Voter Fraud.
If there is one refrain in the political sphere that drives me up a wall, it is "Get Over it!" This, of course has been the Republican response to charges of widespread voter fraud in both the 2000 and 2004 elections. What bothers me most about this sentiment is that the GOP has incorporated the protection of our "freedoms" into their rhetoric for justifying just about every agenda they have had since 2001. I'd like to know what exactly they consider to be our "freedoms", other than the right of wealthy people to avoid paying taxes. Open participation in a "representative democracy" certainly does not seem to be among their priorities.
Recently there has been a rash of stories about specific incidents of election irregularities. Conservative extremist and harpy Ann Coulter has once again distinguished herself in the nation's media. There are reports that the loathsome pundit has refused to cooperate with an investigation into her personal voter misconduct in a 2006 election. Apparently she voted in a precinct in Florida in which she didn't even live. When Palm Beach County officials sent an inquiry to the address that she registered under, the correspondence went ignored. The reason for this was because it was actually the residence of her real estate agent. Her attorney himself has noted that Coulter doesn't even live in Florida (and she has told FOX News' Alan Colmes that she lives in New York). The positive side is that if Coulter is convicted of the charges levied against her, she could face a fine or prison term (fat chance of that happening). Ironically her right to vote would be rescinded in Florida once she is a convicted felon.
But Coulter's misdeed are relatively minor compared with the horror stories I heard today on NPR. While the Republicans are busy spouting rhetoric about voter fraud (see this detailed expose on the rightwing American Center for Voter Rights scam), house Democrats are proposing legislation to insure that this misbehavior is addressed. They are trying to make it a federal crime to intentionally deceive voters to stop them from casting a ballot. This is a long time coming. I would be shocked that the issue wasn't confronted previously had it not been for the fact that the Republicans controlled all three branches of government until this past January.
-Milwaukee voters (principally Democratic-voting African-Americans) were recipients of a flier put out by the "Milwaukee Black Voters League" (which evidently didn't even exist) informing them that they would face imprisonment if they tried to vote having been convicted of any crime- including traffic violations!
-In Pennsylvania a flier (printed on government letterhead stationary) warned that voter turnout was expected to be so high that authorities were asking registered Republicans to vote on Tuesday (the actual day of the election), and Democrats to wait until Wednesday. Of course by then it would be too late. Whoever composed the letter went on to apologize for any inconvenience this improvised arrangement would cause.
-A similar flier appeared in Franklin County, Ohio. Here's a detailed list of voter irregularities during the 2004 election. Note that the presidential contest was decided in the Buckeye state.
-Last year Hispanics in Orange County, CA received letters informing them that it was illegal for immigrants to vote. How many of our fellow countrymen know that every naturalized citizen is given the right to vote?
-A Republican flier in Prince George's County, MD (last November) fraudulently implied that black Democratic leaders supported Republican candidates for Governor and the Senate. In this case they even included a photo of an unsuspecting politician, who spent much time convincing his irate supporters that the thing was a hoax.
This is only a small list that I gathered from one single article on the internet. It's amazing to think that it's necessary to actually pass new legislation to outlaw such crimes. And it's even more disturbing to see people like Republican attorney Bill Canfield publicly oppose the bill. This is as concerted an attack on our system of government as ever posed by Saddam Hussein. Yet for some reason the perpetrators of these acts have not been targeted by our freedom-fighting commander-in-chief, or the legions of "patriots" with ribbon magnets on their SUVs. What gives?
What do you call a "conspiracy" when it is completely out in the open?
Recently there has been a rash of stories about specific incidents of election irregularities. Conservative extremist and harpy Ann Coulter has once again distinguished herself in the nation's media. There are reports that the loathsome pundit has refused to cooperate with an investigation into her personal voter misconduct in a 2006 election. Apparently she voted in a precinct in Florida in which she didn't even live. When Palm Beach County officials sent an inquiry to the address that she registered under, the correspondence went ignored. The reason for this was because it was actually the residence of her real estate agent. Her attorney himself has noted that Coulter doesn't even live in Florida (and she has told FOX News' Alan Colmes that she lives in New York). The positive side is that if Coulter is convicted of the charges levied against her, she could face a fine or prison term (fat chance of that happening). Ironically her right to vote would be rescinded in Florida once she is a convicted felon.
But Coulter's misdeed are relatively minor compared with the horror stories I heard today on NPR. While the Republicans are busy spouting rhetoric about voter fraud (see this detailed expose on the rightwing American Center for Voter Rights scam), house Democrats are proposing legislation to insure that this misbehavior is addressed. They are trying to make it a federal crime to intentionally deceive voters to stop them from casting a ballot. This is a long time coming. I would be shocked that the issue wasn't confronted previously had it not been for the fact that the Republicans controlled all three branches of government until this past January.
-Milwaukee voters (principally Democratic-voting African-Americans) were recipients of a flier put out by the "Milwaukee Black Voters League" (which evidently didn't even exist) informing them that they would face imprisonment if they tried to vote having been convicted of any crime- including traffic violations!
-In Pennsylvania a flier (printed on government letterhead stationary) warned that voter turnout was expected to be so high that authorities were asking registered Republicans to vote on Tuesday (the actual day of the election), and Democrats to wait until Wednesday. Of course by then it would be too late. Whoever composed the letter went on to apologize for any inconvenience this improvised arrangement would cause.
-A similar flier appeared in Franklin County, Ohio. Here's a detailed list of voter irregularities during the 2004 election. Note that the presidential contest was decided in the Buckeye state.
-Last year Hispanics in Orange County, CA received letters informing them that it was illegal for immigrants to vote. How many of our fellow countrymen know that every naturalized citizen is given the right to vote?
-A Republican flier in Prince George's County, MD (last November) fraudulently implied that black Democratic leaders supported Republican candidates for Governor and the Senate. In this case they even included a photo of an unsuspecting politician, who spent much time convincing his irate supporters that the thing was a hoax.
This is only a small list that I gathered from one single article on the internet. It's amazing to think that it's necessary to actually pass new legislation to outlaw such crimes. And it's even more disturbing to see people like Republican attorney Bill Canfield publicly oppose the bill. This is as concerted an attack on our system of government as ever posed by Saddam Hussein. Yet for some reason the perpetrators of these acts have not been targeted by our freedom-fighting commander-in-chief, or the legions of "patriots" with ribbon magnets on their SUVs. What gives?
What do you call a "conspiracy" when it is completely out in the open?
Labels: Alan Colmes, Ann Coulter, Civil Rights, FOX News, NPR, Political Rant, Politics, Republicans, Voter Fraud
posted by Merge Divide at 7:37 PM
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