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Operation Darkie Shield?!?!

Despite Dearth Of Evidence, Right Wing Voter Fraud Fear Machine Carries On
Ryan J. Reilly and Rachel Slajda | September 30, 2010, 8:30AM

Remember the dire warnings and shrill allegations of voter fraud surrounding the 2008 election? That ACORN would steal it, that the New Black Panthers were intimidating voters, that fraud across the county would be "rampant?"

They never panned out. ACORN no longer exists. (Although that hasn't stopped 20 percent of the American public from believing they'll try to steal the election.) The DOJ found that the New Black Panthers incident was isolated -- although that case found new life in allegations against the Justice Department itself (more on that below). A five-year effort by the Bush DOJ to weed out fraud, an effort the Obama team said was designed to suppress minority voter turnout, turned up "virtually no evidence."

Voter fraud "exists, and anyone who denies it has no credibility," J. Christian Adams told TPMmuckraker recently. "But it doesn't affect the outcome of elections as much as people say. I don't think that if there's 100 or 1,000 dead voters in, let's say, Texas ... I don't think it's going to affect the outcome of statewide elections."

And yet, with all the evidence against them, the fearmongers of voter fraud -- a mantle most recently taken up by the tea party -- soldier on.

Take Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA), poised to become the chairman of the oversight committee, who this July sent a letter to the Minnesota secretary of state directing him to save all records concerning the hotly contested 2008 election that put Al Franken in the Senate. Issa says his staff "has uncovered the concerted efforts of nationwide organizations to subvert the American electoral process," and makes ample mention of ACORN and convicted felons.

Much of the right-wing rage focuses on the perception that racial minorities are disenfranchising whites.

The most prominent example, of course, is the aforementioned New Black Panthers case. After the Obama administration decided only to act against one member, ordering him away from polling places in Philadelphia until 2012, Adams and other Bush appointees cried foul. They allege that Obama's DOJ, under Attorney General Eric Holder, is purposely dropping cases against black defendants, and got the conservative-dominated Commission on Civil Rights to investigate it. Gail Heriot, who sits on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, expressed concern in one meeting that the New Black Panther who held a nightstick at the polling place could "just hop on a bus" and intimidate other voters on election day this year.

That case has gotten new life in the headlines as the election nears. Last week, the former head of the voting rights division, Chris Coates, defied the DOJ and testified before the commission. Before that, the DOJ's inspector general announced he would investigate allegations that the department is handling cases based on race.

Other cases trumpeted by the right have similar racial undertones. In Harris County, Texas, a tea party offshoot called True The Vote and the Republican registrar of voters have accused a low-income voter registration program of falsifying thousands of applications in an effort to conduct "an organized and systematic attack." True The Vote says they found the alleged fraud by scouring voter registration records in districts with a high number of households with six or more registered voters -- which also happened to be the predominantly poor, black voting districts. True The Vote is now advocating for proof of citizenship to be required at the polls. And the Tea Party Nation has told its members to "steal their good idea."

Then there's former ACORN employee Anita MonCrief, a self-described whistleblower who's making the right-wing conference circuit and urging tea partiers to take up the cause of voter fraud. They should keep an eye on places like welfare offices and bus stops, she says, where liberal vote-stealers look for marks. As she tells it, the successors of ACORN use diversity as a ploy.

"I called it 'Operation Darkie Shield,'" she said at one recent conference.

In Wisconsin, the state GOP scrapped a planned operation with tea party groups to "investigate" possible fake registrations -- but someone still put up billboards featuring dark-skinned, jailed figures who admit to voter fraud to warn Milwaukee residents of jail time if they vote illegally.

Those who fear voter fraud in Wisconsin have a friend in the race for governor.

"As governor, I will sign into law a bill to require a photo ID to vote," Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker has said.

Amidst the fears, voting experts say they want to make sure that those who become poll watchers know the rules of the polling place so legitimate voters are not unfairly challenged.

"We just want to make sure that everyone is clear on the rules -- that voters know their rights, that these groups know what they are and aren't allowed to do," said Tova Wang, Senior Democracy Fellow at Demos.

"Every single election there are these allegations of voter fraud that turn out to be mostly untrue and every year we find that there might be a very small handful of voter fraud cases but nothing on the order of what is alleged," Wang said.

I will agree, I used to think this way too. But it was pointed out to me that so many people have skills in governing, even if it is just at the local level, that you would be operating just fine. Using the argument that we need need experience to make good decisions makes you wonder why laypersons are allowed on juries. With someones life on the line potentially.

As far as "who's to say the new people will be any better". Absolutely correct. But why would you also assume them to be worse?


I'll take my chances on getting rid of a few really smart ones just to get rid of the CAREER POLITICIANS (on both sides).

Wasn't he the guy who took a line from his opponents talk COMPLETELY EDITTED IT TO SAY THE POLAR OPPOSITE of what the guy said and called him Taliban Jim or Joe or whatever?

He is everything that is wrong in a candidate and should not get 0NE stinking vote.

Another 250,000 Signs That This Country Is Finished
Posted by David Kramer on September 30, 2010 05:49 AM

The Fascist Federal gunvernment is forcing New York City to change ALL of its approximately 250,000 street signs from ALL CAPS to upper and lower case because—oh, you know why: the ALL CAPS signs are not as “safe” because they’re not as clear to read.* Considering the epidemic of accidents (Not!) that has occurred in New York City in the past decades because of the “gross negligence” of NYC sign makers, I know that as a New York City resident I can sleep better at night knowing that my street signs are being made “safer” for me. The total cost to myself and the rest of New York City taxpayers to change the signs? $27 MILLION DOLLARS.

Will Faux News become the new Comedy Channel? Rupert appears to be doing standup.

Murdoch to Hill: Reform immigration

By SCOTT WONG | 9/30/10 10:27 AM EDT Updated: 9/30/10 5:20 PM EDT

Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch sparred with congressional Democrats on Thursday over why his support for a broad immigration overhaul — with a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants — is at odds with the anti-immigrant rhetoric often espoused on his Fox News network.

At a hearing on Capitol Hill, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) asked News Corp.’s chairman and CEO to explain the “contradiction” and why he didn’t do more to promote his views through his various news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, the nation’s largest newspaper.

“We are not anti-immigrant on Fox News,” Murdoch replied, adding that his views are reflected in the Journal “every day.”

“Not really,” Waters said. “Not really.”

Pressed by Waters again, Murdoch said: “I have no problem in supporting what I’m saying today on Fox News, nor would the great number of commentators on Fox News.”

His testimony before a House Judiciary Committee immigration panel came as Democratic Sens. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Patrick Leahy of Vermont introduced a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes a path to legalization, a temporary worker program, workplace and border enforcement measures and the DREAM Act, which failed in the Senate last week.

Murdoch and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg testified that comprehensive immigration reform is a critical component of strengthening American’s economy. Murdoch said he supports sealing U.S. borders to illegal immigrants, but creating a path to citizenship for responsible, law-abiding immigrants already living in the United States.

“It is nonsense to talk of expelling 12 million people,” said Murdoch, who immigrated to the United States from Australia. “Not only is it impractical, it is cost prohibitive.”

Murdoch cited a study that shows a path to legalization would contribute about $1.5 trillion to the gross domestic product over the next decade. And he argued that immigrants have produced some of the nation’s most productive scientists, entrepreneurs and educators.

He also spoke candidly, telling his personal story of immigrating to America.

“As an immigrant, I chose to live in America because it is one of the freest and most vibrant nations in the world," he said. "And as an immigrant, I feel an obligation to speak up for immigration policies that will keep America the most economically robust, creative and freedom-loving nation in the world.”

On Thursday, the liberal watchdog Media Matters for America highlighted an online post from June that argued that Fox commentators tone down the anti-immigrant language when their boss is around. The group pointed to Murdoch and Bloomberg’s appearance on “Fox & Friends,” where host Steve Doocy used the term “undocumented immigrants” rather than “illegal immigrants.”

“We may have discovered why Murdoch seems clueless when it comes to Fox News's agenda: They clean up their act when the big boss is around,” Media Matters wrote.

But Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, defended Fox, pointing to studies that reveal Americans think it is the “most fair” of all the television news networks.

“If you’re very, very liberal in your philosophies, you would tend to think Fox is conservative,” Smith told POLITICO after the hearing. “But the American people have shown through public surveys that they consider Fox to be the most fair TV station in America.”

Earlier this year, Murdoch and Bloomberg launched Partnership for a New American Economy, a coalition of business and big-city mayors that argues sweeping immigration reform is necessary for a robust economy.

“Our broken system of immigration is undermining our economy, slowing our recovery and hurting millions of Americans,” Bloomberg said. “We believe that immigration reform needs to become a top national priority. We’re urging members of both parties to help us shift the debate away from emotions and towards economics, because the economics couldn’t be any clearer.”

The hearing of the Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee came less than a week after the same panel welcomed another high-profile guest to testify on the plight of immigrant farm workers: comedian Stephen Colbert, who took the opportunity to mock committee members and Congress.

What will the GOoPer/teahadist intelligentsia make of this?

Garrison Keillor: Michele Bachmann 'Embarrassing' To Minnesota

Legendary humorist and radio host Garrison Keillor has come out swinging against Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) in her campaign for reelection, calling Bachmann "embarrassing to me and a great many Minnesotans" in a letter disseminated by the campaign of her opponent, Democrat Tarryl Clark.

Tea party favorite Bachmann, who infamously suggested in the run up to her 2008 reelection that the media investigate whether members of Congress are "pro-American or anti-American," has spent too much time pontificating on similar issues and not enough time working on behalf of her constituents, Keillor charged.

"It's embarrassing to me and a great many Minnesotans that Michele Bachmann, a politician who is so busy grandstanding and giving interviews on Fox News that she doesn't have time to serve the people who elected her, represents the 6th District in Washington," wrote Keillor, the longtime host of radio show "A Prairie Home Companion," who says his fictional Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon falls squarely within Bachmann's district.

"Minnesota's 6th District has some of the highest foreclosure and unemployment rates in the state, but in an interview with the St. Cloud Times, Congresswoman Bachmann was unable to name any "substantive" legislation she had passed," Keillor added.

Keillor, who frequently contributes to Democrats, has given $4,800 to Clark during the 2010 election cycle, Federal Election Commission data show. His full letter appears below:

Dear Friends,

Thirty years ago, when I started telling stories about Lake Wobegon, I put it smack in the middle of Minnesota - in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, in fact - where staunch Republicans and loyal Democrats know how to live together without yelling at each other and do what needs to be done to work out our problems.

It's embarrassing to me and a great many Minnesotans that Michele Bachmann, a politician who is so busy grandstanding and giving interviews on Fox News that she doesn't have time to serve the people who elected her, represents the 6th District in Washington.

That's why I'm proudly supporting Tarryl Clark - and I hope you will join me by contributing before today's midnight deadline.

Minnesota's 6th District has some of the highest foreclosure and unemployment rates in the state, but in an interview with the St. Cloud Times, Congresswoman Bachmann was unable to name any "substantive" legislation she had passed.

Michele Bachmann may still be counting on sliding through to re-election on November 2nd, but this year she is running against a smart and hard-working State Senator, Tarryl Clark, who is determined to make the talking heads of Fox News sit up and take notice.

Tarryl founded Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity and served as youth minister of her church for nearly twenty years. She grew up in a Navy family and has worked on behalf of veterans, families and children in the legislature. Service to her community is a part of who she is, and that spirit of service is sorely needed in Washington these days.


I hope you'll join me in making a financial contribution to her campaign - $25, $50 or $100 - before midnight tonight!

Tarryl Clark will never embarrass our state in Congress. Let's restore some respect for the Minnesota tradition of working together sensibly by electing her this November.

Thank you,

Garrison Keillor

P.S. Instead of working to solve problems, Bachmann talks about us as a "nation of slaves" and about the need for smaller government even though she knows better - the biggest part of big government is military spending, Social Security, and Medicare. Which would she do away with? Bachmann's so-called policies are just the old Bush economics that Alan Greenspan characterized as "disastrous." Help Tarryl defeat her by donating today.

Two questions...
A) Do you think it will make any difference for President Obama to lose Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff? (I asked The First President Bushs chief of staff, John Sunnunu at lunch yesterday the same question and he said.... Won't matter at all except the Republicans might get more access to the President.

2) Will Rahm E. win as Mayor of Chicago? Chicago might be the ONLY place in America that a guy with his background would get elected.

Could the teabaggers be suffering from high-range hypnotic susceptibility? It's a condition where people are vulnerable to those giving them simple answers to what they're striving for.

From now on you don't know me, and I don't know you. You never have seen me and I have never seen you. Do you understand me?"
---Meg Whitman, GOoPer candidate for California governor while firing her illegal housekeeper via phone.

I'll take you out!
---Carl Paladino, GOoPer candidate for New York governor discussing the finer points of campaign coverage.

I really wish Palin and Bachmann were running for governor somewhere. The quotes just might be stupendous.