After fumbling on the previous Pennsylvania Voter ID AD, which to say the least was little more than a donation to a consulting firm stocked with GOP Staffers, the Corbett Administration is spending valuable Commonwealth resources on a new AD, valuable resources which would be better spent on education. However, the Republicans have to work extra hard to spin the bill that, according to Majority Leader Turzai, will “allow Mitt Romney to win Pennsylvania“

This time the Corbett Administration decides to level the charge that you are unpatriotic if you can’t furnish one of the Voter ID Bills approved ID’s:

“If you love your country, it’s time to show it (stated by a women holding a state ID) (http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/voter_id_patriotic_ad.php?m=1)”

Kevin Deely, a Democratic hopeful for State House in the 131st, told ProgressMo Shuffle that the commercial:

“…pours salt in the wound and is a slap in the face to every voter, especially our seniors and the disabled, who have to jump through enough hoops already on a daily basis.”

Comparing a Photo ID to loving ones country is quite a stretch for an administration that is working extra hard to hold true to Gov. Corbett’s desire to keep the vote down in Philadelphia. During a 2010 speech at a gathering outside Philadelphia the Governor stated. (Video of Speech)

Will Dunbar, Democratic Candidate in the 177th and vocal critic of the voter suppression attempts of the Pennsylvania GOP told ProgressMo Shuffle that love of country is not an excuse to place obstacles in the way of voters:

“Once again the Republicans have found a way to spin the voter suppression bill. This Voter ID Bill negatively affects seniors, minorities and students. Hopefully our Supreme Court Justices will see it that way on September 13th.”

I for one do not have an issue with the idea of a photo ID to vote. I actually have found myself in agreement with an argument laid out by Norman Ornstein of the Conservative American Enterprise Institute in his call for a Voters Right Act of 2012. This act would require documentation used for obtaining identification for voting free, requiring a separate federal ballot, changing election day to the weekend and other common sense reforms to how we access the polls in the United States (Read the Full Article)

As stated by Ryan J. Reilly of Talking Points Memo, The Pennsylvania Voter ID Bill, which could affect:

“More than 1.6 million Pennsylvania voters….including more than 1,000 voters who are in the state’s “Voter Hall of Fame” because they voted in 50 consecutive elections. (http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/voter_id_patriotic_ad.php?m=1)”

is not about a Photo ID. It is about a party and ideology beholden to Anti-Tax Pledges, Corporate Welfare and fear.

Not a fear of voter fraud that was so nonexistent that Governor Corbett didn’t prosecute one case while Attorney General of Pennsylvania. Instead a fear of an ever-changing demographic that is tired of a never changing ideology. A demographic that is growing tired of those who are quick to shout “USA” and “God Bless America” while attacking truths we all hold self-evident.