The Usual Gang Of Idiots

So, Chris Christie says all Trump’s whining about how elections are conducted is mostly hurting…Trump. And the GOP.

[Chris Christie] then added, "And, you know, he also the other thing he did is kind of interesting, building off the point you were making, Joe, is that, you know, he says, well, write in votes and these late votes don't go his way. Let me tell you one of the reasons they don't go his way, because back in 2020, when mail-in voting became more broadly available because of Covid, he repeatedly said over and over again to his supporters, don't vote by mail. It's crooked, it's rigged, don't vote by mail. And I can tell you that myself and other people around him kept saying, don't say that. A lot of your voters are seniors who are going to be afraid to go out to the poll because they're afraid to catch Covid. And so if they won't vote by mail because you say it's crooked, and the only people who do vote by mail are people who are voting against you, those numbers are going to be even worse."

Christie further noted Wednesday, "And I think that's a disease that still hasn't been corrected inside the Republican party, that we still get smashed as republicans on mail-in voting in part, and I think large part because Donald Trump conditioned a large section of our voters to think that their votes wouldn't be counted. And so what I would say to him on that front is, doctor, heal thyself. You know, you caused a lot of this problem, and now you're trying to fix it by saying, doubling down on the idea that elections are going to be rigged and rigged, in part because of mail-in voting, which just, you know, doesn't match the facts."

When I hit 65, under Texas law I was automatically eligible for a mail in ballot. Even more conveniently, once I’d signed up for one, I automatically received one for every election.

And then Trump complained, and the Lege heard its master’s voice. Now I have to apply annually for a mail in ballot; so I went back to showing up at the polls. Which has probably lowered voter turnout for the most reliable voting cohort in Texas: old people. Who also reliably vote Republican.

And I’m supposed to be afraid of these idiots? The ones who now think the most pressing needs facing Texas are even lower property taxes (my rates are fixed largely, again, based in my age. My property value has risen steadily over the decades. My property taxes have fallen, mostly for breaks I get for being old. I’m not complaining; I don’t want to be taxed out of my home.) and Sharia law?

Hand to God, that’s what all the Republicans are running on in the primaries. I don’t think that’s the general election issue they think it is. I’m quite sure restricting mail in ballots is not going to help them at all this November.