by Bill Rice
Fully agree with Delegate Marcia Price here
I’d add that Chap originally pulled out an often misunderstood Benjamin Franklin quote when he was originally irresponsibly speaking out against reasonable calls for postponing elections for safety reasons.
The quote is “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” This quote was actually more a statement about supporting long-term safety over “temporary Safety.” It was regarding the Penn family’s attempts to evade a tax from the State legislature of Pennsylvania that would go towards frontier defense during the French and Indian War. The Penn family wanted to offer a lump sum instead of having to pay regular taxation to the General Assembly which they were arguing didn’t have the authority to levy such a tax on their property. So Franklin was arguing that the Penn family should pay the tax to help with protecting the general welfare and security of the people of Pennsylvania.
I think a quote from another Founder is more apt here. From Thomas Jefferson, over criticisms over the Louisiana Purchase being unconstitutional:
“A strict observance of the written law is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to the written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the ends to the means.”
The idea that legislators who are legitimately concerned with putting in protections for voters before returning to regular in-person voting are the same as Trump, who desires voter suppression and self-empowerment, is disingenuous and divorced from reality.
The former actions look to assist those most at risk, medically and economically, in our society. People of color, low-income workers, senior citizens, and people with disabilities and chronic medical conditions. While Trump is looking to prevent those individuals from exercising their constitutional rights to vote. To argue that these are the same thing is either an ignorant lack of understanding or a purposeful misrepresentation.
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