Fact Checkers Deal A Blow To Republican Cabal By Finding Hillary Clinton Speaks The Truth On Voting Rights

Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame, fact-checkers.

In yet another blow to Republicans, their furious scrambling from 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and Secretary Hillary Clinton’s assault on their efforts to disenfranchise American citizens has been called out. They are wrong; Hillary Clinton was right. Ugh, reality, so mean.

Speaking at Texas Southern University on June 4th, 2015, Hillary Clinton charged that you can vote in Texas with a concealed-weapon permit, but not a student ID. Clinton said, “If you want to vote in this state, you can use a concealed-weapon permit as a valid form of identification, but a valid student ID isn’t good enough.”

PolitiFact Texas ruled her statement to be “true” because they found the following work for ID in Texas:

• A Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
• Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS.
• Texas personal identification card issued by DPS.
• Texas concealed handgun license issued by DPS.
• U.S. military identification card containing the person’s photograph.
• U.S. citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph.
• U.S. passport.

So, yes to voting in Texas with a concealed handgun license but no-go for someone presenting a student ID.

PolitiFact’s “true” rating is defined as “The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing.”

This was part of her larger call for something that terrifies Republicans – automatic voter registration. Republicans freaked out about her speech.

Naturally, there was outrage and denial at having their actual laws called out.

The wingnut National Review was outraged, declaring “Hillary Clinton made so many false assertions about voting in the speech she gave at Texas Southern University that it’s hard to know where to start. Contrary to her contention, no “barriers” are being imposed on eligible Americans.”

Much moving of the goal posts followed in order to end on high ground.

Americablog detailed a long list of Republicans outraged by Hillary Clinton calling out their efforts to disenfranchise large segments of the population who tend to vote for the opposition. Republicans pretended that they are making it easier for people to vote, sometimes clinging to the life raft of a law put into place that they opposed, pretending to own it, just to deflect and diffuse the harsh glare of reality steaming at them from Hillary Clinton’s warning shots.

PolitiFact’s Texas office stepped in to address the residual denials after the main PolitiFact found “mostly true” Clinton’s charge that a federal court pointed out that the purpose of these voter ID laws is to discriminate against minorities.

They say “mostly” because the judge did say this, but the ruling is under appeal. This is actually not “mostly true”, it is historically all the way true and it remains true today and there is data to back it up. There is no other reason for a party that can’t win if minorities vote to spend so much money misleadingly selling laws meant to make it harder for minorities to vote. Voter fraud is so rare that it is less likely than being hit by lightening. But whatever.

Now, what kind of patriot would argue against every eligible citizen being not just allowed to vote, but encouraged to vote by a process that was not such a hardship? The same kind of “patriot” who only wants those who agree with them to vote, which is to say, not a patriot at all.

Hillary Clinton scares Republicans. This is not the last time you will see them freak and scatter in reaction to her. This isn’t her first rodeo, Republicans better hang on.