Blacks and other minorities, women,the young, liberals, etc., are the heart of the Democratic party.

Of course any voter suppression efforts that disproportionately impact any of those groups are going to have an impact in a close election. That's why they're pushing so hard to suppress the vote of people in groups that traditionally support Democrats.

Why you're seeing this as something somehow nefarious ("it is only with the Black vote that a Democratic candidate can win") on the part of Democrats is beyond me.

Bernie would have trouble in Vermont if any Democratic-leaning voting group there was suppressed, too.

From Berman's piece in MJ that Drum cites:

You can’t say Andrea Anthony didn’t try. A 37-year-old African American woman with an infectious smile, Anthony had voted in every major election since she was 18. On November 8, 2016, she went to the Clinton Rose Senior Center, her polling site on the predominantly black north side of Milwaukee, to cast a ballot for Hillary Clinton. “Voting is important to me because I know I have a little, teeny, tiny voice, but that is a way for it to be heard,” she said. “Even though it’s one vote, I feel it needs to count.”

Listen to this story:

Tell us what you think by emailing talk@motherjones.com. And for more articles read aloud: download the Audm iPhone app.
She’d lost her driver’s license a few days earlier, but she came prepared with an expired Wisconsin state ID and proof of residency. A poll worker confirmed she was registered to vote at her current address. But this was Wisconsin’s first major election that required voters—even those who were already registered—to present a current driver’s license, passport, or state or military ID to cast a ballot. Anthony couldn’t, and so she wasn’t able to vote.

The poll worker gave her a provisional ballot instead. It would be counted only if she went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a new ID and then to the city clerk’s office to confirm her vote, all within 72 hours of Election Day. But Anthony couldn’t take time off from her job as an administrative assistant at a housing management company, and she had five kids and two grandkids to look after. For the first time in her life, her vote wasn’t counted.

[...]

On election night, Anthony was shocked to see Trump carry Wisconsin by nearly 23,000 votes. The state, which ranked second in the nation in voter participation in 2008 and 2012, saw its lowest turnout since 2000. More than half the state’s decline in turnout occurred in Milwaukee, which Clinton carried by a 77-18 margin, but where almost 41,000 fewer people voted in 2016 than in 2012. Turnout fell only slightly in white middle-class areas of the city but plunged in black ones. In Anthony’s old district, where aging houses on quiet tree-lined streets are interspersed with boarded-up buildings and vacant lots, turnout dropped by 23 percent from 2012. This is where Clinton lost the state and, with it, the larger narrative about the election.

It's pretty clear that it was voter suppression that flipped the state. That's why they did it - to flip the state.

Cheers,
Scott.

Post #420,953 by Another Scott 10/20/17 4:19:21 PM 10/20/17 4:19:21 PM Reply	Blacks and other minorities, women,the young, liberals, etc., are the heart of the Democratic party. Of course any voter suppression efforts that disproportionately impact any of those groups are going to have an impact in a close election. That's why they're pushing so hard to suppress the vote of people in groups that traditionally support Democrats. Why you're seeing this as something somehow nefarious ("it is only with the Black vote that a Democratic candidate can win") on the part of Democrats is beyond me. Bernie would have trouble in Vermont if any Democratic-leaning voting group there was suppressed, too. From Berman's piece in MJ that Drum cites: You can’t say Andrea Anthony didn’t try. A 37-year-old African American woman with an infectious smile, Anthony had voted in every major election since she was 18. On November 8, 2016, she went to the Clinton Rose Senior Center, her polling site on the predominantly black north side of Milwaukee, to cast a ballot for Hillary Clinton. “Voting is important to me because I know I have a little, teeny, tiny voice, but that is a way for it to be heard,” she said. “Even though it’s one vote, I feel it needs to count.” Listen to this story: Tell us what you think by emailing talk@motherjones.com. And for more articles read aloud: download the Audm iPhone app. She’d lost her driver’s license a few days earlier, but she came prepared with an expired Wisconsin state ID and proof of residency. A poll worker confirmed she was registered to vote at her current address. But this was Wisconsin’s first major election that required voters—even those who were already registered—to present a current driver’s license, passport, or state or military ID to cast a ballot. Anthony couldn’t, and so she wasn’t able to vote. The poll worker gave her a provisional ballot instead. It would be counted only if she went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a new ID and then to the city clerk’s office to confirm her vote, all within 72 hours of Election Day. But Anthony couldn’t take time off from her job as an administrative assistant at a housing management company, and she had five kids and two grandkids to look after. For the first time in her life, her vote wasn’t counted. [...] On election night, Anthony was shocked to see Trump carry Wisconsin by nearly 23,000 votes. The state, which ranked second in the nation in voter participation in 2008 and 2012, saw its lowest turnout since 2000. More than half the state’s decline in turnout occurred in Milwaukee, which Clinton carried by a 77-18 margin, but where almost 41,000 fewer people voted in 2016 than in 2012. Turnout fell only slightly in white middle-class areas of the city but plunged in black ones. In Anthony’s old district, where aging houses on quiet tree-lined streets are interspersed with boarded-up buildings and vacant lots, turnout dropped by 23 percent from 2012. This is where Clinton lost the state and, with it, the larger narrative about the election. It's pretty clear that it was voter suppression that flipped the state. That's why they did it - to flip the state. Cheers, Scott.
Post #421,001 by mmoffitt 10/23/17 11:34:52 AM 10/23/17 11:34:52 AM Reply	Re: nefarious. I said that if it is true that a Democrat can't win without the Black vote, then that was damning of White people. The biggest difference between Republican voters and Democratic voters is empathy. Democrats have it, Republicans don't. If Democrats can't win without Black votes, then there are more empathy-lacking Whites than there are empathetic Whites. This deficit requires an infusion of 90% of the Black vote to overcome. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #421,002 by drook 10/23/17 11:59:36 AM 10/23/17 11:59:36 AM Reply	When you say it's damning of white people ... ... does that include white people who couldn't bring themselves to vote for a Goldwater Girl? -- Drew
Post #421,003 by mmoffitt 10/23/17 12:59:44 PM 10/23/17 12:59:44 PM Reply	Obviously not. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.

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