Steve Rosenfeld (AAR): Jim Crow GOP

Jim Crow GOP
Steve Rosenfeld
June 22, 2006



(Steve Rosenfeld is executive producer of RadioNation with Laura Flanders, heard on Air America Radio and community public radio stations. He is co-author, with Robert Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, of What happened in Ohio: A Documentary Record of Theft and Fraud in the 2004 Election, to be published by The New Press this fall.)

What’s a bigger problem with American elections: disenfranchisment of minority voters or new electronic voting machines stealing votes?

Most people on the political left will answer electronic machines. But on Wednesday, House Republicans showed America exactly why old-school election thuggery is a far more pressing problem. In fact, it was Jim Crow tactics, not computer hacking, which gave George W. Bush his Ohio victory in 2004. And such tactics are exactly what a handful of southern GOP congressmen defended on Wednesday when they derailed renewing the National Voting Rights Act, complaining it does not end federal oversight of elections in their states and requires multilingual ballots.

These Republicans want elections in their states to return to the good old days, when mostly white people voted—just substitute registered Republicans in 2006—and ballots were only in English—no Español, por favor. Their grassroots rebellion reveals a dirty secret about elections that liberals and Democrats still haven’t learned from the 2004 presidential race: The GOP wins elections by targeting likely Democrats, especially minorities and new voters, by creating barriers in voter registration and obstacles to voting itself and ballot counting.

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http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/06/22/jim_crow_gop.php

These tactics definitely sound a lot like how history books describe Mississippi and Alabama in the 1950s, minus the white hooded men and burning crosses near polling stations. People ought to be jumping up and down and screaming, but there's seems to be a great moral outrage deficit these days.
Does this ever burn me up! :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

the demonstrations in the 60s expected anything different. So the GOP has decided that if the blacks won't join them (which they really don't want) then they can't vote at all.

Funny thing how ao many of the dyed-in-the-wool, non-biased Democrats raised hell when the votes of blacks were stolen not once but twice. Yeah, right!

The problem is NOT voting machines. There is an ELEPHANT in the room that we seem to talk about, in some ways, only tangentially.

We must REVEAL the 'values' and 'goals' held by 1,000's of fanatical Republicans who are determined to 'win' elections. Why? Our problem is NOT Karl Rove. Our problem is that Karl Rove is just one of 1,000's of fanatical Republicans who have moved from anti-democratic 'questionnable behavior' (like misrepresenting their opponents during campaigns); to 'clearly unethical behavior' (voter misinformation, providing bad equipment to precincts likely to vote Democratic); and on into illegal behavior (phone jamming, rigging machines to switch votes, ballot box stuffing, targeting minorities for voter suppression and more).

Voting machines do not steal elections.

Republicans use voting machines to steal elections.

And they use a wide variety of other methods including, especially, voter suppression. (Though dirty, dirty politics is also going to be in full-force this summer and fall).

Lots more about GOP "values"
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/IndyOp/25

but could someone tell me what happened on Wednesday?

House delays renewal of Voting Rights Act


WASHINGTON - House Republican leaders on Wednesday postponed a vote on renewing the 1965 Voting Rights Act after GOP lawmakers complained it unfairly singles out nine Southern states for federal oversight.

"We have time to address their concerns," Republican leaders said in a joint statement. "Therefore, the House Republican Leadership will offer members the time needed to evaluate the legislation."

It was unclear whether the legislation would come up this year. The temporary provisions don't expire until 2007, but leaders of both parties had hoped to pass the act and use it to further their prospects in the fall's midterm elections.

The statement said the GOP leaders are committed to renewing the law "as soon as possible."
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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2349040