I don't know about you, but the only revelatory thing to come out of Oprah's interview with Harry and Meghan wasn't the discovery that the royal family has its fair share of racists - DUH! - or that Piers Morgan apparently still thinks he's relevant; it's that Meghan said the quiet part out loud.
She's not alone. Across the pond, the GOP has been saying the quiet part out loud for years. But not until recently have they been quite so transparent about it.
You see, while Americans were having their heartstrings tugged by Oprah, in Iowa, Republican governor Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill that shortens the period of early voting from 29 days down to 20. In 2016, the period was 40 days.
In Georgia, the Republican-led Senate voted 29-20 to end no-excuse absentee voting: a procedure that's been on the books since 2005. Once it passes the House - perhaps as soon as this week - beleaguered governor Brian Kemp will no doubt sign it into law.
In Arizona - AKA, Crazy Town, USA - a bill was introduced that, if passed, would allow the legislature to revoke the Secretary of State's certification of the presidential election results right up until the day before the inauguration. Another bill would require that all mail-in ballots be postmarked no later than the Thursday BEFORE the election, even if they arrive by election day.
Florida is currently considering a ban on drop boxes used for mail-in ballots. How soon before Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin follow suit? Like Meghan Markle, these states, and others like them, are saying the quiet part out loud. Indeed, they are all but admitting that absent these draconian measures, they cannot win a general election.
Marc Elias, in a tweet, called what's happening here "the largest state-level attack on voting rights since the end of Jim Crow," and condemned the "brazen efforts by the GOP to restrict the franchise." Elias has already filed suit to block the Iowa law and has pledged to fight voter suppression laws wherever they may pop up.
While on Rachel Maddow's show last night, he begged America and the media to "pay attention to this." The assault on democracy didn't end on January 6. It's continuing right in front of our very eyes. What these state legislatures are doing may not be as "deadly" or as "violent" as what we saw happen at the Capitol, but "they're every bit as damaging."
In 2020, more than 159 million people voted in what was the safest and most secure election in the nation's history. Every single claim of voter fraud was thoroughly investigated and found to be false. Even Trump's own attorney general refuted his bogus charges. Republicans know full well there was no voter fraud, but they don't care. They are determined to come up with a solution to a problem that doesn't exist because they know what'll happen to them if they don't.
Since 1992, Democrats have won the poplar vote in every presidential election, save for 2004. As the country becomes more and more diverse, i.e., less white, the Republican share of the popular vote will continue to decline. The only way the GOP can survive is by making it difficult for certain demographic groups that tend to lean Democrat to vote; groups like African Americans, Hispanics and young people. Suppress their turnout and Republicans can wield power indefinitely, even while being in the minority.
Listen up, America! This is as serious as it gets. The future of the country is at stake. Republicans are saying the quiet part out loud. And to paraphrase Dylan, you don't need Oprah to know which way the wind blows.
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