NYT Phony Fraud Charges(voter fraud is code for suppressing the votes of minorities & poor people)

[maddezmom]

Phony Fraud Charges

Published: March 16, 2007
In its fumbling attempts to explain the purge of United States attorneys, the Bush administration has argued that the fired prosecutors were not aggressive enough about addressing voter fraud. It is a phony argument; there is no evidence that any of them ignored real instances of voter fraud. But more than that, it is a window on what may be a major reason for some of the firings.

In partisan Republican circles, the pursuit of voter fraud is code for suppressing the votes of minorities and poor people. By resisting pressure to crack down on “fraud,” the fired United States attorneys actually appear to have been standing up for the integrity of the election system.

~snip~

There is no evidence of rampant voter fraud in this country. Rather, Republicans under Mr. Bush have used such allegations as an excuse to suppress the votes of Democratic-leaning groups. They have intimidated Native American voter registration campaigners in South Dakota with baseless charges of fraud. They have pushed through harsh voter ID bills in states like Georgia and Missouri, both blocked by the courts, that were designed to make it hard for people who lack drivers’ licenses — who are disproportionately poor, elderly or members of minorities — to vote. Florida passed a law placing such onerous conditions on voter registration drives, which register many members of minorities and poor people, that the League of Women Voters of Florida suspended its registration work in the state.

~snip~
The United States attorney purge appears to have been prompted by an array of improper political motives. Carol Lam, the San Diego attorney, seems to have been fired to stop her from continuing an investigation that put Republican officials and campaign contributors at risk. These charges, like the accusation that Mr. McKay and other United States attorneys were insufficiently aggressive about voter fraud, are a way of saying, without actually saying, that they would not use their offices to help Republicans win elections. It does not justify their firing; it makes their firing a graver offense.



more:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/16/opinion/16fri1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[marmar]

1. Absolutely....

It's the core of what this is all about.

[Botany]

2. The voter fraud charges by these republicans

are much like the Nazis charging the Jews with crimes against
the state as they sent them off to be gassed. "It was there fault."

The election frauds (crimes) were in Florida 2000, Georgia 2002, and Ohio 2004.
And I am sure many other places too. But the charge allows them to muddy the
waters "both sides do it" and to pack the U.S. Attorneys offices with "right minded
people."