I grew up with machine politics. I'm aware of the history. It goes back a lot farther than 50 years.

That doesn't excuse the accusation of felonious behavior in an election that hasn't even taken place yet.

Before you get excited about voter roles, please remember the voters purged from the Florida roles because they were identified as felons, except that they weren't. Examining the voter roles would have been great, if it had been done accurately.

IDs would be OK if they were uniformly required within a state by statute. They aren't. If someone is told he can't vote unless he has his ID with him, even though his state's law says otherwise, that's a good reason to be violently opposed to it: universal application of the law. If Republicans, or anybody else, want to be able to card people, they'll have to make their case in the statehouses first.

The next time you make fun of suspicions about Diebold, remember that you defended making accusations of felonious acts in the future as if they're already true based on past behavior. Recent history, anyone?

It's corrosive and atrocious.

If you or Ed or anyone else here is really concerned that the Democrats are conspiring to commit wholesale voter fraud, get off your butts and volunteer to be a poll-watcher for your party. I've done it. It's not hard, but it's tedious. It will take all day. You'll have to arrange for relief to go to the restroom, and pack a lunch and a dinner to eat in your little chair. Be prepared to take off any and all partisan ID, and to bring something to read that is not about politics to while away the time, because you can't express a political opinion working so close to the polling place. Do it now: you'll need to be trained. Except, possibly, for those living in Florida.