More on the CT GOP’s efforts against Voter Registration
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 10/11/2008 - 10:59(Originally posted at MyLeftNutmeg.)
Since I wrote my previous blog post, The RNC Brings Voter Suppression to Connecticut there have been a few interesting developments.
More and more people are sending me information about this and about the RNC efforts across the nation to suppress voter registration and voter turnout. This included a PDF of a letter from Lucy Corelli, the Republican Registrar of Voters to Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal about a complaint she filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC). In her letter she writes
I am filing this complaint because I believe in the fair and democratic process. I feel fraudulent behavior should be discouraged and eliminated. Everyone who is eligible has the right to register and vote but this abuse of our system makes a mockery of one of our most precious rights.
Macomb County MI GOP Chair Sues Bloggers
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 10/10/2008 - 06:10On September 10th, Eartha Jane Melzer posted an article to The Michigan Messenger, a Center for Independent Media website, entitled Lose your house, lose your vote. Snarky Anderson has now updated an article about this on Blogging for Michigan about a lawsuit that has been filed.
According to Anderson, Melzer’s story ‘was quickly picked up by Detroit's local television stations and soon afterward, by the national cable networks’ and now, the Macomb County GOP Chair is suing the Center for Independent Media, The Michigan Messenger, Melzer and others. ( Macomb County Circuit Court, case number No. 2008-004340-CZ.)
According to James Stewart, the attorney representing the Center for Independent Media, “Carabelli is a ‘public figure’ within the meaning of New York Times v. Sullivan.”
According to Anderson:
Stewart called the actual-malice standard an extremely difficult burden to carry. He said that he'd seen Meltzer's notes, and expressed confidence that he could successfully defend the suit. He added that Carabelli and the Michigan GOP had responded to the Messenger story "on a public stage," which was the proper venue for airing an issue such as this, and went on to express his hope that "cooler heads will prevail."
On Wednesday, Robert Cox, founder and president of the Media Bloggers Association (MBA) wrote an OpEd for the New York Daily News about the susceptibility of bloggers to litigation. The MBA has launched an education, legal and liability program to help bloggers address these issues. Together with NewsU and other partners, they have launched an online course, Online Media Law: The Basics for Bloggers and Other Online Publishers.
Is the lawsuit brought by the Macomb County GOP Chair a legitimate grievance, or is it a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation ("SLAPP"), aimed at creating a chilling effect on bloggers that would report on voting suppression activities? Does the Supreme Court decision, New York Times v. Sullivan. apply? Are you, as a blogger as informed and protected as you should be? Perhaps the MBA’s new program can you determine how well you are staying within the bounds of the law, and how safe you are from litigation.
Obama, ACORN, and Voter Suppression
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 17:22A key topic on Twitter right now is ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. It turns out that they, together with Project Vote have registered 1.3 million new voters this year many of whom are low or middle income families, and this has worried a lot of conservatives. The RNC seems to be having conference calls just about every day to attack ACORN, and it is a top topic on Twitter
Sen. McCain addressed this today in a town hall in Waukesha, WI, where in response to people chanting ‘Acorn’ he said,
“There are serious allegations of voter fraud in the battle ground states across America they must be investigated and no one should corrupt the most precious right we have and that is the right to vote.”
For once, I agree with Sen. McCain. Today, I received a press release from Project Vote announcing that the Republican Party of Montana has announced that it is ‘abandoning its plans to challenge the voting eligibility of at least 6,000 residents of that state’.
The Republicans were challenging residents in Democratic districts based on change-of-address cards that had been filed with the U.S. Postal Service. However, according to Teresa James, an attorney for Project Vote, ‘Montana law and the National Voter Registration Act allowed voters who had moved to cast their ballots in their old precincts’.
The Missoulian provides much more detail. “U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy issued a scathing order Wednesday lambasting the Montana Republican Party for challenging the registrations of thousands of Montana voters”.
Jacob Eaton, the executive director of the state GOP said, “My intent was to ensure that voters are properly registered and that Montanans would have the utmost faith in the integrity of our elections process.” Judge Molloy wrote, “In his zeal to protect what he sees as Montana's fragile democracy from these transient hordes, Eaton ignored the very law that answers his challenges” And “One can imagine the mischief an immature political operative could inject into an election cycle were he to use the statutes, not for their intended purpose of protecting the integrity of the people's democracy, but rather to execute a tawdry political ploy”.
While the Republicans have backed off from this effort to suppress voter turnout, the Democrats intend to continue the case against the Republicans for violating federal law. Art Noonan, the executive director of the state Democrats said, “They taught us a long time ago that if you want to stop bullying on the playground, you stand up to the bully.”
This isn’t the only case where people’s ‘most precious right to vote’ is being illegally threatened. The New York Times reports that “The six swing states seem to be in violation of federal law in two ways.” One is by purging voters within ninety days of a Federal election, and the other is in ‘improperly using Social Security information to screen registration applications from new voters’.
So, what does this have to do with ACORN and Sen. Obama? Well, conservatives are all concerned about Sen. Obama’s involvement with ACORN. Yet Sen. Obama never was an organizer for ACORN. Instead, as a lawyer, he represented ACORN in a successful lawsuit against the State of Illinois ‘to force state compliance with a federal voting access law’.
That is the sort of involvement we need to see from our politicians. We need to see them stand up for the rights of voters and the rule of law.
So, yes, Sen. McCain, “There are serious allegations of voter fraud in the battle ground states across America they must be investigated and no one should corrupt the most precious right we have and that is the right to vote.” We need leaders like Sen. Obama to defend our most precious right of voting, especially against Republican operatives that attempt to suppress voter turnout by violating Federal Election law.
The Long Blue Tail – Cannelton, IN
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 21:44After searching online for something interesting to say about Columbia, IL, I wondered what the next stop on my virtual retracing of Blue Highways would bring me. I skimmed through Huntingburg, IN quickly enough to see that Obama supporters are canvassing there and that the Dubois Masonic Lodge will be having a Fish Fry on October 18th.
So, following Least Heat-Moon’s path, I curved back and forth down the map of Indiana Route 66, through part of the Hoosier National Forest, and then following the twists and turns of the Ohio River. Back in 2004, Pam Heeke wrote a blog entry about Blue Highways, mentioning the passage that I was reading. It didn’t say much more and she hasn’t updated her blog since July, so it didn’t really help me much.
I found a brief reference to the Cannelton Heritage Festival. The website described it as:
Fifth Annual. Food and vendor booths will be located on Washington Street in Cannelton. Local musicians will perform throughout the day. Wine tasting with regional wineries, guided historical walking tour, pumpkin painting and other children actives . Artisans and craftsmen will be demonstrating their skills – wood and stone carving, painting,
The entry provided an email address for a person to contact for more information. I fired off an email and then went to try and find other information. I did some searches on Christ-on-the-Ohio, which turned up some fascinating information. So, I gathered notes for what I assumed would be the next blog post.
However, when you are travelling, it is always wise to expect the unexpected, and today, I got a little bit of that. Brandi, who writes, When it rains… and was the contact for the Cannelton Heritage Festival responded to my email. She said that the festival is in its second year and had previously been called the Pumpkin Fest. She mentioned that the festival been languishing when she and a few other people took over the planning and turned it into a “Heritage Festival celebrating art, craftsmenship, wine, music and food.”
I thought I’d see if I could find any blog entries about the Pumpkin Fest in Cannelton and I found an entry entitled, It’s Over!. The blog post was by a woman named Brandi who wrote:
For the past few years sleepy little Cannelton has had a Pumpkin Fest every second Saturday in October. With hardly any vendors and participants, its a bust. So, as part of a small group I'm involved in of committed citizens, like 7 of us, with the rehab of the town as our mission, we decided that if we didn't get involved in the planning process of the festival, then it'll be another embarrassment on the town. This group has taken it upon ourselves to be the big brother of the town, look out for it, and try to accomplish strategic things to turn things around.
It is a long and wonderful blog post about the revitalized festival. She talks about the Troubadours of Divine Bliss, which were her favorite group last year. I’ve followed the link and am listening to their music as I write this blog post. I’ve also stopped to glance at their blog.
In response to my question about bloggers from around Cannelton, she said, “I blog, but I don’t always write much about the town.” She didn’t mention the name of her blog, but I’m pretty sure I found it. So, what has Brandi been up to since last year? Well, her blog shows a picture of her boys in a pickup truck full of pumpkins for the Heritage Festival this weekend. She has a bunch of posts up about Obama, as well as a post about Hurricane Ike and the damage it did to Indiana.
She writes about canvassing for Obama and about her parents taking her kids to the Kentucky State Fair, all of this sprinkled with great pictures from her Flickr photostream.
I’ll have to save my comments about Christ-on-the-Ohio until another day. Brandi’s efforts to revamp a local festival, to get out and canvas for Obama and to write about the stuff of life is a great illustration of the America that I’ve been hoping to find as I go out on my virtual retracing of Blue Highways. She ends her blog post about canvassing for Obama with the line, “We are the CHANGE we've been waiting for.” She certainly is, and I am blessed to have met her along the way. Please, stop by, read her blog, think about what you can do where you live, and if it is anywhere near Cannelton, IN, try to get to the Cannelton Heritage Festival this weekend.
