Politics Plus

As polls make Obama’s advantage more clear each day, Republicans leaders are desperate for a way to make people believe that it just isn’t so.  To achieve that end, they have concocted an idiotic conspiracy theory that the poll results are “voter suppression” by Democrats in cahoots with the media.  Before going into this in more detail and explaining why it could not possibly be true, here is an explanation from the intellectual cream of the Republican Party.

If you listen to right-wing pundits, the entire political science establishment, in cahoots with mainstream media, are circling their wagons around their favored candidate, and obscuring either the inevitability of his failure or a more sinister outcome behind a font of false information. The current polling numbers that show President Barack Obama pulling ahead of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are cooked, they say.

It’s a laughable premise, of course — the media are hardly kind to liberals or Democrats — but this is no random theory dreamed up by an unhinged wingnut. It’s a carefully crafted narrative, and one that may hold the only hope Republicans have of winning the 2012 presidential race. Why? Because with an increasingly shrinking slice of the electorate undecided on its presidential candidate, the outcome of election 2012 will likely hinge almost entirely on which candidate gets to the polls all the voters who lean his way. Polls that depress the spirits of right-wing voters could easily depress their turnout, as well…

…In the alternate universe occupied by the right, there’s a dark conspiracy afoot — one in which the steadfast conservative exists in an undulating world that conspires to confound him with unwelcome information: his big car is melting the polar ice caps, women are bringing home the bacon and, four years ago, a black man won the presidency, fair and square. Information that so disturbs challenges his comfort level must surely be wrong…

Inserted from <Alternet>

Republicans point to the demographics, noting that this year’s polls use a higher percentage of Democrats and lower percentage of Republicans than they did four years ago.  The conspiracy theory hinges on the notion that the media, who sponsor the polls, changed those demographic percentages intentionally to produce skewed results.

However, there is an alternate explanation that also happens to be true.  Polls depend on self-identification of voters.  Because the Republican party has moved so far to the extreme right, many former Republicans now self-identify as Independents, and many former Independents now self-identify as Democrats.  In short, the polls reflect more Democrats and fewer Republicans than there were four years ago, because there are more Democrats and fewer Republicans than there were four years ago.

Finally, the reason the Republican conspiracy theory could not be true is that skewing the results is directly against the self-interest of the media.  The media want a close race.  The closer the race, the more people will pay attention and soak up media ads, generating more revenue for the media.  After all, generating revenue is the be all and end all for the media.

So, is it skewed polls or warped minds?  The answer is obvious.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) begins a new term, and with it the possibility of further undermining the Constitution of the United States, as they did in Citizens United, the worst Supreme Court decision since Dred Scott.  As the Justices (and the inJustices) ponder important cases, we should be pondering just how important the coming election looms.

On Monday, the Supreme Court opens a new term with a menu of important cases that deal with affirmative action, criminal justice, the right of defendants to effective counsel and more. The court may soon choose to hear a controversial case that could redefine voting-rights law, and, later in the term, one or more cases involving same-sex marriage.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION In Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the court will address how and perhaps whether the university can take race into account as a factor in student admissions…

UNREASONABLE SEARCHES Two important cases involve the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures…

RIGHT TO COUNSEL Two cases involve the right of defendants to have effective counsel…

The court has not yet considered whether to take a highly contested case about the Voting Rights Act, but it may… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <NY Times>

For more information on the Court’s calendar and cases than I intended to include, click through to the original article.  My intent is to give you some concept of the magnitude of the importance of this election in determining the future of this nation.  A Romney win, yielding a court where the extreme right has a 6-3 majority will change election rules so profoundly, that elections will no longer matter in this country. Republicans will have a green light to disenfranchise voters at will.  That is the end of America, as we know it.

Projection is a tactic in which someone diverts attention from their own faults, by accusing an opponent of having those same faults, even if they do not.  It has long been a standard Republican tactic.  So it’s little wonder that Republicans, who specialize in election fraud, accuse Democrats of that which they are guilty themselves.

Florida elections officials said Friday that at least 10 counties have identified suspicious and possibly fraudulent voter registration forms turned in by a firm working for the Republican Party of Florida, which has filed an election fraud complaint with the state Division of Elections against its one-time consultant.

The controversy in Florida — which began with possibly fraudulent forms that first cropped up in Palm Beach County –  has engulfed the Republican National Committee, which admitted Thursday that it urged state parties in seven swing states to hire the firm, Strategic Allied Consulting.The RNC paid the company at least $3.1 million — routed through the state parties of Florida, Nevada, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia — to register voters and run get-out-the-vote operations. Wisconsin and Ohio had not yet paid the firm for get-out-the-vote operations it was contracted to do.

The RNC severed its ties to the firm Thursday after questions arose about the work Strategic Allied did in Palm Beach County, where election officials have turned over to prosecutors 106 voter registration forms submitted by one worker, some of which contained apparent forgeries and other problems.

Now elections officials across Florida are scrutinizing voter registration forms turned in to their counties on behalf of the state Republican Party. The state elections division is also investigating.

Florida GOP officials – who said they hired Strategic Allied at the request of the RNC – alleged in their complaint Thursday that the firm turned in forms with fake signatures and false information, said Chris Cate, spokesman for the Division of Elections, which will turn over its findings to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <LA Times>

Photo credit: liveleak.com

Ed Schultz discussed this Republican voter fraud and other forms of Republican election fraud with Barbara Boxer and Allen Raymond.

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When Republicans claim voter fraud, their claims have been disproven, without exception. When voter fraud actually does occur, however rarely, Republicans are the culprits. But Republican election fraud is not limited to mere voter fraud. Beware intimidation, and if anyone tries to use harassment tactics to keep you from voting, report them to the FBI.

Several days ago I posted notices in my building asking people, who need help registering to vote, to contact me.  Yesterday I helped six register.  Two had state IDs, so I just put them on the website and helped them with the online form.  Four did not so I printed out the paper forms, helped them fill them out, made sure they had the required (Oregon) documentation to attach: a paycheck stub, a utility bill, a bank statement, or any government document.  I put their information into my own envelopes, put my own stamps on them, and gave them to them to mail.  During the discussion, it came out that five of them intended to vote for Obama, and one, for Romney.  The idea of not helping the Republican did not even occur to me.  Making sure voters have an opportunity to vote does not and must never depend on party.  Ironically, the Republican I had just helped accused me of voter fraud.  He said that to be fair, I should only have helped one of the Democrats.  I told him I just helped everyone who asked.  Sadly, the Republican party does not see it that way.

Rachel Maddow reported on another example of Republican election fraud.

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And that’s not all.  In districts where Republicans control electronic voting machines that leave no paper trail, actual vote tallies have differed from exit polling by 3 – 5%, always in favor of the Republican.  My own research verified this in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

When I post my weekly election projection, there will be many reasons to smile.  But remember, Republicans have more ways to steal an election than dogs have fleas.  Your vote is too important to throw away.