Republicans Are Fast and Furious about Suppressing the Vote in Florida

X Facebook Email Flipboard Pinterest Print Reddit

Last updated on June 23rd, 2012 at 09:48 pm

The partisan decision to charge Eric Holder with contempt of Congress has nothing to do with a love for the rule of law. Contrary to Issa rhetoric, this has nothing to do with “fast and furious” – the program initiated by the Bush Administration, which Issa supported.

Of course, they didn’t claim as they do now that Fast and Furious is about taking away the second Amendment, which is one of the many ridiculous claims made by everyone from the NRA to Newt Gingrich.

As Gingrich sees it, the Bush and Obama administrations deliberately attempted misguided sting operations so there would be deadly gun violence along the U.S.-Mexican border, which in turn would repulse the American mainstream, which in turn would create a demand for gun-control legislation, which in turn would cause Congress to pass gun-control laws, which in turn would cause a breakdown of Second Amendment rights.

This is about dirty politics, Republican style.They keep slinging the mud, hoping it will stick. The etch a sketch machine is working overtime on this particular operation.

It isn’t like the Republicans stand a chance of winning and election based on policies that would increase economic inequality beyond the already unprecedented levels we live under today. It isn’t like they will win women over with policies that strip them of all dignity, be it being paid 77 cents on the dollar for doing the same job as a man, or the attacks on reproductive rights. It isn’t like the Republicans can win over support for their language gestapo policies that ban women from using the word vagina in the legislature and anyone from using the word, gay.

When you have nothing to offer, the one thing that’s left is making the other guy look bad, and therefore less likeable. Mitt Romney is so out of touch, that there is no amount of spin that will make him likeable or approachable to the American people. The man has flip flopped to the point that no one believes him. His inability to connect with American voters has been a constant. Whether he’s mocking homemade cookies or is so utterly fascinated by the way people order sandwiches, Mitt Romney cannot connect with voters. He can’t even connect with his own base. As the latest Pew Poll numbers show, Obama leads in likeability.

A politician’s likeability quotient is a factor in the personality politics that has replaced discussions about policy. Since Republicans can’t make Romney more likeable, the remaining option is to make Obama less likable and make his administration appear corrupt – for upholding the very constitution that Republicans say they love.

I’m sure there are some Republicans who really do respect the spirit and intent of the U.S. constitution – even if it means respecting the rights of people who aren’t rich white men named Koch. Unfortunately, these days, they don’t hold the keys to the Republican kingdom. It’s the people who think it’s their God given right to buy governments who hold those keys. It’s the people who think we really screwed up by giving women and black people the vote.

This brings us to the real reason for Issa’s contempt of court Charge: Republican desperation. They can’t an election on the issues, making dirty tricks their only option.

I got this email this morning from a site called PJ media, which is just one example of what Republican smear campaigns look like.

Dear friend,

Yesterday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 23-17 along party lines to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to produce subpoenaed documents requested for the congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious. But this isn’t the only thing plaguing Holder and his Justice Department.

In May, PJ Columnist J. Christian Adams learned that Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner had discovered and purged up to 53,000 dead voters from the state’s voter rolls. Noncitizens were also found (at least four of them might have voted) and the secretary of state began purging them as well.

Adams applauded Florida for taking the voter registration problem seriously, but Eric Holder’s Justice Department reacted differently. Shortly after the state began to take action, the DOJ’s Voting Section ordered Florida to stop purging foreigners from the voter rolls.

You may recall that PJ Media’s “Every Single One” series exposed the partisan DOJ hiring practices and the radicalism of the DOJ Civil Rights Division lawyers hired by the Obama administration. Two of the DOJ lawyers whose radical background was exposed by Adams and Hans A. von Spakovsky in that series are now at the forefront of the fight to stop Florida from cleaning up its voter rolls.

Take Elise Shore, the DOJ attorney behind the initial letter telling Florida to stop removing foreigners from the rolls. She worked for more than two years as a Regional Counsel for MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund) where she was an outspoken critic of Georgia’s voter ID law and its proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration. It seems Ms. Shore wasn’t able to set aside MALDEF-style radicalism, even after she started working for the taxpayers of the United States.

Then there is Jenigh Garrett, the DOJ Voting Section lawyer who filed the lawsuit to stop Florida from removing non-citizens from the voter rolls. She is a long-time opponent of state election integrity laws, and she worked for approximately five years as an assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF).

Adams’ reporting on this story didn’t stop there. He also brought to light the real scandal in the fight between Florida and the Eric Holder Justice Department, which is that Holder is ultimately defending foreigners voting in American elections. Holder’s actions haven’t deterred citizen groups from finding problems with the voter rolls elsewhere, though. Just this week Election Integrity Maryland found dead voters infesting the rolls in the state’s three largest jurisdictions.

J. Christian Adams will continue to provide updates on the DOJ’s radical efforts on his PJ Media blog, “Rule of Law.” Check back frequently, and please let your friends know about the great work Adams is doing.

There are so many lies in this email, that one wonders how anyone can believe a word of it.

First, “fast and furious” was originated by the Bush administration. And Darrell Issa supported it when it was a Bush Administration operation. When it was clear that the Bush Administration’s operation wasn’t working, Eric Holder shut it down.

Second, Republicans are seeking documents that if Holder were to release them, he would be breaking the law. They probably know it. In other words, the Republicans are holding Holder in contempt because he refused to break the law.

Third, if the issue really is about getting to the facts, why aren’t the Bush administration officials who created the operation appearing before Congress?

Fourth, the claim that anyone, including Eric Holder advocates allowing non-citizens to vote is categorically false. The issue is Rick Scott’s unconstitutional attempt to deny American citizens, including World War II vets, their inalienable right to vote. In other words, by suing Florida, Eric Holder is upholding the law that Rick Scott, with support from the Republican Party, is violating.

Fifth, County Supervisors, including Republican ones, refuse to cooperate with Rick Scott’s voter purge program because it is so hopelessly flawed.

Sixth, the allegation of partisan hiring is ridiculous, not to mention hypocritical considering the partisan firings and hirings by the Bush administration.

Ultimately, this is a partisan move, in a desperate attempt to punish the Attorney General for doing his job be if be it refusing to hand over documents that would put Holder in violation of the law, or by suing Florida for Rick Scott’s unconstitutional voter purge, as noted by Nancy Pelosi.