Mellow Monday: Today's News for August 7th

News tends to be light on Mondays, and today is no exception...

The Baltimore Sun:

Amid immigration battles, College Park considers giving noncitizens voting rights

Officials in College Park are weighing a plan that would make their city the largest in Maryland to give undocumented immigrants a right to vote in local elections, a long-standing practice elsewhere in the state that has drawn new scrutiny amid the simmering national debate over immigration.

The Prince George’s County city, home of the flagship University of Maryland campus and some 30,000 residents, is considering a measure to let noncitizens cast ballots for mayor and City Council — making it the latest target in a movement that has had more success in Maryland than anywhere else in the United States.

...Supporters of the College Park measure say local elections center on trash collection, snow removal and other municipal services that affect people regardless of their citizenship status. The proposal, like those already approved in other small Maryland cities and towns, would not allow undocumented immigrants to vote for president, senator, congressman or governor.

Hypothetical question: If a fugitive from the law in California was hiding out in College Park, should he be allowed to vote? If your answer is yes, you get credit for ideological consistency, but that is all.

This is an absurd answer to the immigration issue. This is comparable to saying someone who breaks into your home illegally should be allowed to decide what is for dinner.

In other news...

The Virginian-Pilot:

Republican donor from Virginia Beach sues GOP, 

accusing the party of fraud over failed Obamacare repeal

A retired attorney in Virginia Beach is so incensed that Republicans couldn’t repeal the Affordable Care Act that he’s suing to get political donations back, accusing the GOP of fraud and racketeering.

Bob Heghmann, 70, filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court, saying the national and Virginia Republican parties and some GOP leaders raised millions of dollars in campaign funds while knowing they weren’t going to be able to overturn the law also known as Obamacare.

The GOP “has been engaged in a pattern of Racketeering which involves massive fraud perpetrated on Republican voters and contributors as well as some Independents and Democrats,” the suit said. Racketeering, perhaps better known for use in prosecuting organized crime, involves a pattern of illegal behavior by a specific group.

The lawsuit lists as defendants the Republican National Committee and Virginia’s two national GOP committee members, Morton Blackwell and Cynthia Dunbar, as well as the Republican Party of Virginia and state party Chairman John Whitbeck.

While it is every voter's dream to be able to sue politicians for broken campaign promises, this lawsuit at least has a financial factor involved. However, the lawsuit is still frivolous.

Picture McDonald's. No matter where you go to McDonald's, the burgers always taste the same. Now imagine a political party where all the legislators are robots, with all voting exactly the same way. Do you really want the political version of McDonald's running your country? Welcome to Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union.

But back to the Republicans, it should be noted that many Republicans promised to "repeal and replace" Obamacare, which is strictly different than just repeal. Also, most Republicans are in favor of a strict repeal of Obamacare. The problem is it isn't enough to get it passed. The problem isn't with the Republican Party.

The problem is most of the country doesn't want Obamacare strictly repealed. Then again, most people think they are getting something for nothing with their health insurance subsidized by the government. As the old saying goes, "A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury."