There’s an article at TPMMuckraker (Talking Points Memo) about a non-profit in North Carolina trying to “get out the vote” by telling people to register (or re-register as the case may be) for the primaries- after the deadline for registering to vote has pasted. Apparently, this same non-profit, Women’s Voices Women Vote, has done this same thing with many other primaries.
The calls purported to be from a man who identified himself only as “Lamont Williams” and told people to wait for a vote registration packet in the mail and said, “All you need to do is sign it, date it and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard.”
Democracy North Carolina, a government watchdog, cried foul, saying that the calls went out to “black neighborhoods” and was evidently a vote suppression tactic since the registration deadline for the presidential primary has already passed. The North Carolina state elections board got involved and asked for the public’s help in determining the source of the calls, which apparently blocked caller ID from showing the number
So what’s the big deal? It seems that this non-profit is being investigated for trying to suppress voters. Particularly black voters. You see, the call comes from “Lamont”, an AA1 male and “he’s” robo-calling black neighborhoods (oh wait, you read that already, huh?). The problem is that they are telling people to wait for a registration form to be sent to them which seems to be confusing to some voters because aren’t they already registered? So, they don’t vote because, dur, they think they can’t and/or have no idea that they can vote (though likely not be counted) without registering (unless they’re already registered). Are you confused yet?
As I was reading this, I was reminded of the time black neighborhoods in Cleveland were being targeted by robocalls that told them that voting had been moved to Wednesday because the lines in their precinct were too long (obviously that really was voter suppression). This makes me wonder what the hell McCain is up to now. Has he adopted the Bush way of getting elected?
Then I read the comments. Information was presented there which wasn’t presented in the original article (nor was it added as an amendment at the time I’m writing this). Seems some supporters of a certain Democratic presidential candidate didn’t want too much attention drawn to this:
Some have also questioned the ties between Women’s Voices operatives and Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton. Gardner, for example, contributed $2,500 to Clinton’s HILLPAC on May 4, 2006, and in March 2005 she donated a total of $4,200 to Clinton, according to The Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets.org. She has not contributed to the Obama campaign, according to the database.
Women’s Voices Executive Director Joe Goode worked for Bill Clinton’s election campaign in 1992 as a pollster; the group’s website says he was intimately involved in “development and implementation of all polling and focus groups done for the presidential primary and general election campaigns” for Clinton.
Women’s Voices board member John Podesta, former Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton, donated $2,300 to Hillary Clinton on April 19, 2007, according to OpenSecrets.org. Podesta also donated $1,000 to Barack Obama in July 2004, but that was well before Obama announced his candidacy for president.
“The reports from other states are very disturbing, especially the pattern of mass confusion among targeted voters on the eve of a state’s primary,” Democracy North Carolina’s Bob Hall tells Facing South. “These are highly skilled political operatives — something doesn’t add up. Maybe it’s all well-intended and explainable. At this moment, our first priority is to stop the robo-calls and prevent the chaos and potential disenfranchisement caused by this group sending 276,000 packets of registration forms into North Carolina a few days before a heated primary election. We need their immediate cooperation.”
Well, well, well. What’s this? Clinton’s people are behind Women’s Voices Women’s Vote? Could it be that it’s the Clinton Campaign that is adopting Bush election strategies?
OF COURSE IT IS!
A “screwup” from an organization with strong Clinton ties (i.e., Podesta, Williams, major donor to HillPac), that just happens to engage in voter suppression techniques targeted towards African-American voters (which are Obama’s strongest single group of supporters) right before primaries in multiple states.
How much “coincidence” has to occur before people acknowledge a pattern?
Posted by PorkBelly
April 30, 2008 2:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
And that just happened to block caller ID, and that just happened to use a phony name, and that just happened to have done this in Ohio right before their primary, and that just happened to have gotten in trouble in Virginia
Yeah, I have no idea why anybody would be suspicious of that.
Posted by Ben Hocking
April 30, 2008 2:254 PM | Reply | Permalink
While the mainstream media is focusing on Reverend Wright and bouncing from “I can’t believe Obama isn’t denouncing him!” to “OMG! Obama threw Wright under the bus” a DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate has direct ties to a group being investigated for voter fraud. And yet I only heard of this from the comments section of a highly regarded blog2. So Clinton’s poll numbers climb based on the howlings of an insane media (OMG! Rev. Wright is the DEVUL!) and her skankiness is going unnoticed (I hold no hope that the majority of the populace reads blogs and would therefore be more informed), which is very, very bad for all of us.
Do we really need someone in office who would be connected with such an organization?
Wait.
Before you say “Well, Obama is connected to Wright” (gag), consider that Clinton’s advisors and/or contributors are making desperate attempts to disenfranchise voters. Before you say “Well, they have an obligation to know how the election process works3” or “Why do you think Black citizens wouldn’t know what the hell was going on” consider if this had happened in a white neighborhood those people would be just as confused. These are the same people (of all colors) who vote based on who’s wearing a flag pin or who can down the most shots or who can bowl a perfect game. Clinton is taking advantage of that willful4 ignorance in the exact same way that Bush did.
I would love to vote for a woman just because she’s a woman. I want my children to see a woman president. HOWEVER, there is no way in hell that I will cast my vote for a woman that would do to her countrymen the same things George W. Bush did. That man split this country apart and profited from the blood, sweat and tears of us all. I don’t want any more of that bullshit. I don’t want McChimpy in a Skirt.
I’m also really pissed that the media isn’t all over this. Yes, I still think the media should remain unbiased and report the meat of the issues. Yes, I still think that the media should help to inform the populace of the disgraceful actions of the candidates – the really disgraceful actions not just that of a loud and passionate preacher. Yes, I am disappointed with it every single day.
Clinton’s Connection to Voter Suppression?
There’s an article at TPMMuckraker (Talking Points Memo) about a non-profit in North Carolina trying to “get out the vote” by telling people to register (or re-register as the case may be) for the primaries- after the deadline for registering to vote has pasted. Apparently, this same non-profit, Women’s Voices Women Vote, has done this same thing with many other primaries.
So what’s the big deal? It seems that this non-profit is being investigated for trying to suppress voters. Particularly black voters. You see, the call comes from “Lamont”, an AA1 male and “he’s” robo-calling black neighborhoods (oh wait, you read that already, huh?). The problem is that they are telling people to wait for a registration form to be sent to them which seems to be confusing to some voters because aren’t they already registered? So, they don’t vote because, dur, they think they can’t and/or have no idea that they can vote (though likely not be counted) without registering (unless they’re already registered). Are you confused yet?
As I was reading this, I was reminded of the time black neighborhoods in Cleveland were being targeted by robocalls that told them that voting had been moved to Wednesday because the lines in their precinct were too long (obviously that really was voter suppression). This makes me wonder what the hell McCain is up to now. Has he adopted the Bush way of getting elected?
Then I read the comments. Information was presented there which wasn’t presented in the original article (nor was it added as an amendment at the time I’m writing this). Seems some supporters of a certain Democratic presidential candidate didn’t want too much attention drawn to this:
Well, well, well. What’s this? Clinton’s people are behind Women’s Voices Women’s Vote? Could it be that it’s the Clinton Campaign that is adopting Bush election strategies?
OF COURSE IT IS!
While the mainstream media is focusing on Reverend Wright and bouncing from “I can’t believe Obama isn’t denouncing him!” to “OMG! Obama threw Wright under the bus” a DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate has direct ties to a group being investigated for voter fraud. And yet I only heard of this from the comments section of a highly regarded blog2. So Clinton’s poll numbers climb based on the howlings of an insane media (OMG! Rev. Wright is the DEVUL!) and her skankiness is going unnoticed (I hold no hope that the majority of the populace reads blogs and would therefore be more informed), which is very, very bad for all of us.
Do we really need someone in office who would be connected with such an organization?
Wait.
Before you say “Well, Obama is connected to Wright” (gag), consider that Clinton’s advisors and/or contributors are making desperate attempts to disenfranchise voters. Before you say “Well, they have an obligation to know how the election process works3” or “Why do you think Black citizens wouldn’t know what the hell was going on” consider if this had happened in a white neighborhood those people would be just as confused. These are the same people (of all colors) who vote based on who’s wearing a flag pin or who can down the most shots or who can bowl a perfect game. Clinton is taking advantage of that willful4 ignorance in the exact same way that Bush did.
I would love to vote for a woman just because she’s a woman. I want my children to see a woman president. HOWEVER, there is no way in hell that I will cast my vote for a woman that would do to her countrymen the same things George W. Bush did. That man split this country apart and profited from the blood, sweat and tears of us all. I don’t want any more of that bullshit. I don’t want McChimpy in a Skirt.
I’m also really pissed that the media isn’t all over this. Yes, I still think the media should remain unbiased and report the meat of the issues. Yes, I still think that the media should help to inform the populace of the disgraceful actions of the candidates – the really disgraceful actions not just that of a loud and passionate preacher. Yes, I am disappointed with it every single day.
Related posts: