GOP Lawmaker: ‘Lazy’ People Should Not Vote

Posted on Sep 20, 2012

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Rep. Daryl Metcalfe

The sponsor of a strict voter ID law in Pennsylvania that will disproportionately disenfranchise poor and minority voters is now saying the law will affect only the “lazy.” In a radio interview on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a Republican, cited as an example the people in this country Mitt Romney was heard talking about in the leaked fundraiser video.

Romney can be overheard saying in the footage that 47 percent of the American electorate does not “take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

Here’s what Metcalfe said:

I don’t believe any legitimate voter that actually wants to exercise that right and takes on the according responsiblity that goes with that right to secure their photo ID will be disenfranchised. As Mitt Romney said, 47% of the people that are living off the public dole, living off their neighbors’ hard work, and we have a lot of people out there that are too lazy to get up and get out there and get the ID they need. If individuals are too lazy, the state can’t fix that.

So what Metcalfe is really saying is that those people—who, by Romney’s own admission won’t vote for him (and if they were, most likely they will not be doing so now)—just should not vote, period. In fact, fellow Rep. Mike Turzai, the top Republican in Pennsylvania, said forcing all voters to show a photo ID at the polls would “allow Governor Romney to win” the state. Sensing defeat, the GOP—the party that allegedly (in the face of evidence to the contrary) champions personal liberties—has clearly come to the realization that the only path to victory in November is to strip eligible voters of their right to vote.

Voter ID is a particularly big issue in Pennsylvania, where roughly 750,000 voters will be unable to cast their ballots if the initiative is passed. The law is currently being reconsidered by a lower court.

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