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McConnell says bill that would make Election Day a federal holiday is a ‘power grab’ by Democrats

poweRob said:
So cocaine mitch thinks voting is a Democratic power-grab. :lol:

McConnell says bill that would make Election Day a federal holiday is a ‘power grab’ by Democrats

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that a Democratic bill that would make Election Day a federal holiday is a “power grab,” sparking a fierce backlash online. McConnell was speaking about H.R. 1, legislation that Democrats have made a centerpiece of their agenda since retaking the House earlier this month.

In remarks on the Senate floor, McConnell (R-Ky.) said Democrats “want taxpayers on the hook for generous new benefits for federal bureaucrats and government employees,” including making Election Day a “new paid holiday for government workers.” “So this is the Democrats’ plan to ‘restore democracy,’” McConnell said, describing the legislation as “a political power grab that’s smelling more and more like what it is.”​
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I would ask Sen. McConnell, "Why is he so afraid of The People who have properly registered to vote having a day off to exercise their constitutional right to vote?" Despite some corporate or state-government policies, there are people who can't take sufficient time off to get to the polls before they close. Framing the issue as "a benefit" gives him an excuse to frame the argument as a taxpayer give-a-way exclusively for federal employees when the truth is EVERYONE would benefit from this bill. BTW, Senator Turtle, what have got against federal workers?
 
Mach said:
By making it a holiday, you sort of address them all at once. They have a day to dedicate to ensuring they can vote, free from concern about how to take off work, etc. It's often people on the lowest economic scale who have the most trouble getting out to vote, because their jobs are most at risk, they have less bargaining power (for time off, etc.), so it hurts them the most.
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Making it a holiday doesn't "guarantee" they are not from risk because of their jobs. Making it a holiday usually only guarantees state and federal workers the time off. People that work retail or other jobs that are still open even on holidays, this won't help them.
 
chuckiechan said:
The problem with "federal" holidays is all the tax paid workers get it and Joe working stiff doesn't. Just like the government shut down. They were home watching TV and got paid for not working. A free holiday. And now you want to give them another one?
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But would the voting holiday be restricted to just federal workers of everyone (specifically, those who are registered to vote and wishes to exercise their right to vote)?
 
JasperL said:
Yeah, all people have to do is risk a felony conviction, loss of their voting rights, likely job loss, and jail time... :roll:
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Few criminals are seen as having made wise decisions.
 
i'm really glad that republicans are against making it easier to vote (closing voting locations, moving polling places off college campuses, closing early voting on dates when minorities turn out the most, being against a voting holiday, etc).

people are watching and they'll remember.
 
chuckiechan said:
The problem with "federal" holidays is all the tax paid workers get it and Joe working stiff doesn't. Just like the government shut down. They were home watching TV and got paid for not working. A free holiday. And now you want to give them another one?
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Since when does "Joe working stiff" not get paid for Christmas?
 
Keridan said:
I'm all for giving voting day off. Of course, I already do this for my employees. I'm not entirely sure which party benefits more from it, though. Which has a higher employment rate these days?
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You can probably get a good idea by who supports it and who opposes it...

FWIW, a federal holiday for voting is IMO the least important of the provisions. We already have laws requiring employers to accommodate voting, and the employees likely to be screwed employers not abiding by the spirit of those laws the least likely to be granted a vacation day. And with early voting so prevalent, it's not nearly as important as it might have been 30 years ago. I'd favor it if nothing else because it indicates we are as a country prioritizing voting as an important national activity, but gerrymandering abuses, for example, are IMO FAR, FAR more egregious 'sins' when it comes to the big picture. It's kind of crazy and irrational from the point of national interests IMO that the 2020 elections and who wins the state offices will likely have a HUGE impact on races for the next decade, because the party in power gets to draw the lines favorable to their party.
 
Mr Person said:
He's really quite directly affirming what an awful lot of people have noticed about GOP voter suppression maneuvering: if more people vote, the GOP loses power. Make it a federal holiday, more people can vote. They don't want that.
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between early voting and voting day, mail in ballot and you can't make it to vote but not having a federal holiday is a voter suppression maneuver?
please just stop.

PS there is more in the bill than just giving federal workers yet another holiday off that we have to pay for.
 
tres borrachos said:
Since when does "Joe working stiff" not get paid for Christmas?
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Not all working stiffs get christmas off. he said nothing about getting paid for it.
i know plenty of people that were working christmas day.

i used to have to work christmas day myself sometimes.
 
ludin said:
Not all working stiffs get christmas off. he said nothing about getting paid for it.
i know plenty of people that were working christmas day.

i used to have to work christmas day myself sometimes.
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That's because you work in an industry where your employer is open on Christmas. That is an anomaly, not the norm in this country.

Firefighters, policemen, air travel workers, doctors, etc. are all subject to working on Christmas. So are radio station employees and some gas station attendants and TV station workers.

You do realize, don't you, that the average "Joe working stiff" is not working on Christmas.
 
sangha said:
McConnell is right. Anything that can get more people voting will benefit the dems.
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I don't see it that way. I see it in much the same way as Republicans view money in politics. Just because one goes to vote doesn't mean that their vote will be casts for Democrats any more than millions poured into a particular political campaign for a candidate will equate to an automatic victory for said candidate. Sure, political voices does tend to get drowned out (re: unlimited dark money in political advertising via Citizen's United that tends to be one-sided), but there's no guarantee that candidate or party will win. It just gives them an edge where CU is concerned.

Now, should this voting holiday and campaign finance reform bill pass does it mean Democrats may get a slight bump in voter turnout? I'd venture to say yes in the short term, but in the aggregate people will vote their conscience, their values and their beliefs whether they have a voting holiday or a designated day in which to go cast their vote. McConnell is just playing the oldest trick in the book - the money shell game (re: "taxpayers will be pissed that federal bureaucrats gave government workers - who are already part of an expansive government - a day off on their dime"). But his logic is extremely flawed. For, if everyone gets the day off to go vote, it's not the taxpayers who will be impacted financially. It's the private sector...that is unless the free market can peg something besides a mattress sale to the holiday. ;)
 
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Why do we need an 'election day' at all? Why not have an election two weeks to give everyone a chance to vote with a sign 'open on weekends from 7-7.
 
Praxas said:
The topic is actually McConnell calling this bill a power grab. As for National Voter ID I am all for it as long as either the state or federal government foots the bill for the cost of the ID and not the voter.
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I assume you mean all citizens (taxpayers and otherwise) pay for the program and not each person individually.
 
IMO it's easier to vote on the way in or out of work. You're already up and out. Our polls are open 9 to 9, so there is plenty of time. I could see if you have off hours, it could be easier.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Few criminals are seen as having made wise decisions.
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True enough, but most crimes involve a tangible payoff. If I steal a car, I make money by selling that stolen car. Here you're describing a plan in which 6 people - the donor and five presumably respectable people commit felonies and risk jail to funnel an extra $6,000 to their favored candidate. I'd think the person suggesting it to me was drunk or high. Risk jail for $100? WTF? You'd have to add 3 zeros before I'd not IMMEDIATELY dismiss it as nuts, and then I'd reject it as nuts after about 3 seconds of consideration, because there are now FIVE (donor and the other 4 straw donors) people who if caught can ruin my life by telling on me as part of their scheme.

And if they're not respectable, and there are enough willing felons to make a real difference in a race costing $5-10 million per candidate, then you've got a few thousand possible whistle blowers out there, or a few thousand with information they can use for extortion, and thousands more approached and who rejected the deal who might turn whistleblower, etc.
 
tres borrachos said:
Since when does "Joe working stiff" not get paid for Christmas?
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Its up to the employer. There is no law that says you have to pay employees holiday pay. That is another reason to get immigrants to replace the American workforce. They expect pay for no work.
 
tres borrachos said:
That's because you work in an industry where your employer is open on Christmas. That is an anomaly, not the norm in this country.
Firefighters, policemen, air travel workers, doctors, etc. are all subject to working on Christmas. So are radio station employees and some gas station attendants and TV station workers.
You do realize, don't you, that the average "Joe working stiff" is not working on Christmas.
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so you just gave us examples of working stiffs that have to work on christmas congrats you just blew your argument up.
so why should federal workers get election day off? there is no point to it.

they already get 10 holiday's per year off.
why do they need another?

if voting is so important they can take off or do one of the various other things that people to so that they can go vote.
there is no need to give them a holiday.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
The bill contains much more than simply adding a new federal holiday.

The far-reaching legislation would also prohibit the purging of voter rolls, require presidential and vice-presidential candidates to release their tax returns, compel states to adopt independent redistricting commissions and create a matching system for small-dollar donations to congressional campaigns, among other changes.
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https://www.vox.com/policy-and-poli...se-democrats-anti-corruption-bill-hr-1-pelosi
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And the problem is what exactly?
 
chuckiechan said:
Its up to the employer. There is no law that says you have to pay employees holiday pay.
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not all businesses recognize federal holidays either.
tons of people work over different holidays of the year.
 
Objective Voice said:
And the problem is what exactly?
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voter roles have to be purged and updated. people move people die. accurate records have to be maintained. also it is outside federal authority as to what states handle their voter roles.
the 2nd is just a nonsense application of making stuff up.

3. the constitution gives the power to the states to draw their district maps. it is up to state courts if the maps are not constitutional or drawn unfairly. it is not a federal issue.
 
ludin said:
so you just gave us examples of working stiffs that have to work on christmas congrats you just blew your argument up.
so why should federal workers get election day off? there is no point to it.

they already get 10 holiday's per year off.
why do they need another?

if voting is so important they can take off or do one of the various other things that people to so that they can go vote.
there is no need to give them a holiday.
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How would you feel if the number of paid holidays was kept the same but traded a different holiday for getting Election Day off?
 
ludin said:
voter roles have to be purged and updated. people move people die. accurate records have to be maintained. also it is outside federal authority as to what states handle their voter roles.
the 2nd is just a nonsense application of making stuff up.

3. the constitution gives the power to the states to draw their district maps. it is up to state courts if the maps are not constitutional or drawn unfairly. it is not a federal issue.
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I was under the impression that voter rolls are constantly being updated as you describe.
 
poweRob said:
So cocaine mitch thinks voting is a Democratic power-grab. :lol:

McConnell says bill that would make Election Day a federal holiday is a ‘power grab’ by Democrats

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that a Democratic bill that would make Election Day a federal holiday is a “power grab,” sparking a fierce backlash online. McConnell was speaking about H.R. 1, legislation that Democrats have made a centerpiece of their agenda since retaking the House earlier this month.

In remarks on the Senate floor, McConnell (R-Ky.) said Democrats “want taxpayers on the hook for generous new benefits for federal bureaucrats and government employees,” including making Election Day a “new paid holiday for government workers.” “So this is the Democrats’ plan to ‘restore democracy,’” McConnell said, describing the legislation as “a political power grab that’s smelling more and more like what it is.”​
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I wouldn't necessarily call it a 'power play' - although it is another example of democrats proposing something they know won't happen in order to pander to a particular groups for votes. More 'sleazy' than power play. With advances in technology and widely available early voting, it's unnecessary.

It is a productivity issue -- we have way too many federal holidays anyway, and we would really loose two working days (many would take off or coast on Monday). Not to mention that a large number of government employees actually manage the process, government facilities are used for voting, etc.
 
JasperL said:
True enough, but most crimes involve a tangible payoff. If I steal a car, I make money by selling that stolen car. Here you're describing a plan in which 6 people - the donor and five presumably respectable people commit felonies and risk jail to funnel an extra $6,000 to their favored candidate. I'd think the person suggesting it to me was drunk or high. Risk jail for $100? WTF? You'd have to add 3 zeros before I'd not IMMEDIATELY dismiss it as nuts, and then I'd reject it as nuts after about 3 seconds of consideration, because there are now FIVE (donor and the other 4 straw donors) people who if caught can ruin my life by telling on me as part of their scheme.

And if they're not respectable, and there are enough willing felons to make a real difference in a race costing $5-10 million per candidate, then you've got a few thousand possible whistle blowers out there, or a few thousand with information they can use for extortion, and thousands more approached and who rejected the deal who might turn whistleblower, etc.
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In the Dinesh D'Souza fiasco who else got jail time? There are loads of folks willing to do far more ridiculous and risky illegal things than sign a campaign donation form for a quick $100 in cash.
 
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