National Public Radio, a reliable mirror of left-wing prejudice, has outdone itself with its latest report on voter ID laws, repeating the outright lie that such laws are aimed at discouraging or preventing black people from voting. Pam Fessler’s story from May 31, “Black Voters Feel Targeted By Election Restrictions,” reports the opposite of what the vast majority of black voters actually feel: that voter ID is both necessary and welcome.
Fessler does not cite numerous opinion polls showing that black Americans, like other Americans, favor voter ID laws to protect the integrity of the ballot. She ignores the fact that black and Hispanic turnout has increased since voter ID laws were passed–even when controlling for Barack Obama’s historic 2008 candidacy. She does not even try to capture the views of ordinary voters in the black community on either side of the issue.
Instead, Fessler quotes black leaders, not voters–including (above) Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) of “Tea Party N-word” infamy. These leaders are no more concerned about voting rights than is Attorney General Eric Holder, whose primary concern is shoring up turnout for Obama’s re-election campaign. That is because voting rights are not threatened in the least by voter ID laws. Fraud, not voter ID, is the only danger.
If, as Fessler and Obama’s machine are to be believed, the lack of ID documents is a serious problem in the black community, then the administration ought to launch an urgent campaign to provide those documents. After all, it is almost impossible to carry out any form of economic activity–whether applying for a job or collecting government benefits–without proper ID. There is no possible reason for inaction (except racism?).
But there is no such campaign, because there is no such problem–certainly not on the scale that Holder, the Democrats, and NPR suggest. The only problem–for Democrats–is that Obama’s core support is depressed, for reasons that have nothing to do with voter ID. As with the Trayvon Martin case, the Obama machine is fomenting outrage while sullying America’s civil rights history. And taxpayer-funded NPR is playing along.