McCain Would Think The Voting Rolls Are Fundamentally Sound, Too...If They're Purged Of Foreclosed Homeowners - UPDATED
By Nicole Belle Monday Sep 15, 2008 7:30am
Last week we reported about Republican plans to use home foreclosure lists to block voters from the polls after James Carabelli, chair of the Macomb County Republican Party, told Michigan Messenger that on election day Republican volunteers will "have a list of foreclosed homes and make sure people aren't voting from those addresses."
Republican leaders have since disavowed plans to use foreclosure lists as part of their plan to challenge the eligibility of some voters, but an attorney for the party, Eric Doster, did confirm that the party would use returned mail to challenge voters based on residency. As veteran Republican activist Allen Raymond told Michigan Messenger in a recent interview, holding down Democratic turnout is a key part of Republican strategy for victory in November.
Raymond knows about Republican campaign tactics. For almost a decade he managed campaigns for Republicans running for state and national office. In the 2002 New Hampshire elections, he ran a phone-jamming operation aimed at blocking elderly people from arranging rides to the polls, an illegal action that he says was approved by the highest levels of the party. He spent three months in federal prison. Earlier this year Raymond published a book about his life and work as a Republican operative, titled "Confessions of a Republican Operative: How to Rig an Election."
As for our report that the Michigan GOP planned to use foreclosure lists to block likely Democratic voters, Raymond said: "It's a very good tactic. It works."
"It is actually a very smart thing to do," he went on, "particularly in this climate with so many foreclosures."
For Republicans, he said, targeting the foreclosures would be a cost-effective and "probably" legal method of reducing Democratic votes.
If he were still in the election business, he said, "I'd be doing that all day long."
Sneaky. The majority of foreclosed homes are the ones with sub-prime loans held by lower income families, who are more likely to be Democrats. So challenge them and suddenly that pledge for "honest and open elections" is so much easier:
In anticipation of problems to come, John McCain's campaign announced Monday the "Honest and Open Election Committee" to troubleshoot voter issues on Nov. 4.
In the wake of the recount in 2000, campaigns have been quick to the draw on recognizing - and solving - problems with voter access. To be sure, there are plenty of issues, such as needing identification to get a ballot.[..]
McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said there were a number of issues that required advance legwork, including the proper handling of absentee ballots by military personnel deployed overseas.
Another issue is the last-minute decisions for polling places to stay open later. Rogers said the committee will work with precincts to determine under which circumstances an extension should be granted as well as agree upon a judge to handle such claims.
"You could pre-approve some judges," Rogers said, "so they're not going to somebody who's in somebody's pocket."
I'm sure everyone will be content with McCain's pre-approved judges, right?
UPDATE: Michigan Dems and the Obama Campaign Sue for Foreclosure-Related Vote-Caging
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By "fundamentally sound" they mean that they have a lot of Fundamentalists praying loudly.
I guess when your party does stuff like this, they are admitting that cheating is the only path they have to victory.
Oh and Good Morning!
Sounds like "voter caging" will be in play for this election.
Another Republican in the white house by hook or crook.
McCain was on every morning cable news show this morning trying to explain his way out of his fundamental screw up. He says he was referring to the American worker when he said the fundamentals were sound. Does he know how many American workers are out of a job and do not feel their lives are sound?
Plus he kept smiling after making statements that did not merit a smile. It's like he punctuates his sentences, no matter what they are, with a strange smile. It's just down right eerie.
Fundamentally the only way Republicans can win is to limit opposition voters. They had to do that in 2000, 2002, 2004, they even tried it in 2006. Which is a good example of why I say the Republican party is completely UnAmerican. They don't like our Laws, our Workers, our Voters, or our Government. And they challenge my patriotism?
Do you suppose the Registrar of Voters in Texas will be 'purging' those folks in Galveston and elsewhere whose homes were destroyed by Ike as well?
Lie, cheat, steal! The rally cry of the Republican party.
I thought you only had to be 18 and registered to vote. Absolute Power corrupts absolutely.
This is just appalling. First they destroy the economy and people's mortgages and then they have the unmitigated gall to deny those people the vote because of the mortgage defaults they created in the first place.
Ditto the military that they sent overseas to fight their wars.
I know we can't advocate violence - and I certainly wouldn't but the thought of putting a few of these creeps in hospital when they tried to challenge people who've already suffered enough might make the rest a bit more wary of continuing this grotesque abuse of the democratic process - in my increasingly dark dreams anyway.
Maybe it's about time the US had a proper national ID system. Or in this case at least a voter-ID system or something, so this kind of crap couldn't happen. SSN #s are being used for WAY too much as it is, which IMHO already in itself outweighs a lot of the privacy concerns surrounding those kinds of schemes.
The Europeans, a lot (most?) of which already have 'em also have a lot stricter laws on the retention, gathering and sharing/export of private information. Frankly I find it really bizarre that the Americans so paranoid about letting their own government have their info, all the while they let private interests buy it, sell it, and do almost anything they want.
P.S Why doesn't the Republican Party actually try and increase their vote instead? You know, actually have something to offer that might appeal to people?
Dahgrostab'ph-r-i @ 5:
Why are you dissing Sarah Palin?
Conservatives like things the old-fashioned way.
Only rich, white males should be allowed to vote.
Mick Piobr @ 12:
I think he just called her a PIG !!
polls should be required to stay open as long as there is a line of people wanting to vote. Shame on us for thinking any other way.
How about calling off classes for the day all you universities. At a university near us (Indiana) the Pres. wanted to set up a place to vote on campus...Give you 2 guesses what party is against it.
How sad that election day has become full of divisive anger and fighting just like our country has become. We whould be celebrating and showing the world how good we are at this. It is getting to the point our elections need to be monitored for fairness from an outside party just like we do for other countries.
Pretty pathetic when you cast your vote and just keep your fingers crossed that it is going to count.
Sadly Indiana is now one of the worst in the nation for making it as difficult as possible for people to vote.
Wouldn't it be a good tactic for Obama to make McCain pledge at one of the debates that he will not disenfranchise foreclosed voters? How could McCain say no?
C. Hussein Jr. @ 14:
Oh! The horror! Somebody call Tom Brokaw!
What vile disgusting anti-american doesn't want to count every eligible person's vote?
Why do they hate a government of the people by the people?
Someone needs to flat out ask McCain if he supports this strategy and force him to answer. I can only foresee two outcomes:
1: He disavows the strategy, all but forcing the Michigan GOP to abandon their plans (assuming the media does their part and applies pressure where needed... I won't be holding my breath).
2: He makes a non-denial denial, and we have yet another piece of prima facie toward proving to the public that McCain is exactly the type of corrupt, partisan hack he used to speak out against so frequently in 2000.
Hey, that fundamentals is all about taking out your discontented folks. get with the pogrom.
supremecourtjester @ 16:
easy.
McCain: "I'll have someone from my staff get back to you on that."
A new "Civil War" has begun if only in ideology for the moment. For the life of me I cannot understand how the Repigs could have a chance in this election (even with all their manipulations) and yet it is quite possible.
I would have a better chance understanding an alien life form than those who would vote for another Repuke gov't with McSame/Palin
This needs to be exposed big time! The more of these manipulations that are forced into the daylight the more likely we'll have an honest election. Viva the internet 2008!
So, hanging chads, misdirecting voters to wrong polls, voting machine irregularities, and who knows what else, needs to get exposed, challenged, and blamed on Repubs BEFORE the election!
Nancy Pfotenhauer's Cheshire Cat grin and "persona" needs to be taken seriously as she represents their whole operation. Republicans will do whatever needs to be done to win. Lie, cheat, steal....whatever.
Does anyone have the home addresses for these neo-fascists? They better have Blackwater bodyguards. It's long past time for these Republican operatives to be held accountable. If there was a real physical price to pay, they might have second thoughts on trying to undermine what is left of democracy in the U.S..
supremecourtjester @ 16:
I don't think mccain would have a problem pledging that. Would such a pledge be worth a thimble of spit? "Signs point to no" Looking @ the above article and just about everything I have seen and read for this election, it's clear to me that they will do whatever they can, with no regard to right or wrong, as long as it delivers the US military might to jebus.
Wouldn't pre-approving judges just target those people for pressure long before the time they'd be needed?
pissed off patricia @ 4:
Yesterday tourists in New York gathered to watch Lehman Brothers employees leave their offices with their personal possessions in boxes and bags. To bad there weren't activists there to hand the recently unemployed applications to Wal-Mart and McDonalds. It would have sent a powerful message to the tourists and might even have been picked up by the media.
http://www.stealbackyourvote.org/
If McCain is doing so well in the polls, why do they feel they have to cheat for him to win?
When your home has been foreclosed upon, that surely doesn't mean you have lost your right to vote too. I hope Obama's team has a lot of lawyers to watch over these shenanigans on voting day. Dem. lawyers in every state should volunteer to be at their voting precincts to stand guard.
“You could pre-approve some judges,” Rogers said, “so they’re not going to somebody who’s in somebody’s pocket.” And, of course, you have to read in the implication, "to make sure they are in our pockets."
That is how they think. It's the afterthought that should be of concern. Look at McCain's afterthought that redefined "fundamentals of our economy" away from the true fundamentals of unemployment rates, foreclosures, job lay-offs (Hewlett-Packard is laying off how many?) to meaning the hard working Americans. Now to say the fundamentals of the economy are not strong is an attack on the men and women of America.
They ignore, and the minions are clueless about, the fact that the hard working Americans cannot be that by definition if they have no jobs to work!
pissed off patricia @ 4:
He's in damage control...trying to put out a fire that he started...
And yeah....his smile is creepy as hell, innit?
OT, I know you guys don't have much control over the embedded ads, but the one I see from sodahead.com, "Who is more likely to cheat?" is highly offensive. Obama, McCain and spouses are shown with Michelle literally looking like a demon from Hell, via some really bad photoshop. If you can kick that advertiser, please do so.
Kilgore Trout @ 22:
I hate to admit it, but the Republicans have always been better at framing the debate. We aren't fighting "a war on terror", we are fighting "Islamo-Facism". We aren't "torturing" people, we are using "enhanced interrogation methods". We aren't "nation building", we are "spreading democracy". We aren't "disenfranchising voters", we are "preventing voter fraud". Or how about this classic by Saint Ronnie himself, "Government can't solve people's problems. Government is the problem", while of course those who hate government try so hard to be in government.
Senator McCain knows that he cannot win this election on the issues, so he frames the debate to be not about issues, but personalities. He will also rely on those who fought against him in 2000 to use their tactics to win at all costs.
Soon, only the rich will be able to vote.
And the rich will vote for tax breaks for the rich, and slash public expenditure on programs which benefit the poor.
This is republican nirvana.
Soon to be followed by the poor people murdering the rich in their sleep.
McCain would rather sell his soul and his self respect than lose an election. That is desperation. What else would he be willing to give up in order to get what he wants? I guess we shall see.
pissed off patricia @ 4:
Yep. And yet, over half the people (zombie idiots) in this country support this asshole and his wack-job vice. It is official; Americans are the dumbest bastards on the face of the earth!
McCain Would Think The Voting Rolls Are Fundamentally Sound, Too…If They’re Purged Of Foreclosed Homeowners
So that's why on the way in I saw tanker trucks of Ex-Lax on the highway.
NoGWBpolicyleftinplace @ 36:
I wish I had a good argument and could disagree with you. But when I see crowds of people going nuts over Palin and knowing how shallow that woman is, well I have to say you may well be correct.
I am just hoping that in November that Mac forgets which one of his homes he is registered to vote at and can't. Then he loses that state by 1 vote and it is the tipping point in the election, man that would be sweet sweet justice.
McCain Would Think The Voting Rolls Are Fundamentally Sound, Too…If They’re Purged Of Foreclosed Homeowners
Isn't that a relgiously biased comment?
What about believers in the Rig Veda?
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. blew the lid off the Theft of 2004 in his masterful Rolling Stone article.
Investigative reporter GREG PALAST for BBC television exposed Katherine Harris’ “felon purge” which fixed the 2000 race.
Now Kennedy and Palast have teamed up to investigate THE THEFT OF 2008. They’ve uncovered the scheme to swipe votes by the millions.
So,what are you going to do about it?
That’s easy: STEAL BACK YOUR VOTE!"
http://www.stealbackyourvote.org/
Hannity was discussing the Constitution and Bill of Rights yesterday.
I laughed so hard, I almost went off the road.
liberalNmoderation @ 30:
That's a smile!? I thought that he was passin gas.
"ensure special handling for military absentee ballots??" I'll believe that when I see it. I'm an Obama supporter and currently serving this country. I think I'll ensure handling of my own ballot when I confirm it's reception to Michigan's voting office. Whether he is in denial or not, McCain has lost a lot of the voting stock he claims to have. I think the prime reason for that is due to the GI Bill Jim Webb put up that he was against when he voted against it, then supported after to take credit.
Honor is something a man gives himself that no man can take away, Sir. You've obviously thrown yours in the refuse.
pissed off patricia @ 4:
Thanks for putting that in words.
fastfeat @ 45:
That goes for me too, Patricia!
Phoenix Justice @ 32:
Taxpayer dollars going to taxpayers is "SOCIALISM-BOO!" Taxpayer dollars going to the super rich is "capitol investment." Taxpayer dollars going for corporate welfare is "liqiudity enhancement." Taxpayer dollars going to no-bid privatization cronies is "restructured investment."
These assholes have an Orwellean term for everything. If Bush/Cheney and the GOPers could find a way to execute grandma and grandpa, and steal their social security checks, they would probably call it something like "eliminating stress for the eldery initiative." Eliminating stress for grandma? Aren't those republicans wonderful people?
Why isn't Obama jumping all over this? Is he sleeping or something?
OBAMA: "WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!!!!"
pissed off patricia @ 38:
I wish I could disagree with me too. SIGH!
This is very important...On the TeeVee news the McComb Co Republican spokesman disavowed these accusations...A BIG HOWEVER! The Mi Republican AG vowed to prosecute ANY individual for voter fraud if they lost their house and tried, TRIED to vote in Mi. The Republicans are not only lying about what they are attempting to do but are ingaged in an illeagal voter scheme. The Republican AG in Mi is sending thes peoples names to the DOJ to be proscuted for voter fraud and the Bush DOJ is complicit. This was reported on NPR on Mon Sept 16 2008.
Dow down 140. It's going to be another stellar day! And this is after the Fed pumped in 20 Billion of OUR tax money.
The Repubs are just trying to return America to the type of nation the Founding Fathers intended: one where only landed, white males could vote.
Rusty@51, You're right! My father is one of them. He long fled up north. He threatens to move back, but I told him the area he grew up in is much more diverse. He longs for the days of all white suburbia with white picket fences. I told him it isn't going to happen.
P.D. @ 52:
You're evolving humaness may give rise to some hope, just like the younger evangelicals in some churches actually getting back to what the great community organizer, Jesus, believed in: social justice!
it must be difficult to put food on your family - I mean, it's hard work.
I need to correct the date of comments # 50...it was reported on Mon 15 not 16.
I’d like some talented person or group to create a video showing white families with young children living on the streets in the millions and families shopping in supermarkets which have shelves that are 90% empty and people grabbing items in a panic without even looking and in the supermarket ,over the loudspeakers in the ceilings ,we hear, “Ladies and gentlemen ,the fundamentals of our economy are strong. This is President John McCain, you can relax and feel at peace knowing the fundamentals of our economy are strong.” and in the streets of America where homeless families live in cardboard homes that line the sidewalks -military vehicles drive around with loudspeakers, “My dear Friends, the fundamentals of our ecnomy are strong. Rest assured the fundamentals of our economy are strong. Your president has spoken.” and in the video -we see starving children and their parents eating flour and cardboard.
Somebody -make such a video ,please? (^_^;)
These kinds of actions need to be challenged in a sympathetic federal court, on an emergency basis. They are inarguably intended to disenfranchise certain classes of voters based on probable race, ethnicity and economic class; you would have to be brain dead not to see that they violate the voting rights acts, and the civil rights of the people who are being disenfranchised. More they are deliberate attempts to tamper with elections. It is, in essence and in final effect, a national conspiracy, directed at a single party. Because these tactics are centrally planned by the RNC or by nationally coordinated Republican organs, they step outside of any constitutional provisions that leave the mechanics of conducting elections to the states. A Federal cease and desist court order prohibiting any tactics or actions that, regardless the pretense used, systematically disenfranchise voters who would likely be voting for a particular party, or by reasons of probable race, ethnicity or economic class would go a long way towards assuring fair elections. A court action will be needed, because the DoJ, and the federal elections commssions are lost in partisan corruption, and it is doubtless too much too expect that they will uphold the laws or democratic principles.
Don Rumsfeld hater @ 56:
I like it.
It's ironic isn't it? Whites will be in the minority in just a few decades. These guy will be in minority status. I suggest they start learning to love thy neighbor soon.
chicano2nd @ 46:
Always happy to help. :)
Allen Raymond says this is "smart" and "legal." On the surface, what he says, from one perspective, can't be denied. Stepping back to view a more "bigger picture" perspective, one sees just how destructive for all this is.
Raymond's attitude is just one more example of the prevalence of "bottom line" ethics or "small vision" morality that haunts us all today and will be our ruin.
The economic mess we face today can be traced, at least in part if not to great measure, on this mentality of what can I get away with today, "legal" or not, that will be to my benefit and to hell with the consequences tomorrow.
Plenty of people made a lot of money in the subprime scam, but to what end? Doesn't the bible question what a man gains if he loses his soul? What is won, if one gains wealth at the expense of most and then sees everything around him or her collaspe.
Those who are morally corrupt in their expedient selfessness simply say they don't care - they got theirs.
In a representative democracy it is best for the health of the whole to get as many people involved as possible. If one is truly interested in perserving a way of life they should be trying to make it easier for people to vote rather than the opposite.
This is just one more example of the "three card monty" that the powers that be foist upon "the people" trying to get them to do what's best for the "elites" to maintain their power and wealth while wrapping it in a "culture war" wrapping or some kind of "double speak." It's nothing more than greed, selfishness, and immorality.
Let's be clear and fair - both parties, both candidates have a lot to answer to and neither one is really talking much truth.
Again we are offered a choice between bad and "badder."
NoGWBpolicyleftinplace @ 58:
...........
Thanks for the praise "No Goerge W Bush policies left in place".
You know.....I think if the violence in Iraq suddenly became 20 times worse this month- McCain and his supporters would STILL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! say ,"Why can't Obama admit that the SURGE WORKED ?????!!!!!"
I think Hitler once said, "The bigger the lie the more likey it will be believed. "
Stop and think about that for a moment.
Isn't the theory of our democracy one person, one vote? Does it matter whether someone is registered in the precinct where their foreclosed home is or where they are currently residing? Unless states all adopt Minnesota's voting laws where you can register on the day of the election using various forms of identification (driver's license, utility bill, a neighbor who can vouch for you) and then vote, some people are going to be disenfranchised. Or is that the plan? After the hectic election season, the voting lists can be checked to be sure people didn't vote more than once and are eligible to vote. It works well and actually encourages people to vote.
pissed off patricia @ 2:
Cheating and scaring off voters in "certain" areas.
OT--
Heard on Stephanie Miller this morning. One of Sarah Palin's email accounts in the public domain:
gov.sara@yahoo.com
Not sure if it's really her's but I sent a test to it and it appears to have been delivered.
Insert your own pork/spam jokes...
Mick Piobr @ 43:
He closes one eye when he farts....you can tell...and Cindy turns a whiter shade of translucent.
pissed off patricia @ 4:
I found his praise of the "American worker" amusing. If the "American workers" are so wonderful, so productive, then why is it that the CEOs have been reaping all the wealth and the "American worker" has been going backward?
also, if McCain thinks the "American Worker" is so great, why are all the companies sending jobs overseas??????? Some days I just want to scream, "Has the whole fu#king nation lost its mind?" My god, why is there such tepid response from the dems on this? And by the way, why aren't the dems out there campaigning for Obama? Where the hell are they?
Shan @ 11:
Because that would interfere with their class war - redistributing wealth from working people to corporate rulers. Every dollar counts, you know.
John @ 33:
What do you mean soon? Isn't that what's been going on for the past eight years?
Why does living in a foreclosed home preclude someone from voting? Foreclosure doesn't equal non-residency. is this really a fear tactic? People with mortgage problems won't want to vote for fear they will be call out at the polls by a GOP rep.....
Can someone clarify?
Do you realize how much clearer and less confusing the name of this blogsite would be if they would just change the name to 'Republicans'?
Maybe someday, he might suffer an accident, the kind that have you eating through a straw and pissing into a bag ...all day long.
Three months for subverting Democracy? Seems a little light, why do Republican operatives hate voters? Why does the MSM continue to ignore these despicable tactics from the right?
I'm not advocating violence, but if any of you are unhinged and thinking bad thoughts you could start with those guys, no one would miss them.
This would be a great idea for a DNC Dem-brand commercial: Dems want to fix the problem while GOP wants to kick 'em while there down with the iron boot.
It may be "smart" if your definition of smart involves being a disgusting asshole.
Purging voters should be a federal crime. There is only anecdotal evidence that anyone has ever willfully gone from poll to poll re-voting. This whole program of throwing out ballots based upon blatantly illegal criteria is the tool of ONE PARTY. But they have once more catapulted the propaganda and whipped up more fear and subservience within the electorate. But that is no surprise. Just read the latest issue of TV Guide to see how low our collective IQ's have sunk.
Alexdem,
Maybe it’s about time the US had a proper national ID system. Or in this case at least a voter-ID system or something, so this kind of crap couldn’t happen. SSN #s are being used for WAY too much as it is, which IMHO already in itself outweighs a lot of the privacy concerns surrounding those kinds of schemes.
People don't vote based upon their SS #'s. They vote based upon their addresses. There has never been any program to use bogus SS#'s to register large numbers of illegal voters. Just the labor involved makes this an unworkable strategy. SS#'s are unimportant to the one party that is actively purging legitimate voters. The national voter ID is a REPUBLICAN program that effectively prevents poor, elderly and rural citzens, who are mostly democratic, from voting by complicating the process of registration. They are trying to convince people that they are protecting us from a voting problem that simply does not exist.