Here is a bit of light in the political darkness that hovers over American politics today.
The state of Oregon has enacted a new law that automatically registers people to vote when they obtain or renew a driver’s license or state identification card.
Nothing changes for people who are already registered to vote. Anyone can opt out of being registered by notifying the state they do not want to be, and obviously no one who is registered has to vote.
What a refreshing approach to encouraging more people to vote. Instead of making it more difficult to register like 19 other states have done in the last two years, Oregon decided to make it easier.
Yet not a single Republican voted for the new law. Several cited personal security concerns and the worry that the new system will put victims of sexual assault and stalking at risk.
I think I’ve heard everything now. Makes you wonder what in the world has happened to the Republican Party.
There was a time when both major political parties were led by reasonable people, people who understood that politics really is “the art of the possible.” They represented their constituents by doing the best they could to achieve goals consistent with their beliefs, all the while recognizing that rigid ideology is an enemy of democracy, not its guardian.
But things have changed. Republican in Congress and across the country are dominated by ideologues who don’t believe in governing. They want to rule.
For them gridlock is just another name for a political tool to use to achieve domination.
That is why they want to keep certain groups of people from voting. They know most Americans are reasonable and believe in compromising to accomplish the greater good. Voting restrictions are a way to neutralize reasonableness.
It makes no sense, of course, but having good sense is not a virtue in the eyes of ideologues. The only thing that matters to them is winning.
Oregon’s new voter registration law stands in marked contrast to that way of thinking. It shows what can be accomplished when reason guides people who are trying to do what is right.
I imagine this law put a smile on the face of Rep. John Lewis and everyone who walked with him on that Selma bridge 50 years ago. It stands as the lengthened shadow of the moral courage they showed.
One might hope the Republicans who voted against it might one day have the same kind of moral courage, but I’m not holding my breath.
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