Recently unearthed footage of Rep. Ted Yoho speaking at Berean Baptist Church in Ocala, Florida, during his candidacy for Congress in the 2012 election cycle shows the Republican politician suggesting that only property owners should have the right to vote .
“I’ve had some radical ideas about voting and it’s probably not a good time to tell them, but you used to have to be a property owner to vote,” he said to applause.
He also called early voting through absentee ballots “a travesty” and hailed Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s move — since rescinded — to significantly reduce early voting from 14 days to eight, saying Scott’s plan didn’t go far enough. “I think it needs to be cut less than that,” he said.
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He added: “If we don’t do anything in two and a half years, it’s a scary thought, if you start reading some of the stuff I’ve been reading, you’re like, this is all by designs, it sounds like a conspiracy.”
Yoho had a similar response to the next questioner who inquired about why he is running for Congress: “I fear for the country, two and a half years from now we may not be able to vote.”
[Emphasis added]
34 comments
Finally a Republican actually admits it--these people hate democracy. They wouldn't want an actual dictatorship, but they want to make sure they win under any circumstance, and luckily for them, the best way to do it is to rescind voting rights--make it 21 again (liberal college kids can't vote!), have state houses appoint senators again (Republican-controlled Senate!), voter IDs (make it as hard and irritating as possible for Democrat-voting minorities to vote!), and the best of all, property owners only (only rich whites should vote, preferably men!).
You know Ted, a lot more women, minorities, gays and liberal Democrats own property than you think. Also the definition of property extends beyond land and homes. I may rent, but I pay property tax on my car, and when my apartment building caught fire two years ago, my claim for the clothing and furniture was filed under "property damage". Therefore I feel perfectly justified in calling myself a property owner.
Are you prepared for these kind of arguments and debates? The days of the overpriveleged bullying everyone else are over. You're not going to lose your vote, but you can't oppress the masses anymore either.
While I can understand why some countries, such as Brazil, would want to keep illiterates, perceived as ignorants, from voting, property suffrage is a really bad idea, except if you want to have a large mass of litteraly disenfranchised people whose only means to make their voicr heard is a violent revolution.
“I’ve had some radical ideas about voting and it’s probably not a good time to tell them, but you used to have to be a property owner to vote,”
Not just a property owner, but a white male Christian property owner, right?
“I fear for the country, two and a half years from now we may not be able to vote.”
You're certainly doing your part.
“I fear for the country, two and a half years from now we may not be able to vote.”
If the GOP and yahoos..sorry...Yohos like you have their way and disenfranchise almost everyone but their preferred voters.
Perhaps, if there was some kind of empathy test you had to take for you vote, you wouldn't be able to vote, Yoho.
Ted Yoho, Reince Priebus, Saxby Chambliss?
Even the Republicans' names sound crazy. (My spell check is only recognizing 'Ted' in the above names.)
Anyway, Yoho's projection and hypocrisy is hilarious. 'We want to take away their right to vote, so they must be working to take away ours!'
Oh, so you don't just want to keep things as they have always been, you want to actually reverse 200 years into the past?
YOU fear that YOU won't be able to vote in two years, but you want to stop others from being able to vote, by restricting voting rights to property owners? You haven't thought this thing through, have you...?
So, you're afraid that in two and a half years you won't be allowed to vote, and your solution to this is to take the vote away from other people?
P.S. If his daughter was a prostitute, she'd be a Yoho ho'. Sorry.
“I’ve had some radical ideas about voting and it’s probably not a good time to tell them, but you used to have to be a property owner to vote,”
It's amazing now the Far-Right is so blatantly honest about their goals these days. They used to be super-subtle, speaking in vague dog-whistles and framing things in "Women's Health", "The Children", "National Security", "The Economy", etc.....wearing the mask of sanity & mainstream-ness.
Now, they just come right out and say it!: "We want to ban abortions! We want to ban contraception! We want a theocracy! Brown people are icky! If you're raped, your body has a way to shut that down! Rape is great! Stay in the kitchen! Poor people are moochers! Spiritual Warfare! etc."
I wonder why? Hubris? Stupidity? All I can say is "Hallelujah"! If they were open like that back in the "Regan/Bush Sr. & Jr." days, the NeoCon Revolution wouldn't have lasted five minutes. Maybe these idiots assume it's safe now. I dunno. I'll chalk it up to hubris.
I welcome the slimeballs blatant honesty! DANCE PUPPETS! DANCE! When nasties get careless & blatant, it usually means their days are numbered.
It's one of the most amazingly stupid things I've seen Republicans not only try to sell but get Soooo many people to go "oh ya, that's the answer, to protect our vote we have to make sure LESS PEOPLE GET TO VOTE!"
And their selling it by showing you that some people are being denied the right to vote,,,BY THEM!
Nearly unbelievable bullshit winning.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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