Thursday, April 19, 2007

Voter Supression, Rethug-Style

Much of the controversy over the U.S. attorney firings involved their supposed lack of initiative in pressing "voter fraud" cases. In the Rethuglican political lexicon, "voter fraud" is permitting poor and minority citizens to vote Democratic. Greg Gordon, writing for the McClatchy Newspapers, has an excellent report on their strategy in the last election. It's becoming clear that, had the Justice Department not publically fumbled the firings, this strategy would have been in operation in the 2008 elections to try to stem Rethuglican defeats. Key passage:

"For six years, the Bush Administration, aided by Justice Department political appointees, has pursued an aggressive legal effort to restrict voter turnout in key battleground states in ways that favor Republican political candidates. The administration intensified its efforts last year as President Bush's popularity and Republican support eroded heading into a midterm battle for control of Congress. . ."

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