Who stood up for you, who stood up for the corporations

There has been a lot written about the Monsanto Protection Act, that was slipped into Farm Bill in a house committee before passage.  If you don't know much about it, you can read about it here, here, and here.  Opposition has appeared from both the left and the right on this one, but that has not stopped Republicans from lining up to support it.

When Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced an amendment to strip that from the bill in the Senate, it was blocked by Ayotte (R-NH), Burr (R-NC), Coburn (R-OK), Crapo (R-ID), Cruz (R-TX), Enzi (R-WY), Fischer (R-NE), Graham (R-SC), Grassley (R-IA), Heller (R-NV), Inhofe (R-OK), Johnson (R-WI), Kirk (R-IL), Lee (R-UT), McCain (R-AZ), Paul (R-KY), Portman (R-OH), Risch (R-ID), Roberts (R-KS), Rubio (R-FL), Scott (R-SC), Tester (D-MT), Toomey (R-PA), Vitter (R-LA), Flake (R-AZ),and Moran (R-KS).  Yes, there was one Democrat on the list too.

There was another attempt to amend the bill, one that would have allowed individual states to have GMO labeling requirements.  This amendment (refer to SEC. 12213 on this page) would protect states from being sued for enacting DMO labeling laws.  The amendment was resoundingly defeated, and the opposition included a number of surprising names.

Voting against were Alexander (R-TN), Ayotte (R-NH), Baldwin (D-WI), Barrasso (R-WY), Baucus (D-MT), Blunt (R-MO), Boozman (R-AR), Brown (D-OH), Burr (R-NC), Carper (D-DE), Casey (D-PA), Chambliss (R-GA), Coats (R-IN), Coburn (R-OK), Cochran (R-MS), Collins (R-ME), Coons (D-DE), Corker (R-TN), Cornyn (R-TX), Cowan (D-MA), Crapo (R-ID), Cruz (R-TX), Donnelly (D-IN), Durbin (D-IL), Enzi (R-WY), Fischer (R-NE), Franken (D-MN), Gillibrand (D-NY), Graham (R-SC), Grassley (R-IA), Hagan (D-NC), Harkin (D-IA), Hatch (R-UT), Heitkamp (D-ND), Heller (R-NV), Hoeven (R-ND), Inhofe (R-OK), Isakson (R-GA), Johanns (R-NE), Johnson (D-SD), Johnson (R-WI), Kaine (D-VA), Kirk (R-IL), Klobuchar (D-MN), Landrieu (D-LA), Lee (R-UT), Levin (D-MI), McCain (R-AZ), McCaskill (D-MO), McConnell (R-KY), Menendez (D-NJ), Moran (R-KS), Nelson (D-FL), Paul (R-KY), Portman (R-OH), Pryor (D-AR), Risch (R-ID), Roberts (R-KS), Rubio (R-FL), Scott (R-SC), Sessions (R-AL), Shaheen (D-NH), Shelby (R-AL), Stabenow (D-MI), Thune (R-SD), Toomey (R-PA), Udall (D-CO), Vitter (R-LA), Warner (D-VA), Warren (D-MA), Wicker (R-MS).

Now the bill has not yet cleared the Senate, it will be taken up again after the June recess.  You know who they are now, time to hold their feet to the fire.
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Do as I say, not as I do

Well they Iowa caucuses have come and gone and we have learned two very important things about the Republican party.   One is that they do understand how a democracy is supposed to work, as the recent caucuses were a fine example of an open, fair, transparent electoral process.   The other is that while they understand that, they do not believe that is the way that America should be run.  The spate of laws being rammed through be Republican controlled states are the complete antithesis of the way they behave when only fellow Republican are present.

How were the Iowa caucuses run? 

• You could register on the same day. 
• No picture ID was required to participate.  They wanted all Republicans, even the elderly that do not drive and for whom getting a state sponsored ID would be a burden.
• Paper ballots were used so there is a verifiable record of each vote cast.
• The votes were counted, in public, at the polling place.
• The results were announced at each polling place, so that it would be possible to compare the individual precinct number with those published at the state level.

The is the way a democracy is supposed to work.

Contrast this with the laws they have been passing for the rest of us.

• Restricting mail-ins ballots
• Doing away with instant registration
• Requiring a picture ID to register or to vote
• And the ever popular electronic voting machine, which leaves no paper trail so there is no way to detect tampering.  (OK, both sides of the isle are guilty of this one, but so far only the right side has done any tampering)

You see, if it is just them, they want everyone to vote and they want to be sure that the voting is fair.  But if you mix in any opposition, then all of a sudden they are concerned with non-existent voter fraud.  It is plain that their goal is voter suppression, they just proved it.