Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell was the keynote speaker at a CEO forum in North Carolina, and had some pointed comments to make about that state's "worst voter suppression law" in the nation. Speaking in Raleigh, Colin Powell blasts North Carolina voting law:
Moments after Gov. Pat McCrory left the stage, former Secretary of
State Colin Powell took aim at North Carolina's new voting law Thursday,
saying it hurts the Republican Party, punishes minority voters and
makes it more difficult for everyone to vote.
"I want to see policies that encourage every American to vote, not
make it more difficult to vote," said Powell, a Republican, at the CEO
Forum in Raleigh.
"It immediately turns off a voting block the Republican Party needs,"
Powell continued. "These kinds of actions do not build on the base. It
just turns people away."
In one comment, he seemed to rebuke McCrory for suggesting that voter
fraud likely exists but is hard to detect. The governor had compared it
to insider trading.
"You can say what you like, but there is no voter fraud," Powell said. "How can it be widespread and undetected?"
Powell, who served under President George W. Bush, also said the new
sends the wrong message to minority voters. "What it really says to the
minority voters is … 'We really are sort-of punishing you,'" he said.
Of course, members of the Old White People Party will simply dismiss Colin Powell's comments because he is African-American.