The more Republicans come to realize that they can’t win elections fairly, the more they resort to one of their alternate election strategies.  The first is lying, and that they do in virtually all elections.  The second is cheating, like disenfranchising Black and Hispanic legal voters, guiding people to the wrong precincts, etc.  And more and more often, they steal the election outright.  The following is an extreme example.

Mississippi is the reddest state in the Union, but there are still some Democrats who serve in their state legislature. And until recently, there were enough of those Democrats to stop Republicans from having a supermajority in both branches of their state Legislature.

But not any more. Incumbent Democrat Blaine Eaton ran against Republican Mark Tullos. It was a close race. So close, in fact, that the certified results yielded a tie — each candidate had 4,589 votes.

Under Mississippi law, a tie is broken by drawing straws. Yes, I know. It’s a bizarre way to settle a tie, but there it is. Eaton drew the long straw, and that’s where the story should have ended.

But this is a Republican state, and it’s governed by greedy Republicans. (As an aside, it’s also one of the poorest states in the Union. Is there a correlation there?) They wanted their supermajority, and by God, they were going to get it.

On Tuesday, the Republican majority tossed out five provisional ballots in an election where the counts had already been certified in order to award the seat to Mark Tullos and complete their supermajority… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Crooks and Liars>

Usually Republicans aren’t so blatant about stealing election, but in districts where Republicans control the vote-counting, there is a consistent deviation of 4% to 7% between raw exit polling data and the election result, always in the Republicans’ favor.  In districts where Democrats control the vote-counting the deviation is under 2%, in neither party’s favor.  We need to demand that all electronic voting machines have a paper trail.  Consider this:

Fair Voting Elects Fewer Republicans!

When Bernie used the word “establishment” in reference to Planned Parenthood and HRC, I understood how he meant it. by the context he used.  Since then,. Hillary Clinton and a score of Bernie bashers have ignored the context.  Several spread the word that Bernie lumps these organizations with Wall Street Banksters and Vulture Capitalists.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Tuesday over the decision by progressive groups like Planned Parenthood and the Human Rights Campaign to endorse Clinton.

In an interview on MSNBC on Tuesday night, Sanders responded to a question about Clinton’s endorsements with a broad criticism of the "establishment," explaining, "What we are doing in this campaign — and it just blows my mind every day, because I see it clearly, we’re taking on not only Wall Street and the economic establishment, we’re taking on the political establishment."

"And so I have friends and supporters in the Human Rights Fund, in Planned Parenthood," Sanders continued. "But you know what, Hillary Clinton has been around there for a very, very long time and some of these groups are, in fact, part of the establishment."… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <CNN>

Photo credit: Salon.com

When Bernie separated economic establishment and political establishment, he made it clear that he meant something else.  I understood his frustration that, despite his perfect voting record on both LGBT and women’s reproductive rights, they endorsed Hillary before the primary season even kicked off.  Bernie had thought he had a chance for those endorsements, because they endorsed the upstart, Obama, in 2008.  However, they waited until Obama had a significant lead in delegates to do so.  HRC endorsed him in June, and Planned Parenthood, in August.  For Bernie, I thought “political establishment” implied that they assumed Hillary would win, and supported the established candidate.  I think that implication was correct.  Fortunately, Rachel Maddow, clarified it with Bernie.

Frankly, I think HRC and Planned Parenthood were wrong to endorse Hillary so early in the contest.  They should have waited, like they did in 2008.  However, that does not mean that I will stop supporting their initiatives, and donating to them.  They do too much good work to hold one mistake against them.

Forty three years ago tomorrow, SCOTUS decided Roe v. Wade, affirming a woman’s right to control her own reproductive choices.  Since then Republicans have been negating that right, as much as they can.  SCOTUS devolved into SCROTUS (Republican Constitutional VD).  The Fascist Five Injustices seem determined to eliminate it, piece by piece.  I’s time to fight back against this Republican War on Women.

Friday marks the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. At this point, many Americans may assume that it’s easier than ever to access abortion services — but nothing could be further from the truth.

Legal abortion, proven to be both life-saving and essential to the economic security of women and their families, was a critical step in this nation’s journey toward gender equity. Roe was profound not only because it affirmed women’s basic right to health care and well-being through abortion care, but also because it ushered in medical standards and regulations that ensured women were safe during the procedure.

Expanding access to abortion care also bolstered the success of the then-newly established Title X program, which provides family planning services to low-income and uninsured families. Women gained unprecedented access to more doctors, enjoyed insurance coverage for the full range of comprehensive reproductive health services, and saw the ability to manage their fertility for the first time. This had a ripple effect on their ability to pursue educational and economic opportunities. In short, Roe gave many women control of their destinies.

However, history shows us that women have been denied the full benefits of Roe for decades.

Just seven years after the Supreme Court affirmed a woman’s right to abortion, the justices upheld the Hyde Amendment, a budget rider approved annually to this day that prevents women covered by Medicaid from using their insurance to pay for abortion services. Then, in 1992, the Supreme Court held in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey that a state could restrict an abortion procedure as long as it did not pose an undue burden on women seeking the service. Ever since, states have increasingly sought ways to encroach upon a woman’s ability to access abortion care. More than 200 state-level abortion restrictions have been enacted since 2010 — almost the same number as the total number enacted in the 15 previous years.

And this year, the Supreme Court will hear Whole Women’s Health v. Cole, the most significant women’s health case since Casey. Whole Women’s Health, a Texas-based reproductive health clinic, is challenging a Texas state law passed in 2013 that requires abortion providers to meet expensive and unnecessary regulations — including complying with the standards of ambulatory surgical centers and obtaining admitting privileges from local hospitals.

Whole Women’s Health amplifies how far we have strayed as nation from the promise of Roe, and how much remains at stake. The Supreme Court could affirm Roe in a manner that enables the right to abortion and ensures access for the most vulnerable women in Texas. Or the Court could deliver another ruling that further strips away this precious liberty for far too many women…

Inserted from <Think Progress>

To be clear, I consider abortion  as the very last resort, but I recognize that I have no right to impose my own beliefs on others.  Therefore I fully support women’s right to make their own medical choices.

Contact your Senators and Congress critter.  Sign petitions.  Supporting Planned Parenthood is a good way to prevent abortions by providing education and contraception to women.  Oppose abstinence only education in your schools.    Most of all we needs to keep the white House free from infestation by Republicans until SCROTUS becomes SCOTUS again.  Next we need to put Republicans in every level of government from Senator to dawg catcher into the unemployment line.

Every Republican in office is one Republican too many!

VOTE!