Really? BC the closest DMV from my town is Lodi, and I'm in Fort Lee. Please explain how a old lady can get to Lodi without spending any money, because people shouldn't have to spend money to vote.

The Brennan Center has done an exhaustive analysis of the VIRTUALLY NONEXISTENT problem of "voter fraud": http://www.truthaboutfraud.org/

Of more concern are vote purges by Republican governors targeted towards Democratic neighborhoods; electronic voting machines that are easily hacked and vote totals changed by rank amateurs, stiffing minority neighborhoods of voting machines such as happened in Ohio in 2004 so that people are waiting 10 hours to vote.

Why are Republicans so afraid to allow people to vote? Why do they need to resort to bogus purges of the voter rolls and onerous ID requirements? But this is so typical of the Republican mindset; it's Cheney's One Percent Doctrine applied to everything. The Cheney Doctrine applied to Iraq was that if there is a one percent chance that something is true, you proceed as though it is 100%. So this means that in Outer Wingnuttia, it is better to disenfranchise millions of people than to allow ONE person to vote in the wrong precinct. It is better to force tens of thousands of women with life-endangering pregnancies to carry than to risk ONE woman having a "convenience" abortion. Overreaction to nonexistent problems is the right-wing stock in trade.

initially, l was for the voter id law. however, when my 18yr old was unable to obtain an id because no utility bill is in his name..l now have to think twice about that. he had his birth cert, ss card, student id...but was told he could not be given one.

They can get to the DMV? Suppose they don't drive???

I don't drive. I'm taking public transportation to renew my non-driver ID.

Most towns, Fort Lee for sure can and will provide any resident with an ID card

In the last presidential election, over 90 million votes were cast. There were 86 documented cases of voter fraud. Do the math in fact, just to make it easier, round up to 90 cases. That would make it about 1 per million. By the way, do YOU like going to the DMV?

A lot of seniors were born before birth certificates were a normal thing so they can't register to vote thru the DMV.

If the DMV followed the same sorts of procedures that the US Gvmnt applied to seniors w/ no birth certificate who want a passport, that would not be an issue.

B@B, the brennen center is a liberal think tank. It is not credible. It is also not credible to say there is not massive voter fraud. do you think there is social security fraud, medicare fraud, medicaid fraud, unemployment insurance fraud, tax evasion/fraud....what you are saying is Americans rip-off every government program in a massive way but they studiously avoid cheating the voting system..yeah right. Getting an ID is easy and it is not a high bar to say that with all the help governments and charities provide to help those who can't help themselves, that if they can't figure out how to get these people an ID (which they should want anyway), then our system is broken. Maybe we should shift massive billions of dollars of resources from the ridiculous programs to a program to help people getting a legal ID.

@Marty Wilson, the Brennen Center uses publicly available information for their analysis, they are open about their methods, and they are perfectly credible. Feel free to cite another credible study that claims that fraud is massive. Even the RNC's analysis doesn't say that, because they can't.

"do you think there is social security fraud, medicare fraud, medicaid fraud, unemployment insurance fraud, tax evasion/fraud....what you are saying is Americans rip-off every government program in a massive way but they studiously avoid cheating the voting system.."

All those things you list Marty, they have one thing in common. Money. You can make money from all those types of fraud. All but voter fraud.

Say you were a currupt political operative. Sure, you could pay off someone else to vote a certain way, but you would have no way of knowing if the person you paid even cast a vote, much less for your candidate. To do it on a scale large enough to sway an election you would have to pay many, many people bribes, and that means you vastly increase your chances of getting caught. That's why in person voter fraud is just not worth the trouble. You would have to spend vast sums of money, hope that none of your operatives got caught or spilled the beans, and you'd still not have a guarantee that you'd get the outcome you wanted.

Pete, the spoils (i.e. money) you get from winning an election are massive beyond massive. And the power beyond money is even more-so. So, at the bare minimum, we acknowledge there is massive fraud in all government programs outside of the voting system, which is squeaky clean. that doesn't even come close to passing the smell test. And, in order to receive any sort of welfare from the government, you need an ID. Are you saying that the overlap between the people who lack IDs and those who receive Fed and State welfare is zero. In other words, we have millions and millions of people without IDs, who don't receive welfare and tens of millions of people with IDs, who receive welfare but could easily show an ID to vote if they have to. In other words, the 47% Romney refers to (i.e. on welfare)have an ID, but it is some other cohort of Americans who don't have an ID.... who are these self-supporting (i.e no welfare) Americans who run around without IDs? this is comedy...

Marty, your idology is trumping your logic. Yes, lots or power and money for the politician, but the politician is not pulling the lever. There needs to be a direct monetary incentive for THE INDIVIDUAL VOTER to commit fraud. No politician has enough money to pay off enough voters to change an election without a tremendous risk of getting caught, and even then there's no guarantee of the outcome they want. It's just not a cost effective way of chaging the result.

To be successful you need to effect the vote of a much larger scale, like stopping whole voting blocks or groups of people who you know will likely vote in a certain way. Thus voter suppression in the form of ID laws is much more effective.

If the rationale for not demanding photo ID to vote is due to causing hurt to minorities, then I guess we cause hurt to them when they want to:
1. Open a bank account
2. Obtain a library book
3. Claim any kind of Government handout
4. Get cable TV
5. Board a plane
6. Get a marriage license
7. Obtain healthcare

I guess we should just take peoples word for it for all these things because they must be telling the truth, right?

For some of those they can use different kinds of id. Senior Citizens don't really need marriage licenses, or to board planes. Also, they need to show their birth certificate to get id. A lot of old people don't have them anymore, the records are either lost, or they need to pay to get another copy. Since when did we have to pay to vote?

If I dont need an ID to vote since its a right, do I need an ID to buy a gun since that is a right?

Yes, I seem to remember some people voting for council in Paramus or some other North Jersey community even though they did not live there. The Record had the stories and the court cases that resulted. Even though this was not a National Election it shows that some people try to subvert the system. I would support voter ID laws only if the mechanism to get an ID was made so easy that no one could have a good excuse for not having one.

Harlan - maybe we should devote massive resources to help the helpless just get an ID - imagine how much of the world of these poor, helpless people is cut off because they don't have a legal ID. Your comment below is great... Democrats will send trillions of dollars to people without an ID - is it any wonder there is hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud. And why don't they care, I just don't get it.

Yes, Park Ridge....a couple of people were indicted.

What about the votes that were cast illegally and not found due to loose id laws?

People are allowed to vote for any candidate even if they work for him. Your post does not in any way indicate "voter fraud." If the rest of the population of Hoboken hated this guy so much, they should have shown up to vote him out. When in a town as big as Hoboken so few people show up to vote, something is wrong -- but it is not voter fraud.

Oh, you should move here! It all makes perfect sense to you. Perhaps you can explain for the rest of us?

-What do you think the 575 "workers", ie, 46% of the voters, were paid to do? Get one voter each perhaps to create the grand total?

-Did you know that hundreds of these "workers" have a polling place in their building but elected to hand a vote by mail ballot to one of a handful of "couriers" on the ELEC payroll instead?

-Have you ever heard of a campaign in which 46% of the voters are paid to "campaign"? Did you know that Obama would have had to pay 32 million people to work for him to achieve the same result?

Please help us understand. We're quite confused about the whole thing. Especially the attempt to label us all as tea-baggers or whatever by the opposition. I've never voted for a republican in my life.

How would voter id stop that from happening? The id doesn't say if the person was paid to vote.

An ID wouldn't stop people from being paid to vote, Sr. Mays. I just wanted to see how far B@B would run with papering over the scandal that plagues Hoboken through every election with a few well-meaning but completely irrelevant platitudes.

I'm sure that both you and your neighbors would be very happy if you chose to live elsewhere. By the way, how does your mayor's being found guilty of accepting bribes relate to voter fraud. And if Mr. Occhipinti's "workers" were registered to vote in Hoboken and THEY voted how is THAT voter fraud? Do you know how much candidates spend on their campaigns? Isn't THAT just a less direct way of buying votes. By the way the NJ AG is a Republican. What do you think THAT means?

So your parents have driver's licences?

You go pasquale. Mine too

My mother is 85 years old and has just let her drivers license expire because she doesn't see well and no longer drives. She has to rely on others to take a day off work to take her to the DMV to get a new photo ID if she is to vote -- all because Republicans do not want Democrats to vote. Does that sound like America the Free to you?

As visually impaired person, I don't drive. I had to get someone to drive me to DMV to get non-drivers ID. If I had trouble, I could have the Commision for the Blind and Visually Impaired for assistance, but have alway found I more practical to ask a friend or family member for help.

Let's not forget West Virginia and JFK in 60'.

Wow Art, we had someone else mention Tammeny Hall, and now we have JFK in 1960 as your example. Please keeping digging for relevent facts and hopefully you can come up with something a bit more recent.

Pete,
Ok how about the NY 15th Congressional District. Primary 2012.

Bellair - BHO's personally written literary autobiography (yes - written and reviewed by him and changed 30 times) had him born in Kenya from 1992-2003 approximately. people thought he was born in kenya because he thought that would help his career...until it didn't. I'm sure he was born in Hawaii, but he was the original Birther. If you haven't read about in the MSM, google it. it's real.

Marty, stop being stupid. Just trying to help you out here.

Okay Marty, I'm going to stop now. You write well and you seemed intelligent but I didn't realize you were one of the "born in Kenya" folks. Too far gone.

Your comment endorsing the potential use of implanted (or, now, injectable) RFID microchips as a method of universal identification (as well as a way to save $ by eliminating overuse of paper) came as a big surprise given your progressive stance on protection of the environment & climate change. I urge you, and those who favor "chipping citizens" to read more on the topic. I wish those in true power were less successful in painting those who believe there are possible alternate explanations & cloaked motivations for certain political/military/corporate events as a PARANOID CONSPIRACY NUT rather than simply a person who may see deeper & wider than others (yes, NUTS reside in all levels of reporting & analysis). If they weren't so focused on questioning the competency of such skeptics, I might not feel so "twitchy" when I publicly say CHIPPING IS THE BIGGEST THREAT TO YOUR PERSONAL FREEDOM AND RIGHT TO PRIVACY (and that of children you love) that you could imagine. You don't have to believe me - just search out & soak up what reliable websites say about implanted chips and form your own opinion. Accelerated by the planned after effects of 9/11 (i.e. The Patriot Act), we are now living in a "Surveillance Society"; each year brings more eyes & ears online (helped by wireless tech) to track & trend you. Don't believe it? Check into the growing number of local linked "license plate readers" (aka "tag readers") being installed to report your car's daily whereabouts ... stay frosty.

Because it's not really about Voter Fraud, it's about surpressing enough Inner City/Minorities to steal an election.

Right and what I say backed up by the data and the facts is that the claims of voter fraud do not exist, and all of this purity of the voters rolls is a thinly veiled scheme to suppress the general vote and it is not working, in one state after another, and another these schemes are being struck down in the federal courts where the authority to uphold civil rights resides.
It is time for the moderate wing of the GOP to stand up to these extremists and take back the soul of the party of Lincoln.

@chris:
I also stood, along with a whole cadre of other attorneys and law students, outside a poll in Philly to insure there was no disenfranchisement. As we stood, guess who also showed up? A whole posse from the republican party. Do ya think they came to that neighborhood to make sure that every vote was counted and to give the warm and fuzzies?????

Chris' comment about the Black Panthers was removed. Thus, my comment about watching the polls seems out of place.

"Obama administration officials repeatedly denied that politics had anything to do with its Justice Department’s (DOJ) decision to abandon its lawsuit against the Black Panthers, a “civil rights” group that brandished weapons, blocked a polling station and hurled racial insults at voters on Election Day 2008. In fact, at least one Justice Department official swore to it under oath.

But according to evidence uncovered by Judicial Watch this week, this is yet another Obama administration falsehood."

https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/weekly-updates/38-black-panther-scandal-roars-back-life/

20000 suspected fraudulent voters uncovered in Michigan this week alone

Did you keep your receipt? Sounds like you may have been scammed. Is it made of real aluminum?

Imagine that. He should have at least offered you cash for insulting your intellect. It will always be an argument between those who believe in personal responsibility and those who want everyone spoon fed and kept quiet by government from cradle to grave. Our Founding Fathers certainly would be disgusted with ANY American who accepts ANY fraud. Shame on those weak voters. Shame on anyone who claims to have served the people while being paid by the people now willing to fraud the people.

Because its totally worth not allowing hundreds of thousands of people to vote over like 5 cases of voter fraud.

"I have heard ...", famous words on the rumor mill. You want to make millions get IDs because of "I have heard"? Also, how would voter IDs have stopped the sleazy councilman you described?

You forgot open a bank account, buy a car, get insurance, get on a plane, get public assistance, register your kids for school (need some form of proof of residency), use many public facilities open only to town residents, get a parking permit, etc.....

The state should just mandate if you want to vote you must get an ID, cut the cost of getting a non-driver ID to $0 and give everyone a couple years to comply. It shouldn't take longer than a couple years for the folks with no ID to go get one and if they can't get one then perhaps it is b/c they shouldn't be voting in the first place.

Ojo, thats the problem, even if we had voter id, the cost of non-driver id would still be there, because the Republicans don't want poor people to vote. Even the ones who could obtain id usually are not able to obtain it because of the cost. In Texas you need to pay $20 for a copy of your birth certificate so you can get an id. Your last statement is completely wrong. People have been voting without id for more than 200 years, everyone should be able to vote.

It would not change my mind at all. Because you are making the mistake of thinking that having to show a photo ID before voting would solve Hoboken's cronyism problem. It wouldn't. You could have all the photo IDs in the world...do you know what is happening inside the voting machines? No, you don't. You have no assurance other than trust that your vote is being cast the way you made it. The lack of integrity and accountability of the voting machines is a completely separate issues. You have outlined the many REAL problems that happen in Hoboken's elections. The Republican photo ID law would do NOTHING to address them.

Not true B@B at all. You can pretend voter fraud is not a real problem all you want but the simple requirement of having to show a valid ID with your current address and cross checking IDs b/w states to eliminate duplicate registrations would completely eliminate the ability of people to register in multiple states and vote in multiple states. No more voting absentee in 1 state and in person in another. No more homeless people who take a 20 w/ a name written on it voting for that person. No more having people who live in a town say a half hour away from the town they wish to vote in voting in that town they don't reside in. All of these situations have happened, all of them are fraud and all of them are preventable if you had to show an ID when you voted just like you have to show one when doing so many other activities. Stop enabling the cheaters and the cheating & start protecting the sanctity of the 1 person 1 vote basis of our democracy.

Yeah, Ojo, that would be needed if it actually ever happened, but the facts are that it doesn't happen.

And how do you know that voter fraud is a problem? Did you witness it in person? Did someone come up to you and say "Oh hey, I was just looking through the obituary section of the Record and I found this 90 year old guy that just died and I'm going to vote in his place?" I think not, so you don't know if voter fraud exists, you are speculating. The facts are that it doesn't exist, and that Republicans are trying to making it harder for poor people and minorities to express their voice.

It doesn't happen? LMAO

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/09/10/maryland-democrat-exits-congressional-race-due-to-allegations-of-voter-fraud/

And voter id would stop that how? She used her own name in two different states.

If the states were required to check IDs and if they notified each other when someone changed states of residence and got a new license and changed their voter registration, absolutely. Most states do not at all do this.

Ojo Rojo, other than the same garbage about hurting old people and illegals and disabled and people can't get to a center for an ID but they can get to a voting booth, name one good reason why everyone shouldn't prove who they claim they are before deciding who will be the Leader Of The Free World?

Just One Good Reason!

The new laws aren't going to prevent that from happening.

Awesome! This is like one of those goofy emails you get that tell you to pass along to ten people or you will die or something.

WHAT A CROCK!

Adelson is no George Soros

BBR hits it squarely on the mark on this one, what is it about the gop that will not recognize the truth of any matter and feel compelled to defend the bsurdity of the mathematical truth in this example?

Why can't Mitt Romney release his tax returns? Obama released his birth certificate, which I thin was a bad idea, he bowed to the nutjob racists like you who can't believe that a black guy is President.

Not really, we're in favor of not stopping people from voting because people like you assume that voter fraud happens when the statistics are that it doesn't happen. These laws have an ulterior motive. Just ask the Republican Majority Leader in Pennsylvania, he says that voter id is going to "allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania.” These laws have nothing to do with preventing fraud and everything to do with suppress the minority vote.

I want those stats looked at more closely.

The statistics don't say it happens? Yeah, did you ever think the statistics don't say it happens b/c it is illegal to ask for an ID and a person has to be a complete effing moron and incredibly unlucky to get caught?

Laws are usually passed as the result of something that has been proven to happen a lot. Voter fraud has had very few cases. You know, I don't like crying babies in restaurants, maybe they should ban that too.

I'd rather they ban people like you who stick their head in the sand from voting.

Obama released his birth certificate in 2008 before he was even nominated... the birthers juse refused to believe it. Stop spreading internet BS!

M.A.D. the personal insults and name calling really does nothing to further the exchange of views, so please lets debate the issues?
1st on the birther issue? Do you seriously think the FBI would not have charged Obama if he were not born in the US?
2nd. Obama is completely in control, do you for a nano second think the '3 am call did not come in?
3rd gun walking was first begun under Bushco and there is no emperical proof that Holden ever authorized FF in fact we have coe to learn that that idea was cooked at the lower level of law enforcemnet and those individuals have not been held accountable because ISSA is not interested in who really did authorize this.
4th this nations exposure to danger goes way back in history, Dec 7 th being one, 911 the other most recent ones, do you honestly think that on the anniversary of 911 in the year OBL met his fate that there would be no response from those who are intent on killing innocent men women and children and that any sitting POTUS who deliberately ignore these sort of threats?
Suppose you not waste my key strokes with your ridiculous notions?

@Cowboy.
1. Did you miss this part? "I believe Obama was born in Hawaii"
2. Obama was asleep and should have been prepared so that is a non-issue.
3. The name is Holder (Eric Holder) and Bush never tried to cover up a bad plan that got NO ONE KILLED but ended it because it was a bad plan. That's BS and anyone but apparently you can see through it.

You people are frickin determined to back an incompetent idiot in chief at all risk. You claim to be a Marine (which I very seriously doubt) yet you put our military to death by electing a moron like Obama.

I come from a large family of military and they do not brag about it. They are proud to be volunteers and fight for our freedom. Shame on you.

stewart resmer, how do you expect there to be "emperical proof" when the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is blocking the investigation? Hundreds of dead Mexicans and at least one dead Border Patrol agent. Shouldn't our sworn in leader bend over backwards to convict all the criminals involved in this operation?

As for the Bush thing? Give it a rest. It is an old defeated battle. What took place under the Bush administration was a whole other operation and any bone head can research it.

I have seen this subject argued many times and often those supporting the left claim that Obama stepped in for security reasons. Meanwhile the Obama administration is also under investigation for a ton of security leaks. Obama is absolutely incompetent and should be fired like any other failure would be.

BUSH LIED (935) AND PEOPLE DIED! GAFFAW MAD! you crack me up with all yer blustering pomposuty!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyKOkGjodhY&feature=related

If BUSH LIED, then he should be in prison with John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and all your democrat buddies who sent those volunteers to war.

You stewart resmer are a disgrace to this nation.

M.A.: Because no other president has been asked to show his birth certificate, and no one but a bunch of crazies was demanding this. Now why don't you just use the word you really want to use about him and stop hiding.

MA, Kerry, Clinton and all the others only voted for Iraq because they were provided false information by the Bush administration, so stop pushing that same crappy platform.

Actually no, because I still think that they are wrong.

Bull Billy, I have already provided FBI information on voter fraud top you in a previous discussion, which you just dismissed. You are a died in the wool Democrat and you would lie, even to yourself, if it ment Obama gets reelected. You are what is wrong with the US today, you only care about your party and their power.

I believe I replied to that. That voter fraud info didn't specify what kind of voter fraud it was.

Yes, that doesn't specify what kind of fraud it is.

Justia.com Opinion Summary: During the 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election, the Democratic National Committee and others sued the Republican National Committee, and others, alleging that defendants targeted minority voters for intimidation, in violation of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 1971, 1973, and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. RNC allegedly mailed sample ballots to individuals in precincts with a high percentage of minority registered voters and included individuals whose postcards were returned as undeliverable on a list of voters to challenge at the polls and enlisted off-duty officers to intimidate voters by standing at minority precinct polling places, wearing “National Ballot Security Task Force” armbands. Some allegedly wore visible firearms. In 1982, RNC and DNC entered into a consent decree, national in scope, limiting RNC's participation in voter fraud prevention without advance court approval. The decree was modified in 1987 and was the subject of enforcement actions in 2000, 2004, and 2008. The district court denied, in part, a motion to modify or vacate the decree, but made modifications. The Third Circuit affirmed, stating that if RNC does not hope to engage in conduct that would violate the decree, it is puzzling that it would pursue vacatur so vigorously. despite significant modifications.

oh wow opinions subject to censorship and summary dismissal by a 'long time resident' who parrots the party lie of wholesale voter fraud when it is the gop to begin with to this very day who is the subject of a federal decree? Oh my Toto! Oh My! lions and tigers and voter stealing elephants? OH MY! lol

I think someone here needs to have their head checked. Stewart, I am reading all this crap you spew and wonder where the hell is you head? You might want to check your rectum first. I have yet to see you back up your -opinion- with and form of citation.

Is the internet community to base their belief on your whims, imagination and opinion? Dude! Take a breath and do some research.

What? I'm saying that voter id wouldn't protect against that kind of voter fraud.

the system is working fine unless you are a republican

If you believe cheating is acceptable and the best way to win is to cheat, then I am sure you would believe a system that allows cheating is fine. I for one want cheating eliminated. I want only US citizens to vote and only vote in the communities they reside in. I would even go so far as to allow same day registration w/ provisional ballots if voter IDs were required. I want people to vote once and only once. No more being registered in multiple communities b/c voter registration information would be centralized and duplicate registrations purged. I want them to have to prove who they say they are either at the polling place or in order to get an absentee ballot. I want those ballots to be turned in by mail or by the voter themselves instead of by political operatives who may be exchanging currency for ballots filled out in favor of the right candidate and then hand delivering them to the board of elections. I want dead people and non-citizens to be completely disenfranchised. And I find it curious that people who claim they want to protect people's right to vote want none of the things I want.

But I am sure the fraudsters do thank you for protecting their right to disenfranchise all of us who vote honestly.

Ojo: So if the stats hold up and 90 people in the whole country vote improperly, you feel the election is tainted? You would disenfrancise legitimte voters to prevent 90 questionable votes. There is only one reason you would do this: it's the only way your bought and paid for candidate can win.

Yea, Obama's doing a terrific job. Of course one out of five men in this country don't have a job but so what? 5.4 Trillion Dollars of borrowed debt in 3.5 years but who's counting? Gasoline is $4/gal but who uses it? Taxes going up in January after he said wouldn't raise taxes in this economy but who pays taxes? One out of six Americans is on welfare or disability but there's enough to go around.
Yea...he's probably the greatest president ever.

Obama-Biden up 14% in NJ, 11% in Pennsylvania, Romney pulls out of Michigan his home state where no one has ever asked for his birth certificate, and every swing state shows an upward ticj favoring Obama-Biden making it a statistical impossibility for the Tea Party driven agenda to prevail as down ticket races draw scrutiny from pollsters.

In 1980, Reagan looked unelectable. All the way to election day, when a final-week surge led to a 10-point landslide. For weeks before the presidential election, the gurus of public opinion polling were nearly unanimous in their findings. In survey after survey, they agreed that the coming choice between President Jimmy Carter and Challenger Ronald Reagan was "too close to call." A few points at most, they said, separated the two major contenders.

But when the votes were counted, the former California Governor had defeated Carter by a margin of 51% to 41% in the popular vote—a rout for a U.S. presidential race.

This election is going to be history repeating it's self 32 years later. Independent Voters have rejected Obama and will vote for Romney and the democrats will be wondering "How could this happen to us again?" And tthe answer will be because Obama was too radical in his thinking. Thank God for the Independent Voters!!!!

The difference was that Reagan was a normal person that was well-liked and respectable.

How many died under Bush?

Obama 2012 - A vote for sanity and reason

That's because Romney attacked Obama while the situation was still unfolding, and got it all wrong in the process. Obama's summation was perfect... shoot first and then aim.

Well since Obama took office, I lost my job and my home. No mortgage, no property tax, no income tax. Nothing but welfare incoming. I just hope it will last another 4 years as Obama snows America again with "hope" "change" going "forward".

@Chris: Since Obama has been in office, I have a new job making almost 30K more than the last one.

See how the opposite works too?

Sure but I can credit Obama for my situation.

@ Chris: Actually, I CAN credit President Obama for my situation.

Chris, since Obama took office I've had 3 promotions and I went over to another company and now make more than 1.5 times my old salary, and I work on Wall Street, which if you listened to the Republicans, you would think is being heavily legislated.

I am sure the judge has a drivers license and substantially all members of the armed forces either have passports & licenses or can get them. I am not worried.

@ Ojo Rojo: How much does a passport run these days? How much does ID cost these days, even if it's not a d/l? How is requiring government-issued ID NOT the equivalent of a poll tax which was kind of outlawed by the 24th amendment?

Tee - I already said up above I thought they should give out non-driver ID's for free. Free means you don't pay a dime. And if you have need of a passport or a drivers license, you pay the fee and use that instead of the free non-driver ID the state would provide to people who don't need a passport or a drivers license.

@ Ojo: So, who bears the cost of these "free" ID's b/c that train is never late!

I don't have a horrible memory, I was born in 1980.

I wasn't alive when Lincoln became president but I know how to read and I know what happened during that election....reading is educational but it's apparently something you don't like to do.

I read a lot actually. My parents remember Reagan as a guy who supported environmental protection, and generally much more liberal than Mitt Romney.

Utter nonsense. You can't give once concrete example.

And there you have the opinion of an occuturd living in a tent. Always valuable information from these vermin.

All religions are nutty and fake.

And all individuals who use someone elses name Billy Mays and photo on a web blog are nutty and flakes.

And here I was thinking that we could keep a nice conversation going.

Billy Mays said.......All religions are nutty and fake.
4:13 pm on Monday, September 17, 2012
And here I was thinking that we could keep a nice conversation going.

So my non-belief in religion somehow personally insults you? Sorry, I didn't know you were God.

Yes, all religions are insanely nuts, except for one. That one is the right one.
Now then, hmm... how can we go about figuring out which one of the hundreds is the right one? Because surely, after we succeed at figuring that out, we will easily be able to convince all the people who had been following the wrong one that they should now switch to the right one.

This country is supposed to have separation of Church and State. ("In G*d we trust" and "G*d bless America" notwithstanding.) So why does religion even need to enter into political discussions anyway?

I wonder if anyone actually believes that seniors will even be able to get insurance. Remember, insurance companies like to cherry-pick (something they can't do under Obamacare but will be allowed to again when Rmoney repeals it). It would make more sense for them to just set up ethical suicide parlors so we can check out quietly and with some semblance of dignity. But of course that would cut into their so-called "pro-life" cred.

Well if CBS said it, then it must be true. On a related note, FNC said that Obama is a muslim that hates America and MSNBC said Mitt Romney enjoys killing cancer patients. :) In other words, don't believe most of what you read and hear. Educated people know the ideology of both parties. Don't make your decisions based on what the talking heads and biased columnists of the country say or write. It's all just noise.

It doesn't take government officials to manipulate black box voting machines; anyone who knows a halfway-tech-savvy high school kid can do it. I did poll watching a few years ago and stayed around for the closeout of the machine. I asked the poll worker, "How do you know that what is on the tape accurately reflects the buttons people pushed" and of course he could not give an answer. People do not understand just how subject to manipulation their vote is with electronic voting machine. Paper ballots aren't foolproof, but they are at least something tangible. The problem is that public office has become not about public service, but about power -- power to be obtained by any means necessary. By disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters in order to chase down phantom "voter fraud" which may exist, if it does at all, in onesies and twosies, the Republicans have shown that they still believe in Jim Crow and are willing to resort to thuggery to regain power and finish their agenda of dismantling the middle class and turning this country into a plutocracy of the few.

Nancy I don't know what else you call people who buy into the idea that voter fraud is a problem when their real objective is to suppress legal votes because they don't like the outcome in a democracy. I don't know what else you call people that believe this President is foreign born or as Rmoney said has sympathy for people who have killed Americans or as recenty revealed said that 47 percent of the people are "Victims" in their own minds and want free stuff. You could call them far worse names and still be truthfull. Can there be any doubt that when Rmoney says he dosent care about those people that he himself is the real wager of Class Warfare.

Dan, Where are you???? We STILL need you and your democractic ideas in Montville. Come back. We need you to fight the Republs in our town with rich man ideas.

Rosie, Thanks for your vote of confidence. I don't believe that we have a population that would simply support the overall good of the Community anymore. It is all abut special interests and ego and this Township Committee has proven that time and time again. This year because it is Presidential we will have 5000-6000 voters who think they are so important that they only vote for President. They stay home when it is about schools, local government or even Assembly races. They don't care about their community or their schools. They no longer have interest or knowledge of local government. I won two elections in Presidential years but to do that I had to run 1500 votes ahead of the Democratic Presidential Candidate and won those elections by a very close 100 votes. We also have only a handfull of active Democrats and for what ever reason most Democrats also don't get involved. That is a shame. Local Government has a greater effect on our lives than The President. If you are charged too much for water and sewer it isn't the President's fault, If we don't have enough police coverage you can't call the Whitehouse to complain. If they buy over valued land from political supporters or allow zoning changes the benefit Campaign supporters you can't call the department of Homeland Security. The enemy is an uncareing population right here.

Dan I agree with you municipal / town governments do have a greater effect on our daily lives, and I think people should try to be informed and vote in all elections.

First off, it never belonged to you, secondly, no one is giving the country to the Muslims, because it belongs to everyone. Racists like you disgust me.

Billy Mays,

I am so glad to learn that your are not a racist, you only hate religous people.

Billy Mays said......
11:30 am on Monday, September 17, 2012

All religions are nutty and fake.

Who said that I hate religious people? I don't believe in religion, doesn't mean that I hate religious people.

Mr. Brown, take back our country from whom? Or do you mean take it back to at least the early twentieth century? In fact, I just realized you don't know the name of the President of the United States, which suggests that you are not an American citizen, so you may be referring to another country.

The name of the President of the United States is Barack H. Obama.

Its worse than that, he means that he wants to take back "our" country from black people. For some people the Civil War never ended.

Paul, You mean take it back from the your fellow Americans who participated in the last democratic election? I am afraid that you might well be disappointed with the new election in November because I believe he is going to win again. I don't want a President who dismisses the 47 percent of the population that he feels isn't up to his class. I want the President we have that thinks about the needs of all Americans. I don't want a President who has embarrassed himself on the world stage. I don't want a President whose main business experience is destroying American Jobs so that he can enrich his foreign Bank Accounts or one whose wife says "Those People don't need our financial information.". I don't want a President who thinks his sons are serving America by working in his campaign while the 47 percenters he distains are off dying in foreign lands.

I'm going to one-up your vote and vote the same way as Paul.

Clyde, LOL, And I will vote against you and so will my wife. The fact is that NJ's Electoral votes will go to President Obama and all your comments won't matter a bit.

I agree with Dan Grant. My husband and I along with all of my children and spouses will definitely vote for President Obama. He has done as best as he possibly could do with what GWB left him. Romney would have accomplished nothing. He only things of his cronies and rich Repblican friends. Show your taxes, I say to him. Let us know just what you have been keeping from the Government all these past years. We are not interested in the two most recent ones since he had time to rectify his errors. We want to see just what he paid, where his money went for the last ten years. That will tell us all a good story of what this idiot will give to our country if YOU vote him in. Lots of luck with that!!!!

I think that's highly insulting... to the six year olds!

Plus - they lie, lie and lie some more. Is this what we need as a President and VP representing our United States of America? Were we not hated enough around the world with GWB??? You want more???? God help us!!!!

Gramps, I agree with you totally.

And that would be so terrible......why?

REALLY???? I cannot think of one thing that President Obama did that WAS NOT for the middle class or poor of this country. Good luck with what Romney and Ryan will do if they win. Medicare, Social Security, our health plan - I can go on and on - and they will all be gone. Then I want to see how you rich or wannabee rich feel abou President Obama then. Don't come crying to us Democrats. You will deserve it all. The only problem is that we will be in the same boat as you. A sinking ship!!!!!!

The same percentage that we had under Clinton.

I think a consumption tax is the answer. Income taxes leave too many loopholes for the wealthy to abuse.

Good luck getting elected.

So you don't believe that Democrats that support this President can be Americans? You made it an either or sitiuation. Shame on you and why in the world would you file as a Democrat. Something is wrong here.

Great, another reason to vote this year! Memo to self: select all democrats EXCEPT pezzino.

Well there could be two things going on here. He could be a Democrat that doesn't like black people or a Republican.

John Pezzino, you are such a big fool. Thinking that we would vote for a person with your mentality floors me. You are a joke. The funny thing is that you say all this on this website so we all can know exactly what an idiot you are. Get on the Tea Bag or Republican ticket where you belong and let the people of Hopatcong have a choice by having some honest, sincere Democrat to vote for on November 6th.

Perfectly stated. I feel the same way.

Pezzino is bashing others (both running and not running for office) along with the president, and the article on Patch says he supports the mayor and council so maybe Billy Mays missed a third option.

And Romney bashes the 47% of us. His own parents were on welfare. What a hypocrite he is. For example: He and Ann had to eat on an ironing board. His parents were wealthy. So much for caring about your children if this was the case. AND the made up story about a rose a day on her bedstand. First of all, he was never home every day for the 64 years that they were married. And where did he get a rose so early in the morning. Florists around my way open at 9 or 10. Another fish story. Oh, by the way, if you check it out, this story appeared on the internet a few year ago and, guess what, it did not have anything to do with the Romneys. What liars!!!!!!!!!!!

No one thinks that they are entitled, this is a stupid Republican illusion. Most people on welfare aren't on it because they are lazy. Most of them work very hard and the ones that don't are usually mothers with children, who work hard taking care of their kids.

OMG!!!! You MUST be one of the 1% if you think this way. And as for our President being a DOPE, maybe you should look in the mirror. You would definitely see a DOPE!!!!

Billy that's absurd. The people living on welfare are one of two groups - the group who works and is below the poverty line (few) and the group who has lived in section 8 housing for generations & has no intention of leaving (many). If you honestly believe that most people on welfare are working, you need to spend some quality time on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn or the projects in the Bronx. Here's what I've been told by the Police and others who have dealt with both over a long period of time: "If you have to do work in here, make sure it's done between 8am and 2pm. The troublemakers generally get up around 2:30 and you need to be gone in order to be safe." I asked how many trouble makers there are (thinking I could bring a group of construction guys with me and we could outnumber them and be safe). The cop said, "Most of the building. They don't work, they sell drugs or do other criminal activities all night until dawn and then sleep until 2 and start over. That's what this is all about. it'll never change."

Some people are lazy, and some are not. Protect the needy, and get the capable working. Obama is one of the 1%, and so is Romney. You’ve got to change course of thought when something isn’t working for this long…

From our beloved John F. Kennedy, the last strong Democrat. “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

Pezzino is a Repulblican in his heart. Typical liar, cheat and trying to get away with something. Sound familiar????? UMMMMM!!!!! Romney and Ryan for sure.

Rosie you are so right! This is some of the stuff he posted on Patch
http://hopatcong.patch.com/articles/democratic-write-in-candidate-defends-mayor-on-ethics-charges

Rosie it has been proven that Pezzino is a fabricator and he also blames everyone else for everything.

Do your research first, Tammy. Yes, Unemployment income is/was intended as a 6-month maximum way of getting back what you paid in to hold you over, but it was extended up to almost two years. In many cases, people of "getting back" multiple times over what they paid in.

Harlen it isn't a saving account, it is unemployment insurance and like any other insurance some will collect multiples of what they put in and others will not collect anything at all. Just like any other kind of insurance. A premium is taken from paychecks from every working person. Millions of people unlike Romney pay into the system at a greater rate for social security and medicare then he and the people like him pay in income taxes.

Some of us pay that tax and are not entitled to collect the "benefit".

The wealthy "hide money" in tax shelters. Tax shelters are annoying. How much revenue is lost is hard to know. However, I find it disgraceful that people would rather live on welfare or unemployment than work. The wealthy are paying SOME taxes. In fact, Obama's commercial about Romney indicated Romney's paying about 2mil / year in taxes. That's more than I paid. Or you paid. Right?

So let's be serious. The wealthy pay into the system on the employer side taxes (SS, Medicare, Unemployment benefits) and they pay 10-15% of their income in taxes (generally) and hide the rest. That means they're putting money into the system.

Collecting unemployment and welfare means people are putting nothing in right now and taking out.

Who are you mad at again?

@ XJS: 2 million of what, though? Romney pays a 14% tax rate. Dunno about you, but mine is higher.

Yes, my marginal tax rate is higher, over 20%. But I didn't pay $2mil.

I'm guessing most of his "income" is long term capital gains which is taxed at 15%. But I don't know. I didn't see his tax return.

Long term capital gains are taxed at 15%. The money you're investing is money you have earned and paid income tax on. So it's being taxed twice. Hence the term double taxation.

I don't think he had a salary so that's why I believe he has CG tax.

I don't have enough money not to work. So most of my income is from salary. CG are few and far between.

@XJS: That you've not paid 2 million is of no moment. What's equitable?

Equitable? Everyone pays 15% into the system, no deductions or exemptions. The end.

What would you rather be -- someone who didn't lose her job and has enough to live on -- and never "gets to collect" unemployment, or someone who loses her job and "gets to collect" -- but has no idea when she'll be working again. I'll take door #1, Monty.

You clearly don't understand the concept of double taxation if this is your position. Investment income is often times taxed twice b/c it is taxed once at the corporate level and again at the individual level.

Before anyone here believes a word Mr. Grants says, read this link: http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/soussa-v-grant

Ok Edward, that puts me one less suit than Christie who was sued twice for Defamation. Campaigns can get nasty but mine was a settlement with nothing but a statement of a retraction by my campaign. I didn't bother with a lawyer and a settlement just ends the case.

I'd rather we all pay the same rate and we demand the government just spend less so it has to keep that rate as low as possible. That would be true fairness.

Do think she could have cleaned up her life if she wasn't given a helping hand?

I think she shouldn't have gotten pregnant when her life was such as it was. I don't have a problem with short term help, I have a problem with generational "help". She got out of the projects, but did her siblings? I don't believe so.

My point here is that someone in the projects with no real income managed to get a non-DL ID so that she could use it to obtain things (like an apartment) and she could use it to vote. If someone in her position could do it, then ANYONE can do it.

That isn't true. Not every place has the infrastructure NYC has to travel places. In many states the only place to get a photo ID is at a DMV, but because of people wanting small govt DMV offices have closed in many places and those that remain open are only open at short and inconvenient times.

Do you really think anyone has the intention of wanting to pay people not to work for generations? Or do you think we do that in order to help some, like your friend, to make it? But rest assured, if your friend is working she is paying taxes at a higher rate than Mitt Romney does. And if he gets elected he will work to lower his own taxes while increasing hers.

Good lord. She's not paying higher than 15% taxes. She's a secretary with two dependents. I wouldn't be shocked if she qualified for the earned income credit.

Your "Mitt Romney will squeeze you" could be easily replaced with "Obama will squeeze you." Both of them squeeze the middle class. The answer isn't more "fair" income taxes, the answer is a flat tax with no deductions.

Finding the time to get to the DMV to get her non-DL ID for a woman who works full time, has small children & is of meager means is not easy b/c she's in NYC. You're wrong. What it tells me is that a little planning can get almost anything done. People can manage to get cable, can manage to get cell phones and can manage to get their welfare set up. . .they can manage to get an ID. The end.

And the generations of people living in the projects indicates that they have no interest in leaving.

Once Romney amends his return he will have paid less than 11%. Who knows how little he paid when he wasn't running for president.

Yet the real question remains. Why make it more difficult to vote? Why take away the vote of those that have been voting for years because they don't have a photo ID? Their signature hasn't changed. Isn't it more difficult to forge a signature in front of an official than it is to get fake photo ID's beforehand?