Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.
Even among the Texas GOP's beyond-flimsy justifications for filing a raft of new voter-suppression bills, freshman State Rep. Carrie Isaac's is a standout for its absurdity.
The Wimberley Republican last month filed a proposal seeking to ban counties from locating polling locations on college campuses. Her justification? Campus safety. Indeed, she also said she wants ban polling places from K-12 schools.
"I don't think it's wise we're inviting people to come on to our school campuses that would otherwise not have any business there," Isaac said. "So, I believe that we should do anything and everything possible just to make sure that our campuses are as safe as possible."
Never mind, of course, that college students tend to skew Democrat, and that Isaac's proposal dovetails with other GOP measures that are engineered to steer folks who tend not to vote Republican — people of color, poor people and people with disabilities — away from the polls.
Never mind that college campuses regularly host sporting events, concerts, lectures and other gatherings that draw far larger — and harder to monitor — crowds than those that typically show up at voting centers.
Also never mind that Isaac's campaign website puts her pledge to "preserve the Second Amendment" front and center while including endorsements from Gun Owners of America and the Texas Gun Rights Political Action Committee. Such credentials suggest school safety isn't something the state rep would normally give a wet shit about.
When public radio program the Texas Standard queried Isaac about the difficulties her proposal would present to college students, many of whom don't have cars or much time between classes to cast ballots, she replied with trite platitudes about America's college students being smart enough to figure it out.
"I have the utmost confidence in our young adults to be able to vote no matter where the polling location is," Isaac said.
In a sane world, Isaac's anti-democratic efforts would ensure that she remains a one-term member of the House. But the political reality is that she's the kind of autocratic assclown with a bright future ahead in the Texas GOP.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
