Thinking in Print - Cogito Ergo BlogitoThinking in Print - Cogito Ergo BlogitoThinking in Print - Cogito Ergo BlogitoThinking in Print - Cogito Ergo BlogitoThinking in Print - Cogito Ergo Blogito
UPDATE: Christian Grantham, WKRN blogger at Nashville is Talking, reported, via Twitter, that a TN GOP press release earlier today incorrectly charged Tennessee’s Election Board with changing Tennessee election law at the last minute in such a way that would make it easier to commit vote fraud. WKRN will run a story on their 5PM news broadcast wherein a state election board representative will deny any such change in election law ever took place. I emailed the state GOP regarding their take on the new information and was referred to a statement from Randy Stamps, State Director for the GOP. “We are happy to hear that Mr. Brook Thompson has stated clearly that only Tennessee driver’s licenses will be accepted as a form of identification at the polls. Democrat volunteers and operatives led our Republican volunteers to believe Mr. Thompson’s opinion was different than he has indicated today. It is important that everyone understands that Tennessee’s election laws will be enforced on Election Day and the standards will not be lessened for political expediency.”
Perhaps they long for the day when TN was a player in Presidential elections. Perhaps they’re trying to make up for failing to deliver Tennessee for Gore in 2000. Perhaps they’re jealous of all the attention going on in Ohio. Perhaps they want to take away Pennsylvania’s significance by making a grab for Tennessee’s electoral votes. Who knows why they’re doing it.
But there is no denying that Tennessee’s Democratic Party is pulling out all the stops leading up to the election tomorrow. The state Election Commission, literally hours before the election, has changed Tennessee’s election law making it easier for Democrats inclined to commit vote fraud to do so. It wouldn’t be much of an issue except the national trend among Democrats this election cycle is to embrace vote fraud as a legitimate tool for election day success.
From ACORN’s illegal activity across the country to Ohio’s Secretary of State’s refusal to enforce her own state’s election laws and now Tennessee changes its election laws at the last moment. Not to make the process more secure. Tennessee has made the process even more vulnerable to fraud. But perhaps there’s a silver lining in this dark cloud. We’re getting yet another object lesson telling us loud and clear what to expect from an Obama led Democratic Party. What am I ranting about? This presser from the Tennessee GOP tells the tale.
NASHVILLE - Tennessee Republican Party challenges the last minute changes authorized by the Tennessee Division of Elections. Three days before the election will take place State Election Coordinator Brook Thompson notified a Republican Election Commissioner of significant changes his office had made to voter identification (voter ID) standards that will now include out of state driver’s licenses.
Robin Smith, Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, stated, “In order to be registered to vote in Tennessee a voter is required to be a resident of Tennessee. But now the state election office is loosening standards and allowing people to use out of state driver’s licenses to vote in Tennessee.” Smith continued, “Something doesn’t add up. With numerous reports warning of fraudulent voter registrations taking place in other states we asked the Division of Elections maintain current voter integrity standards not loosen them. I call on Secretary of State Riley Darnell and Election Coordinator Brook Thompson to immediately end this practice. Loosening standards and undermining the law in Tennessee or its intent put the integrity of the elections in jeopardy by and will just encourage fraudulent voting here in Tennessean.”
Tennessee Code Annotated section 2-7-112 (03-C-ii-c) provides instruction for ‘evidence for identification’ to verify a voter’s identity and clearly states that “…a valid voter’s registration card, a Tennessee driver license, social security card, credit card bearing the applicant’s signature or other document bearing the applicant’s signature.”
Voters can provide additional documents to verify their Identity, but it is clear that the law was written to have only state residents participate in electing Tennessee officials.
Smith continued, saying, “Thanks in part to legislation blocked by Democrats in the past, there is very little that can be done to ensure that someone who has already voted in Alabama cannot then vote in Tennessee. The least we can do is to not allow an Alabama drivers license to be used as proof of Tennessee residency and identification.”
Other issues have also emerged during early voting, including recent voting machine irregularities that have occurred with no promise for immediate correction. In multiple counties, voters have attempted to vote for John McCain for president on the [ESS iVotronic] touch screen systems but instead, votes were displayed for Barack Obama. Despite the request for immediate intervention, information was provided by a technician acknowledging the issue with blame being cast to ballot layout, approved by the Secretary of State’s office, and the calibration of the machine to be for an individual 5 feet 2 inches in height.
In addition, the process for certifying poll watchers for county election sites was challenged by Brook Thompson despite previous approval; the questionable use of interpreters accompanying voters who could neither speak nor read English was permitted; and threats to halt poll watcher training were leveled against Republican Election Commissioners.
“Tennesseans deserve confidence in the voting process. Amid national stories of deliberate fraud, the Tennessee Republican Party stands prepared to file civil and criminal charges in any case proven to attempt to defraud the voting process,” continued Chairman Smith. “The disgust of the public toward politics is justified when incompetence and willful disregard for our laws is on full display. We urge Secretary of State Darnell to intervene immediately to make any corrective and necessary punitive action.”
I would close by saying “Shame on you Democrats” but it appears that along with all the other “change” Democrats are championing this year, the definition of “shame” is among the top contenders for redefinition. It used to be people were embarrassed by shameful behavior. Tennessee’s Democrats seem to be proud of it.
This year, as never before, claims of vote fraud and voter suppression are dominating the discussion of the American electoral process. What can be done to combat the very real specter of having our elections decided not by Americans voting by the process but by Americans violating the process? A new group, The Voter Integrity Project (VIP), is putting together a network of citizen activists to help keep an eye on the process around the country. They even have an incentive to look out for vote fraud. The details are below.
This election season, political forces on both sides of the partisan divide have been documented committing significant vote fraud and voter suppression. These activities negate the votes of law-abiding voters. In order to both raise public awareness in election fraud and prevent it from occurring in the first place, the Voter Integrity Project is sponsoring a video contest with $1,000 in cash prizes and three brand new Flip cameras.
The VIP video contest is a chance for citizens to sound off and fight back… and, in the process, win some cold hard cash and cool gadgets. Check out our video promo, featuring the lovely Izzy Santa, by clicking below.
Guidelines. The contest’s scope is broad. VIP is looking for both ideas and action, both theory and practice. Acceptable submissions include (but are in no way limited to):
Rants or demonstrations on how election fraud threatens the democratic process
Documented instances of election fraud in practice or other suspicious election-related activity
Any combination of the two
Thinking outside-the-box, being creative and showcasing talents are all highly recommended. One might dress up, go out in public, dance, sing a song, or present a short narrative. Those with more serious personalities may video their vote, ask voters questions about the election process, or document a poll-watching experience. Perhaps even some real investigative work. Ultimately, anything that helps protect the integrity of voting.
Requirements:
Submissions ought to be under 3 minutes (although longer videos will still be accepted)
All submissions must be uploaded to YouTube. Leave a comment with a link to the video or email the URL to info@samadamsalliance.org.
DEADLINE: Tuesday, November 25th @ MIDNIGHT. (Why three whole weeks after the election? Election fraud often continues well after election day.
McCarthy points out that, while denying any real connection to ACORN, at the same time, Obama is running interference for them with the Justice Department.
ACORN’s White Horse -by Andrew McCarthy
Contributing Editor
National Review
This is rich.
Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign is complaining to the Justice Department about the attention being focused on the determined effort by ACORN, Obama’s wholly owned vote-fraud division, to steal the 2008 election. Adding ignorance to gall, the campaign demands that what it calls a “Special Prosecutor” must investigate not ACORN but — you guessed it — the McCain campaign and the Bush administration.
The art form to which chutzpah has been raised in this instance is a letter from the Obama campaign’s top lawyer, Robert Bauer of the Perkins Coie law firm in Washington. Of course these days, due to the intricate web of traps for the unwary known as “campaign finance regulations” — for which Sen. McCain has no one but himself to blame — all candidates for high office need legal teams. Obama, though, is a special case.
When not scorching the earth to destroy ordinary citizens who have the temerity to ask the messiah blunt questions, or threatening political opponents with prosecution for campaigning against him, or promising war crimes investigations against the opposition party if Americans are daft enough to put his toadies in charge of the Justice Department, Obama comrades can be found editing the amendments to the last modification of their most recently restated campaign-finance reporting errors.
One day the candidate is taking money hand over fist from fictitious supporters like “Good Will” and “Doodad Pro.” The next day, he is illegally raising funds from foreigners (perhaps more than a staggering $63 million), including from Palestinians — who figure a candidate who pours tens of thousands of dollars into the coffers of a terror-supporting former PLO spokesman like Rashid Khalidi is a safe bet to make a prophet out of Jesse Jackson. On still other days, Obama finds himself having to explain his campaign’s misrepresentation of the $800,000 payday it gave his old pals at ACORN.
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now, is essentially a Marxist shakedown outfit. One of its main rackets is election fraud — but it can also be very helpful if you happen to be a Leftist activist who finds himself needing, say, to foment a riot, vandalize public property, shut down legislative hearings or opposition conferences, harass the families of elected officials, extort leave-us-alone pay-offs from banks, promote illegal immigration, or the like.
Like ACORN, Obama is a community organizer in the Saul Alinsky radical mode, and he goes way back — two decades back — with the organization. He represented ACORN as a lawyer, taught “organizing” to ACORN’s up and coming rabble-rousers, colluded with ACORN in Chicago “get out the vote” projects, funded ACORN when he sat on the boards of left-wing charities, and exploited ACORN’s enthusiastic support when he won his senate seat in 2004 — a victory the “non-partisan” ACORN can’t help itself but claim credit for.
Read the rest of this great article here …
Tuesday, my post ‘ACORN’s 15 State Strategy for Voter Fraud’ provoked a great deal of response across the Interwebz. I don’t believe it alone was responsible for the Left’s development of talking points but said points were clearly in evidence. Discussion at The Next Right was most brisk with Leftist memes posted in abundance.
The short version? ACORN is the victim, not the criminal, so it can’t be involved in vote fraud! ACORN has never been convicted of vote fraud so it can’t be involved! ACORN reported its own fraudulent registrations so it can’t be involved! ACORN cooperated with the investigations so it can’t be involved! Real vote fraud only happens while casting a vote at the polls so ACORN can’t be involved. Statements to the contrary are based on isolated incidents so ACORN can’t be involved! ACORN isn’t responsible for the actions of a few bad eggs who make them look bad so it can’t be involved. It’s the start of a multi-state victim strategy.
Of course this only works if the protests are legitimate. Let’s take a look.
“Vote fraud can only happen at the polls!” would seem the most exonerating objection. But this is a straw man. After all, ACORN is an organization, not a person, so it cannot vote at all, fraudulently or otherwise. Yet ACORN is being investigated for vote fraud. How can that be? Because the law does not confine vote fraud to merely voting behavior.
While I’ve not spoken with all of them, I called election officials for the 13 states from Tuesday’s post asking about vote fraud definitions. Those I spoke with agreed “vote fraud” was best seen as a single, general term covering several, specific crimes. Actually voting fraudulently is vote fraud as are any number of actions, including fraudulently registering voters, fraudulently registering to vote and more. Investigations of such behavior by ACORN, its employees or agents are vote fraud investigations.
ACORN’s agreement addresses the next objection: ACORN isn’t the bad guy; their self-policing makes them a good guy!. As with any such claim, the devil’s in the details. King County gave ACORN a pass if they self-reported problem registrations within 14 days. Self-reporting from 15-30 days earned them a $250 fine per incident. Over 30 days brought a $1,000 per incident fine. The question isn’t so much does ACORN self police as when. The WSJ’s John Fund has some insight into the answer out of Kansas City.
Finally, in the King County settlement ACORN agreed (as did all the election officials I asked about this) they can be held liable for the actions of their employees. No longer can they hide, as they have before, behind the excuse a few bad eggs ruined their reputation. Prosecutors may, for reasons of their own, choose not to prosecute the organization, but it’s a real option.
Washington state found ACORN’s personnel oversight to be “virtually nonexistant.” Their training seemed little better. King County demanded the same solution to the problem I suggested; change your business practices! Train and supervise your employees well. Tell them what breaking election law can mean. The King County case was last year, 2007. Why, then, is ACORN still having problems if all they are really committed to is, as Timothy says, conducting “… a very successful effort to register voters.”
There are major elections every two years and scores of lesser ones every year. With all that’s at stake, there will always be charges of fraud. But when one group routinely attracts accusations of wrongdoing, perhaps it’s time to look at them. Regarding ACORN, I say, “Democrats, perhaps it’s time to wash your hands of them.” No voter registration organization has a track record even remotely close to ACORN’s. And a rotten acorn can’t produce a healthy tree.
It really is as serious as I make it out to be. Including the 13 states with ACORN problems this year, since 1998, the following states have had problems with ACORN. Beyond their 15 state vote fraud strategy, ACORN now has a 19 state victim strategy. And ACORN only operates in 38 states. This is big and getting bigger. If mighty oaks truly grow from little acorns, there’s no surer proof than this. I think a call to the arborist is in order!
Much has been made of the Democrats 50 state strategy to win the election. Who knew there was a fall back 15 state strategy to steal it if they couldn’t win it?
Americans who haven’t heard about ACORN and voter fraud haven’t been paying attention. Some have been hearing about it for years. Others are just now hearing after waking up to find elections upon us once again. Seems like every couple of years there’s an election and whenever there is, there’s talk about people trying to steal it.
This year is no different. But for the first time, the fraud seems massive and everywhere. And most all the fingers are pointing at ACORN. They are political activists, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. According to Wikipedia, ACORN ” … is a community-based organization that advocates for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, health care and other social issues.” Wikipedia has frozen further edits to ACORN’s page because people can’t agree; according to others, ACORN is a Liberal group committed to electing Democrats by any means possible, legal and illegal.
Prior to 2008, while ACORN was a player in terms of voter fraud, there wasn’t much to report. My first memory is South Dakota from 2002. This year ACORN is under scrutiny in over a fourth of America’s 50 states.
According to the New York Post and numerous other sources, 15 states are looking into ACORN for possible voter fraud. There’s just one problem, I can’t find 15 from this election cycle. I can only find 13! I looked but no one reporting the 15 state figure backed it up. A bit of light was shed when I found a comment making the tally 15 “since 2004″. Not quite the felonious total first reported, but why quibble over a couple of states. A count of 13 still means in 2/3 of the states in which ACORN ran registration drives this cycle, there were problems. If anyone knows the other two states, let me know and I’ll issue an update. If problems turn up in any of other states, let me know as well.
The 13 instances noted below are all from this election cycle. All but the Washington case are from 2008.
The links above are just one link to the state’s story. In several instances there are multiple reports on the same case and in a few instances, there are multiple cases of fraud in a single state. The point is, this isn’t made up. ACORN’s standard response seems to be the “We can’t be made to pay for what others do!” defense. But they don’t seem to mind if we pay in their place.
I don’t remember first hearing the term “9/11 Conservatives” to describe those with post 9/11 epiphanies. Realizing Liberal degradation of the US was destroying it in people’s minds, 9/11 Conservatives abandoned the Left in droves. I do remember I didn’t need the term explained to me. Its meaning was instantly grasped. The concept has been applied to different specifics over the years but it’s still clear. A big enough event can break through indifference, and even opposition, forcing us to deal with it and its consequences. Given that, perhaps it’s possible to learn something from attacks on other American institutions.
Free Market Capitalism is clearly under attack in the wake of recent financial woes. Listening to Democrats, and more than a few Republicans, Capitalism and Free Markets produced those problems. They were so bad, Government had to put Socialist bandages on Capitalist wounds. The Truth is otherwise. An objective evaluation show Government Market meddling and Watergate style Government cover-ups behind the current financial ravaging. The same is true of the subsequent bailout.
People are not as stupid as the Left needs them to be. Citizens will see Big Government, not Free Markets, caused the problem. They’ll understand the Government’s solution, as in 1929, made the situation far worse than it would have been had it let the Market work. They’ll recognize a prime Government weakness is needing to be seen doing something, even something bad! And they’ll realize one can’t eliminate Bear Markets if one also wants Bull Markets. Uninterrupted growth is unrealistic. There will be Market corrections and they are healthy. Public understanding of Governmental responsibility for the problem as evidenced by the bailout, the Community Reinvestment Act and more will ultimately push more people towards fiscal conservatism than towards centrally planned Socialism. Call them CRA FisCons.
Equally large is the assault on the sanctity of the voting process. We have peaceful transitions of power due to public confidence in the electoral process. While there have been many charges of vote fraud over the years, in the last decade, Democrats have stepped up efforts to destroy confidence in the system in order to acquire legislative power. In 2000 Al Gore retracted his concession, forcing the Florida recount nightmare on the country. Eight years later I still see “Bush was selected, not elected!” bumper stickers. The Left refused to accept a certified vote because it showed them losing. This obsession fueled efforts to ensure it never happens again, even if they need to cheat.
Reliance on and allegiance to ACORN will ultimately cost them. The Democratic Party and individual Democrats should denounce ACORN. They should demand investigations to produce confidence in the process. They should vote to end public funding accounting for 40% of ACORN’s budget and advise private donors putting up the other 60% to cut ACORN off. Democrats should call for trials and harsh sentences for those convicted of manipulating the voting process to disenfranchise others. But they don’t and they won’t. ACORN is doing exactly what Democrats want them to do. They want distrust of the process in the public mind.
Once again, Americans are not that stupid. The Left cannot spin ACORN as part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy or even the Right in general. ACORN is clearly both intentionally engaged in vote fraud and an obvious Democratic tool. As Americans grasp this truth, look for ACORN Republicans to make themselves known.
Finally, it never ceases to amaze how Democrats spin relationships. GWB was in the oil business so he must be a shill for Big Oil. Dick Cheney served on Haliburton’s board so the GOP must be funneling no-bid contracts their way. Yes, some Government decisions benefit Big Oil. Yes, Haliburton gets some Government contracts. But are these events in the natural course of business or is the GOP linked to them in nefarious ways? No evidence exists that it is anything other than the simple natural course of things.
Democratic relationships and connections are, however, demonstrably contaminated. Bill Clinton had more than a little baggage heading into the White House. There were bimbo eruptions; Whitewater and his wife’s part time day-trading job; questions about misuse and abuse of state troopers under his authority and more. This was all known before Clinton was elected. It either didn’t matter to Democrats or it didn’t get enough press to make a difference before election day. After the election, even more misdeeds came to light and it got worse. 16 years later, it’s happening again.
Well before election day, Barack Obama’s association with terrorists, foreign and domestic, is being revealed more clearly. Obama’s connection to ACORN and its crimes is being reported more widely. His support for Socialist regulation is becoming more widely known. The questions about Obama have been answered. He’s a known quantity. If demonstrable past performance is an indicator, Barack Obama will damage this country in ways my worst nightmares can’t foresee. Fraternizing with our enemies, championing destructive economic plans and ignoring illegal acts for personal benefit combine to make Barack Obama more than dagerous to our country. He could destroy it altogether.
Obama dismisses these truths. He even paints them as positive. I’m not in bed with terrorists! But what’s wrong with talking to people? I didn’t push ACORN’s radical agenda, I was a community organizer trying to involve more people in the political process! I’m not a Socialist! But shouldn’t everyone be able to own in a house? Can’t a nation as great as America make that happen?
For Bill Clinton to be right, scores of people had to be branded as liars. Democrats took up that challenge. For Barack Obama to be the President Democrats claim he’ll be, thousands must deny they saw what they saw and heard what they heard during the campaign. Thousands more must suffer from Obama policies as disastrous tomorrow as they were in a thousand yesterdays. No matter, Democrats still rally behind him.
However, sooner or later, just as 9/11 moved folks from Liberal to Conservative, the CRA will move folks from Socialism to Free Markets, ACORN will move folks from Democrats to Republicans. Like Jimmy Carter gave the country Ronald Reagan, an Obama presidency will illustrate the lie and curse that is Liberalism and reveal the Truth and the blessing, howevermuch discomfort it produces at times, that is Conservatism. The Left may argue things like Individual Liberty, Free Markets, Conservatism and the like aren’t perfect. I agree. But they are also far superior to any other option available.
Remember this when you step into that booth over the next few weeks. There’s no need to wait until 2012 to show you’ve made the move from Left to Right.
Entries (RSS)