Mediaboss Marketing

Wisconsin Republicans enacted a restrictive voter identification lawin May 2011, just months after they took control of both houses of the state legislature and the governorship for the first time in over two decades.

The timing of that law, which made it more difficult for low-income and minority Wisconsinites to cast a vote, was no coincidence.A new study in the journal American Politics Research finds that states are more likely to pass voter ID laws soon after their governments switch to Republican control.

Republicans newly in charge of state legislatures are also more likely to embrace voter ID laws if their states have large black and Latino populations, according to the study from Daniel Biggers, a law professor at the University of California, Riverside, and Michael Hanmer, a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Those lawmakers often contend that stricter voter ID requirements help reduce voter fraud, but in-person voter fraud is exceptionally rare. An analysis of voter fraud from 2000 to 2014, published in The Washington Post, found just 31 credible allegations of voter impersonation. Still,President Donald Trump has claimed, without evidence, that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 election and called for an investigation into voter fraud.

Between Trumps encouragement and Novembers election results, the studys findings would suggest that more voter ID laws are on the horizon. Republicans won majorities in both chambers of the legislatures in Iowa, Kentucky and Minnesota meaning they now have total control in 32 states, an all-time high. Iowa isalready considering a voter ID proposal.

Its not just that you have Republicans in power. Its that you have Republicans who have just come into power, Biggers told The Huffington Post. Theyve just taken over the mechanism necessary to implement these laws and they are more likely to adopt these laws, with one potential motivation being that they want to adopt these laws before they lose the ability to adopt them.

He also noted that passing strict voter ID laws can give Republican legislators, even if its on the margins, a better chance of retaining their offices.

Between 1972 and 2013, the study found, states were 7.9 percent more likely to implement a photo ID law after Republicans took complete control of a state legislature than in periods of steady GOP control, Democratic control or split control of the legislature. After a state switched to a Republican governor, it was 5.4 percent more likely to adopt a photo ID law.

The size of the local minority population also seemed to be a factor in whether a state where Republicans had just taken control of the legislature would adopt a photo ID law: States with higher percentages of African-Americans were 7 percent more likely to pass a law requiring photo ID. States with higher percentages of Latinos were 5.5 percent more likely to do so.

In most cases, Biggers said, the lawmakers appeared to be influenced by the size of both the black and Latino communities.

No matter how you define voter ID laws, very strict voter ID laws, some are more lenient, no matter what time period you look at, its consistently the case that the percent black, the percent Latino in the state is influencing whether or not the states are adopting these things, he said.

The chances of implementing voter ID increased after 2002. In the most recent years covered by the study, states were 23.8 percent more likely to implement a photo ID law after Republicans took control of the state legislature and 19.2 percent more likely after switching to a Republican governor.

Biggers and Hanmer attribute the spike to the passage of the Help America Vote Act in 2002. The federal law requires first-time voters who register by mail to show ID the first time they vote, a change that the researchers suggest awakened Republicans to the possibility of extending voter ID laws to the entire electorate.

How will Trumps first 100 days impact you? Sign up for our weekly newsletter and get breaking updates on Trumps presidency by messaging us here.

View original post here:
States Are More Likely To Pass Voter ID Laws Right After Republicans Take Power, Study Finds - Huffington Post

Huffington Post

As Trump Thunders, GOP Lawmakers Duck and Cover New York Times So when President Trump and his team began their White House tenure with two whoppers, doubling down on false claims about his inauguration crowd and illegal voting in the election, Republicans on Capitol Hill this week assumed their positions. Senator ... Senate Republicans Won't Refute Trump's Lie That Millions Voted IllegallyHuffington Post US--Congress-Alternative FactsYahoo News all 64 news articles »

Read more here:
As Trump Thunders, GOP Lawmakers Duck and Cover - New York Times

Trump and Republicans Strain to Set Agenda Wall Street Journal PHILADELPHIAPresident Donald Trump and congressional Republicans struggled to understand each other at the party's retreat here on Thursday, as they fell short of reaching agreement on complex policy issues involving taxes, trade and other pillars of ...

Read more:
Trump and Republicans Strain to Set Agenda - Wall Street Journal

For the past eight years, Republicans skewered President Obama as an "emperor" who acted outside of his "legal authority" for the executive orders he issued from the Oval Office. Now, they are cheering President Donald Trump as he issues a raft of his own.

Trump has signed a dozen executive orders in his first few days in office, tackling everything from rolling back the Affordable Care Act's mandate to beginning construction on the Southern border wall to freezing federal hiring. Some Republicans cheered him on, while others, charged with overseeing and investigating executive oversight, have remained silent.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, who is now Trump's attorney general nominee, called Obama "emperor" for his use of executive action on immigration. He has not commented on Trump's dozen presidential actions.

House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned Obama's executive orders, calling a handful he issued a year ago aimed at reducing gun violence "a dangerous level of executive overreach." Following Trump's immigration executive order signed Wednesday, he expressed support.

"This is about keeping Americans safe." Ryan said in a statement on Wednesday. "I applaud President Trump for keeping his promise to make this a national priority."

In a Thursday press conference, Ryan argued that Trump's executive orders were different because he agreed with the actions.

"It's quite the opposite. President Obama used his pen and phone to exceed his powers in our perspective. Everything Obama did by executive order, this president can undo," Ryan said, arguing that Trump could also use executive orders to overcome barriers they've encountered in the past when attempting to build a wall on the Southern border.

During Obama's term, the House Judiciary Committee went as far as to form a task force to probe executive authority accusing "presidents of both parties" of "legislating from the Oval Office," but acknowledged its focus was Obama.

Rep. Steve King, who heads up the House Judiciary subcommittee on executive authority, declined through a spokesman to comment on Trump's use of executive order. The ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Steve Cohen said he doubted the committee would act on Trump's executive orders right now.

"They'll probably push it down," Cohen told NBC News. "It will be a test to see if they're consistent with their philosophy."

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said Obama had "exceeded his executive authority" and was acting "without legal authority" in 2014, following Obama's immigration executive orders.

On Wednesday, he released a statement of support after Trump used an executive order to begin constructing a border wall.

"I welcome President Trump's focus on these problems and look forward to reviewing today's executive orders and working with the administration to accomplish our shared goals," he said.

See the article here:
Republicans Alarmed Over Obama's Executive Orders, Cheer Trump's On - NBCNews.com

The overwhelming likelihood is that those Republican legislators with the power to rein in Donald Trumps disrespect for truth and Constitutional rights will not do so.CreditPHOTOGRAPH BY CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY

Appearing on Fox News on Wednesday morning, Karl Rove, the veteran Republican strategist, seemed a bit bemused. We have two Presidencies under way, he said. In one of them, Donald Trump was looking strong and fulfilling his campaign promises, Rove explained. He was referring to a series of executive orders that Trump had issued in policy areas ranging from health care to trade to the environment. While these edicts outraged many liberals and moderates, they were broadly in line with what the new President had pledged to do.

But there is a second President Trump, Rove added, one whogetsinvolved in food fights over how many people showed up at his Inauguration, and whether three to five million people voted illegally in the election . . . The latter President is not helpful for the ultimate success of Donald Trump. His voice rising, Rove went on, There is no evidence whatsoever that three million to five million illegals voted in this election.

Roves exasperation was probably shared by some of Trumps staff.On Tuesday, Trump had seemed ready to move on from his assertion that only massive voter fraud had prevented him from winning the popular vote, in Novembera false claim that has inspired widespread criticism and ridicule. Big day planned on NATIONAL SECURITY tomorrow, Trump tweeted, on Tuesday night. Among many other things, we will build the wall!

On Wednesday, Trump was scheduled to speak at the Department of Homeland Security. His staff had let it be known that he would be signing some fresh executive orders concerning the construction of a border wall and new restrictions on immigration. Because these issues had been central to Trumps campaign platform, it made sense, from the White Houses perspective, to clear the entire day for them.

But, instead of going along with that plan, Trump returned to the subject of voter fraud.In a pair of tweets posted early on Wednesday morning, he promised to launch a major investigation into the issue. The probe would include those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and . . . even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time), Trump wrote. He added, Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures.

Afterward, Rove wasnt the only conservative analyst who sensed danger in Trumps hypersensitivity and his unwillingness to go along with the usual conventions of Presidential marketing. This normally includes a rough adherence to some proximity of the truth and a rigid adherence to the agreed-upon message of the day.Trumps appointments and initial executive orders are winning praise from former conservative critics, while flummoxing the Left, Victor Davis Hanson, a military historian and fellow at the Hoover Institution, wrote Wednesday, for the National Review.But Hanson criticized Trump for getting diverted into periphery issues, saying, Trumps fate is in the hands of Trump alone . . . the only obstacle on the horizon is playing into the hands of those who wish to destroy him.

As it happens, we can be pretty sure that Trumps wont change his ways. His narcissism knows no bounds, and he lives by the principle that he should never back down, even when it is proven that he has spouted outrageous falsehoods. The issue is how much these traits will harm Trump.For those who wish to destroy himincluding Democrats and a diminishing band of Never Trump Republicans, plus anybody who cherishes the values of honesty, inclusiveness, internationalism, and freedom of expression and religionthe problem with Hansons analysis is that they dont actually have the power to bring about such an outcome.

Right now, theonly people with the capacity to stop Trump are Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and their Republican colleagues in Congress. At the minimum, they could refuse to go along with some of his more illiberal proposals; at the maximum, they could theoretically invoke theTwenty-fifth Amendment and deem him unfit for office. The overwhelming likelihood is that they will do neither of these things.

On Tuesday, Ryan did say that he had seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud, but he refused to be drawn out any further. McConnell bowed and scraped to Trump, saying that voter fraud does happen. Other Republicans made similar weaselly statements. And, of course, some of the shock jocks and right-wing outriders who cheered Trump to victory supported his incendiary assertions.

Because G.O.P. legislators in many parts of the country have used similarly dubious allegations to justify voter-suppression efforts, this response shouldnt have been surprising. As Trump has done many times before, he took a bogus issue that Republicans have pursued for years and exploited it for his own purposes.Some Party elders and commentators might have concerns, but thats not because hes undermining a basic institution of democracyits largely because they fear that he will alienate moderate voters. And if Trumps proposed investigation does serve as a pretext for legislation designed to make it harder for minorities, immigrants, and poor people to vote, that will be just fine by the G.O.P.

Aslong as Trump pursues a policyagenda that Republicans support, and which they played a large role in crafting, they will continue to shrug off his nuttier and more despotic tendencies. That is a lesson the past few days should have taught us.

See the original post here:
Why Republicans Won't Break with Trump - The New Yorker