[EL] Vote fraud -- evidence vs. belief

[Joe La Rue]

Jim,

Your characterization of people like me is offensive. I (and most of my
fellow conservatives) understand that there are those who deeply hold
politically liberal views and vote accordingly. We are not so stupid as to
think that nobody could possibly vote for a liberal politcian, or liberal
policies. For you to suggesting otherwise, and say the problem is
"cultural," sounds suspiciously like President Obama's elitist declaration
that we on the right live in fear of modernity, clinging to our guns and
our religion. It seems that it is YOU who are not willing to take my side
seriously, and not the other way around. The reality is that, for most of
us who support photo ID voter laws, whether voter fraud has yet occurred in
large numbers is immaterial. The fact is, under current laws, it *can *occur
in large numbers. We want to eliminate that possibility and make it as sure
as possible that only Americans vote in our elections. We are not trying to
keep citizens from voting (as is frequently alleged). We are trying to make
sure that *only *citizens vote. I would think that would be a goal that all
Americans, whether they are liberal or conservative, could -- and would --
support. Unfortunately, I am obviously wrong.

AS AN ASIDE, I am glad to hear that PA is addressing the problem of the few
Mrs. Lees out there (as reported in an earlier post).

Joe
___________________
*Joseph E. La Rue*
cell: 480.272.2715
email: joseph.e.larue at gmail.com


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On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Jim Gardner <jgard at buffalo.edu> wrote:

>   The lack of evidence to support charges of vote fraud raises a more
> interesting and profound question: Why do people continue to believe in
> it?  The answer, it seems to me, has nothing to do with evidence – so
> arguing about the evidence is probably a waste of time – and a lot to do
> with culture, specifically the culture of contemporary politics.
>
> I think the problem here is that many on the right have managed to
> convince themselves that it is impossible – literally impossible – for
> people in any kind of numbers to support liberal policies.  Since people
> can’t possibly support such policies, they can’t possibly vote for liberal
> candidates.  Consequently, if liberal candidates win, it can only be the
> result of fraud because nobody could actually vote for such people.
>
> This problem is cultural.  It reveals a very sad fact about our current
> politics, namely that the views, beliefs, and experiences of other human
> beings are so completely dismissed and devalued in some quarters that many
> find it impossible to take seriously the possibility that their fellow
> citizens could actually hold certain views (much less actually take those
> views seriously or engage with them on the merits).
>
> I hasten to add that the political valence does not always run in the same
> direction.  For example, the “What’s the Matter with Kansas” analysis holds
> that working class voters couldn’t possibly support candidates who support
> policies that disadvantage them economically, although proponents of this
> view explain it by brainwashing rather than vote fraud.  But this
> explanation doesn’t take seriously the possibility that social and
> symbolically resonant issues could actually be more important than economic
> ones to some segments of the population.
>
> Until we start taking each other seriously as political agents, we’re not
> going to extract ourselves from the current impasse.
>
> Jim
>
> ________________________________
> James A. Gardner
> Joseph W. Belluck and Laura L. Aswad
>   SUNY Distinguished Professor of Civil Justice
> SUNY Buffalo Law School
> The State University of New York
> Room 316, O'Brian Hall
> Buffalo, NY 14260-1100
> voice: 716-645-3607
> fax: 716-645-5968
> e-mail: jgard at buffalo.edu
> www.law.buffalo.edu
> Papers at http://ssrn.com/author=40126
>
>
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