I am not writing about Fox Fake News though they deserve to be written about now that Fox has revealed its true racist colors in confusing Congressman Jefferson with Congressman Conyers.
Nope, this is about the party Fox shills and spins for – the GOP - and its systematic and criminal voter disenfranchisement program.
U.S. citizens right here in the U.S. and some of those serving abroad have been denied their inalienable right to vote thanks to the GOP’s purging and scrubbing of voter roles.
The sick and twisted irony of this voter fraud issue is that while the Republicans have been screaming about fake incidences of voter fraud in particular states (as exposed in the U.S. Attorney/Alberto Gonzales scandals) GOP henchmen have been willfully and systematically engaged in real voter fraud for years.
The GOP does this by denying the right to vote to a vast number of minority and poor voters who are more likely to vote for Democrats.
Chapter One in Rove’s How to Rig an Election Book: (Source: Mr. Greg Palast “Armed Madhouse.”)
Rove summoned one of his whores - Interim and Now Resigned from Office and hopefully soon to be charged U.S. Attorney for Arkansas – Griffin - to put in the fix for 2008. Griffin sent out registered letters to homeless people, soldiers who had been shipped to Iraq and Afghanistan and to students who tend to move around a lot. If these people did not respond to the registered note or if the note was returned in the mail, legitimate voters were purged from the voting list, likity split. Yes, they were scrubbed of their democratic right to vote, even those who are fighting to defend us overseas. It is called “voter caging” and it is illegal. Not to mention immoral and unconscionable.
This practice is alive and well in Harris County, Texas (Houston its and outlying areas, including Tom DeLay land) in a less blatantly criminal form. I spoke to a friend of mine who has been an election judge in Houston for 9 years. I asked my friend if officials purged voter roles in Harris County. The answer: a resounding yes.
This is how it works in Harris County.
The purge occurs when the county clerk sends a voter registration card (they do this every 2 years since voter registration card expires at that time).
If the voter registration card is returned as undeliverable (they assume one has moved and are now out of the district which would require one to re-register) and/or a person has not voted in a specified number of elections, supposedly they purge this person automatically. But... wait - interestingly enough, my friend’s husband's aunt (who is Mexican, but whose last name is Asian because she married an Asian), hasn't voted in 25+ years and miraculously was STILL on the roles after all that time and registered to vote.
During the 2006 primary, both my friend and her husband voted in the primary election, making them eligible to attend the Democratic conventions as delegates.
My friend’s surname is Mexican, although she is Caucasian. Interestingly enough, when she and her husband were elected as delegates at their Senate District convention, the next step is for the SD chair to verify that my friends had met the requirements (verify that they voted in the primary election - this is what's known as checking credentials). Their SD chair called to let my friend know that she and her husband did not appear on the list of primary voters. Neither of them. My friend said: “What's THAT all about, I'll never know.’ ‘Who knows if our votes even counted or not? Another well known Democrat had physically witnessed us going to the polls and ‘vouched’ for us. I was SHOCKED and AWED.”
There is no forgiveness or mercy here in this Republican run state. The GOP needs fewer voters to win elections. I mean, what intelligent and informed person would actually vote for a Republican? And the Rovian wing knows that many of us are distracted, overly committed and we tend to ignore snail mail. When we move we are overwhelmed by “stuff” and sometimes forget to give a forwarding address.
And this is how the Party of Corruption achieves victory time and time again. It does not have to be a high tech laptop theft to throw an election.
Another Rove whore, Ken Blackwell of Ohio, denied the right to vote to poor people and minorities by providing fewer voting machines to their precincts. Meanwhile there was an abundance of machines in mostly conservative, white and well-off suburbs. The poor and minorities in Blackwell’s district were required to wait 8-10 hours in freezing rain. Naturally many gave up and left. Blackwell’s dream for Bush 2004 was realized.
The latest attempt by our Republican leadership here in Texas to require proof of citizenship in order to vote would essentially deny the right to a huge group of poor, elderly and minorities. If one thinks that a driver’s license or social security card is proof of U.S. citizenship, one is wrong. U.S. permanent residents and foreign nationals with specific visas who work here legally can have both driver’s licenses and social security cards. They are obviously not eligible to vote.
Proof of U.S. citizenship requires one of three documents: an official birth certificate, a U.S. passport or U.S. Naturalization papers. A passport costs close to $100.00 and takes 6-8 weeks to obtain. Many elderly, who were born at home, may not have “official” birth certificates. Victims of floods or hurricanes may have lost official birth certificates, passports and/or naturalization papers. Homeless people likely don’t roam from shelter to shelter with their birth certificates or passports. Soldiers serving overseas cannot check their mail at home for their voter registration status. The poor are overwhelmed trying to make ends meet to think much about where their official birth certificates might be. To send away for a copy of a birth certificates requires time and some money.
Fortunately, we have more Democrats than the Party of Liars and Cheats in Washington now and so there is a modicum of accountability, at least in our nation’s Capitol.
Representative John Conyers is investigating the Rove/Griffin voter caging shenanigans as I write.
Maybe every Republican election official in Texas will be dragged to court along with Griffin and Rove, as he or she well should.
For more information on voter caging, please see the URL below.
Slate.com: The Raging Caging
For ongoing and daily updates about voter fraud, its key players and GOP evil doing, check out Brad’s Blog on a daily basis.
The Brad Blog
Get involved, my Dem soul mates. Get involved.
I just returned from a vacation in Europe and had time to catch up on reading while traveling on trains, planes and in automobiles. I learned how others in Europe view our foreign policy and stand on Iraq. I won’t go there right now but trust me – its’ really bad. A Frenchman told me Bush had ruined the U.S. for 50 years to come. This made him sad. The French and Americans may have had a roller coaster political relationship over the years, but all of Europe has always looked to America as a beacon of light and ray hope and optimism for the world. The dollar is doing so miserably that Americans are the poor tourists in Europe. Thanks, W.
I finished the book written by Greg Palast “Armed Madhouse” and learned much more than I admittedly want to know about the Republican Party and voter fraud. Like, please make it not be so. Make it go away. But it won’t and we have to deal or we will be sleeping in the nightmare forever.
Finally, every Democrat should be required to read “Armed Madhouse” for the complete and thorough scoop on Republican voter shenanigans. You won’t be able to put it down, but you’ll need to go on high blood pressure and anti-stroke meds while reading.
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