Daylin Leach Quote Stirs Up Reddit.com
Users of the social news website gravitated to the suburban Philadelphia state senator's thoughts on voter-identification policies.
"If you have to stop people voting to win elections, your ideas suck."
That's what Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery, Delaware) said Wednesday morning at a news conference about the state's new voter-identification law, Philadelphia Weekly's blog 'PhillyNow' reported. And that's what drew the attention of thousands of Reddit.com users nationwide, when the story was shortly posted on that social news website, headlined with that quote.
More than 1.5 million people read Reddit's politics page, or "subreddit", according to the site's statistics. The story featuring Leach become popular enough to at one point reach the page's top spot.
Reddit users click 'up' and 'down' arrows on posts they like or dislike, and the running vote totals are used to automatically organize page hierarchy. As of Thursday night, the Leach story had gotten 8,130 upvotes, 5,847 downvotes and 1,487 comments.
All of that was foreign to Leach when his staff told him how much traction the story had gained on the site. The state senator was not very familiar with Reddit, he told Patch in a phone interview Thursday.
"I've gotten a few emails from people saying, 'Congratulations for being on Reddit,'" Leach said, joking, "I don't know why I'm being congratulated ... it's my understanding I haven't won anything."
Unsurprisingly, the maelstrom of political opinion resulting from Thursday's Supreme Court ruling on national health care pushed the Leach story rather far down the page at Reddit Politics. Still, the senator said, he's glad for the voter-ID debate to get national exposure.
"It certainly started a good discussion," Leach said. Voter-identification policy, he added, "is not just a Pennsylvania issue."
The senator and his staff are looking into the possibility of conducting a live Q&A with Reddit users, he said.
Doug Hunt
8:14 am on Friday, June 29, 2012
Well said! A privilege to have met you!
Bob Guzzardi
9:44 am on Friday, June 29, 2012
Voter ID is the law of Pennsylvania. If Daylin Leach were not a self-aggrandizing, self-promoting , he would be helping ALL his constituents appropriate picture ID. Demagoguing Voter ID does not help anyone who needs help in getting Voter ID.
Matthew Stone
2:55 am on Saturday, June 30, 2012
That doesn't mean he can't rightfully call the laws out as BS.
Adrian Seltzer
4:19 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
He is helping. If a law requires me, as majority inspector, to not allow a legally registered voter to vote, how can I follow it. I should say to myself, I was just following orders? Do I set myself up for a $10,000 fine and a year in prison? And casting a provisional ballot that will not be counted, is the same thing as not being allowed to vote, it just is more confusing and takes a lot longer.
Mike
3:53 pm on Friday, June 29, 2012
Ask the people of Plymouth if Sen. Leach's ideas on grants suck?
Selma Davis
4:30 pm on Friday, June 29, 2012
The Republicans must think that the only way they can win an election is to steal it by denying the vote to eligible voters. Vote for the Democrats.
John Sailor
9:49 am on Saturday, June 30, 2012
very true, they were caught on camera stating that the PA voter id law was a ploy to get mitt elected
John Sailor
9:48 am on Saturday, June 30, 2012
PA repugs got caught on camera saying that this voter id law will help get mittens into the white house
gerhard sweetman
1:07 pm on Saturday, June 30, 2012
Renters apartments searched/inspected by code enforcements yearly. 4th admendment rights dead! Police,govt,media coverups. Help us,David, you are NEXT!
DONT SAY CRIMINAL/CIVIL RIGHTS NONE OF YOUR VENUE, DO SOMETHING, HITLER WON BY SILENCE
John Barry
12:38 am on Sunday, July 1, 2012
I don't know if they suck but perhaps they are a bit partisan.
Silent To Dogood
10:58 pm on Saturday, July 7, 2012
Daylin Leach is a leader for our district. Look at all the funding he has brought to our area. Look at the legislation he has introduced to better our state. It is apparent Daylin is the only politician to be precluded from "sucking".
LM Dem
11:16 am on Sunday, July 29, 2012
Your kidding right? "look at all the funding he has brought to our area"? Part of hIs job is the allocation of your tax dollars ! What do you think they do with your money, vote themselves pay raises? Secure their medical benefits for life? Pensions and perks because they "Serve" the people. A leader? Yes he has introduced legislation ... that is his job! But after all these years how much of it has actually passed...? He is ineffective, because the rest of Harrisburg sees as a crude, creepy idiot that they point to to make themselves look like well balance people. He is a patsy in the capital that will bend over backwards to get re-elected, at which point you better be ready to bend over, again..
gerhard sweetman
11:26 am on Sunday, July 29, 2012
In India voter/all id is fingerprint. National computer database possible. We stupid