If there's any suspicion the right wing media are talking ciphers connected to the Republican Party's brain, Fox host Steve Doocy didn't do much to disprove it yesterday.
After Hillary Clinton pointedly criticized Republicans this week for making it harder for Americans to vote, The Fox & Friends co-host responded by saying, "But what's interesting is, remember she was the U.S. senator from the state of New York which is a Democrat state. And yet New York does not allow early voting while dozens of Republican-led states do. So, I mean if she's going to be talking about voting, how about early voting in New York, Madam Secretary," Media Matters reported.
Doocy's comments nearly mirror those of the RNC's black media liaison Orlando Watson, who also said yesterday, ""shameless attacks ignore the fact her Democrat-led home state of New York does not allow early voting while dozens of Republican-led states do," according to Media Matters. Doocy did not disclose his source.
But reporting by the New York Times contradicts the Republican assertion that Clinton and the Democrats are the ones blocking early voting, a measure which would increase voter turnout.
Democratic lawmakers "voted this week to give voters as many as 15 days and two weekends before Election Day to cast their ballots in person. The bill would require multiple voting sites in each county. This would reduce long lines, especially in the cities, on Election Day," the Times reported in 2013.
This was shot down because "All but one Republican voted no," according to the Times.
Clinton's sharp commentary was directed at potential presidential rivals from the GOP, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Chris Christie and Rick Perry, for Republican-led curbs on voting accessibility, including early voting limitations and voter ID requirements. Such laws have been termed "voter suppression" by many including the ACLU.
"Today Republicans are systematically and deliberately trying to stop millions of American citizens from voting," she said, according to the Associated Press. "What part of democracy are they afraid of? I believe every citizen has the right to vote and I believe we should do everything we can to make it easier for every citizen to vote."
She called for drastic changes that would result in increased voter access, the Washington Post reported.
Last year, Media Matters notes that the right wing media denied claims that limiting voter access was discriminatory, but that "qualified voters are already being turned away from the polls or purged from the rolls in states that have enacted these new Republican-pushed measures, despite right-wing media's promises that such laws would have no negative effect."
