Republican Calls NC Voter ID Bill ‘A Turd’

Congressional candidate Jason Thigpen (R) spoke out against North Carolina’s recently-passed voter ID law. On his Facebook page, Thigpen called the restrictive voter bill “discriminatory” and “a turd.”

“You can paint a turd and sell it as art, but it’s still a turd,” Thigpen said. “This is 2013 and any legislator that puts forth such a discriminatory bill should be laughed out of office.”

“You have those that honestly believe our country would be better off turning back the clock to years ago, also known as the ‘good-old days,’ which weren’t all that good for everyone,” he continued. “After suppressing the right to vote, what’s next? Are these so-called Representatives going to push for preventing our military, veterans, and women from voting?… These policies are archaic and in no way reflect the values of the people in the great State of North Carolina.”

Thigpen’s page states that Thigpen considers himself a “true Republican.” The page also criticizes the Supreme Court’s dissolution of the Voting Rights Act in June, and calls the state of North Carolina “number one… in discrimination of who can vote.”

The North Carolina law, passed on August 13, by Gov. Pat McCrory (R) requires voters to have government-issued photo identification. It shortens the early voting period from 17 to 10 days, and eliminates pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds who will be 18 on Election Day.

Conservatives have succeeded in passing voter suppression bills by creating an unfounded voter fraud panic. Their using the mythical threat of voter fraud as justification to increase regulations on voter identification, the likes of which have not been seen since before the VRA became effective in 1965, have, unfortunately, succeeded in their goal to alienate the young, poor, and elderly – those who are more likely to vote Democratic.

Naturally, Thigpen’s opinion of the NC voter ID bill garnered a wide array of comments, ranging from praise to annoyance that anyone who would call themselves a “true Republican” would not advocate repressive voter ID laws.