and extremely difficult to detect in progress. I am not sure anyone knows how much voter fraud is going on. If it's successful, it's undetected.

[General Zod]

I have no idea, never having studied this subject. But the evidence presented that criminal convictions are currently low doesn't convince me that it isn't. It's a low-stakes crime that is essentially impossible to prove after the fact, and extremely difficult to detect in progress. I am not sure anyone knows how much voter fraud is going on. If it's successful, it's undetected.

So what's the benefit? There's no advantage for the average citizen to go out and vote as someone else on their own and any kind of organized large effort involves a lot of people who undoubtedly like to talk. You're telling me not a single one of them would be dumb enough to blab about it to someone who could report it to the media?

[Crossroads Inc.]

I would ask energiewende for him to abide by one of the age old customs of SDN.
Basically to provide EVIDENCE Of wide spread voter fraud in America.

It doesn't matter what state, or what party, but just criminal fraud on a large scale within the last 20 years.