Florida's Gov. Bush out to suppress black vote in Florida

Loopz · Aug 16, 2004

LINKY.

Fucking disgraceful. Then again, we knew these people have no shame.

Maury V. · Aug 16, 2004

Loopz said:
LINKY.

Fucking disgraceful. Then again, we knew these people have no shame.

Can't read it. Gotta sign up.

Hidden Character · Aug 16, 2004

I would throw a molotov cocktail at his mansion seeing as how I'm only 6-10 minutes away, but that plan would backfire w/ me winding in jail and him making an example out of me for the general public. Ah, I'll just go vote.

Loopz · Aug 16, 2004

The big story out of Florida over the weekend was the tragic devastation caused by Hurricane Charley. But there's another story from Florida that deserves our attention.

State police officers have gone into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando and interrogated them as part of an odd "investigation" that has frightened many voters, intimidated elderly volunteers and thrown a chill over efforts to get out the black vote in November.

The officers, from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which reports to Gov. Jeb Bush, say they are investigating allegations of voter fraud that came up during the Orlando mayoral election in March.

Officials refused to discuss details of the investigation, other than to say that absentee ballots are involved. They said they had no idea when the investigation might end, and acknowledged that it may continue right through the presidential election.

"We did a preliminary inquiry into those allegations and then we concluded that there was enough evidence to follow through with a full criminal investigation," said Geo Morales, a spokesman for the Department of Law Enforcement.

The state police officers, armed and in plain clothes, have questioned dozens of voters in their homes. Some of those questioned have been volunteers in get-out-the-vote campaigns.

I asked Mr. Morales in a telephone conversation to tell me what criminal activity had taken place.

"I can't talk about that," he said.

I asked if all the people interrogated were black.

"Well, mainly it was a black neighborhood we were looking at - yes,'' he said.

He also said, "Most of them were elderly."

When I asked why, he said, "That's just the people we selected out of a random sample to interview."

Back in the bad old days, some decades ago, when Southern whites used every imaginable form of chicanery to prevent blacks from voting, blacks often fought back by creating voters leagues, which were organizations that helped to register, educate and encourage black voters. It became a tradition that continues in many places, including Florida, today.

Not surprisingly, many of the elderly black voters who found themselves face to face with state police officers in Orlando are members of the Orlando League of Voters, which has been very successful in mobilizing the city's black vote.

The president of the Orlando League of Voters is Ezzie Thomas, who is 73 years old. With his demonstrated ability to deliver the black vote in Orlando, Mr. Thomas is a tempting target for supporters of George W. Bush in a state in which the black vote may well spell the difference between victory and defeat.

The vile smell of voter suppression is all over this so-called investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Joseph Egan, an Orlando lawyer who represents Mr. Thomas, said: "The Voters League has workers who go into the community to do voter registration, drive people to the polls and help with absentee ballots. They are elderly women mostly. They get paid like $100 for four or five months' work, just to offset things like the cost of their gas. They see this political activity as an important contribution to their community. Some of the people in the community had never cast a ballot until the league came to their door and encouraged them to vote."

Now, said Mr. Egan, the fear generated by state police officers going into people's homes as part of an ongoing criminal investigation related to voting is threatening to undo much of the good work of the league. He said, "One woman asked me, 'Am I going to go to jail now because I voted by absentee ballot?' "

According to Mr. Egan, "People who have voted by absentee ballot for years are refusing to allow campaign workers to come to their homes. And volunteers who have participated for years in assisting people, particularly the elderly or handicapped, are scared and don't want to risk a criminal investigation."

Florida is a state that's very much in play in the presidential election, with some polls showing John Kerry in the lead. A heavy-handed state police investigation that throws a blanket of fear over thousands of black voters can only help President Bush.

The long and ugly tradition of suppressing the black vote is alive and thriving in the Sunshine State.

by Bob Herbert/NY Times

Amano Jacu · Aug 16, 2004

All I want to know is if they have changed the voting system in Florida so there are no mistakes this time... :rolleyes:

Nesagwa · Aug 16, 2004

Amano Jacu said:
All I want to know is if they have changed the voting system in Florida so there are no mistakes this time...

Not that it matters to you, yes, we have all electronic voting machines now.

striderpunk · Aug 16, 2004

Nesagwa said:
Not that it matters to you, yes, we have all electronic voting machines now.

yeah nes It does matter we all blame the cheap ass floridians for the reign of king george

Nesagwa · Aug 16, 2004

striderpunk said:
yeah nes It does matter we all blame the cheap ass floridians for the reign of king george

He doesnt even live in the US............. and this thread is about the GOVERNOR elections, not the PRESIDENTIAL ones.

No Means Yes · Aug 16, 2004

It's about time someone took preventative measures.

zer0hue · Aug 16, 2004

Loopz said:
Fucking disgraceful. Then again, we knew these people have no shame.

My sentiments exactly...

Amano Jacu · Aug 17, 2004

Nesagwa said:
Not that it matters to you, yes, we have all electronic voting machines now.

I don't give a fuck about the gov. elections, yes, but I was talking about the presidential ones. And like it or not, those affect all the fucking world. And by the way, Bush showed some interest in the Spanish general elections, specially when the puppet of his ass-buddy Ansar lost them, so I have the same right to ask about the US ones.

thundr51 · Aug 17, 2004

When I was in college (an HCBU) doing some volunteer work I remember some guy coming around near the elections and tellling the families that they should vote but they didn't have to do it on the actual day. They said that they could wait and go to their voting precint up to a week AFTER the election...and he wasn't talking about absentee ballots either. It's rather sad that we live in times like these... rather sad indeed... :oh_no:

BlackSpy · Aug 17, 2004

Amano Jacu said:
I don't give a fuck about the gov. elections, yes, but I was talking about the presidential ones. And like it or not, those affect all the fucking world. And by the way, Bush showed some interest in the Spanish general elections, specially when the puppet of his ass-buddy Ansar lost them, so I have the same right to ask about the US ones.

Absolutely

Tacitus · Aug 17, 2004

Oh please....

This is one of those tempest in a teacup stories, I'm sure.

Even if it's true, I'm sure no one is noting that both sides are *rife* with election fraud for YEARS.

Fuck, the Kennedys did it, Nixon did the Watergate things, Jim Crow Laws... etc... etc.

To say that it's something that is new and the Republicans invented it this year is fucking moronic and short sighteed and just as slanted as the religious right.

The KKK ran Indiana... The mob ran Chicago elections.

Shall I continue?

Before you post this garbage up, do your homework.

Loopz · Aug 17, 2004

Oh please....

This is one of those tempest in a teacup stories, I'm sure.

Even if it's true, I'm sure no one is noting that both sides are *rife* with election fraud for YEARS.

Fuck, the Kennedys did it, Nixon did the Watergate things, Jim Crow Laws... etc... etc.

To say that it's something that is new and the Republicans invented it this year is fucking moronic and short sighteed and just as slanted as the religious right.

The KKK ran Indiana... The mob ran Chicago elections.

Shall I continue?

Before you post this garbage up, do your homework.

Nice dodge. I never said it was new, nor said the Republicans invented it genius.
All that bullshit you posted doesn't make it right.
I just think scaring black seniors out of voting in Florida is a bit fucked up.
Then again, there's no such thing as 'too far' for the goosestepping GOP.

Geddon_jt · Aug 17, 2004

Do you guys seriously believe everything you read?

Give me a break.
I seriously gasp and shake my head at posts like these. I have refrained from posting in *any* political threads on this site, but I'm posting this in both of the current active political threads up right now. "Bush is against blacks and gays?" How can you people muster the energy to respond to posts like that?

I'm not advocating for one side of the next, my request is simple. Use your brains. You HAVE to sort through the bias that exist in EVERY media outlet to unveil the truth, and it is even more important during campaign time.

*Sigh*
Thank God you have to be 18 to vote in this country. The people paying attention see right through this sort of hyperbole.

Tacitus · Aug 17, 2004

Loopz said:
Nice dodge. I never said it was new, nor said the Republicans invented it genius.
All that bullshit you posted doesn't make it right.
I just think scaring black seniors out of voting in Florida is a bit fucked up.
Then again, there's no such thing as 'too far' for the goosestepping GOP.

Dodge? Where did you get the impression I was defending it?

geddon_jt said:
I'm not advocating for one side of the next, my request is simple. Use your brains. You HAVE to sort through the bias that exist in EVERY media outlet to unveil the truth, and it is even more important during campaign time.

*Sigh*
Thank God you have to be 18 to vote in this country. The people paying attention see right through this sort of hyperbole.

I have to 100% agree with this.

My point was the same thing, but maybe going a little further. Besically, this practice has been going on since this country started.

What we have today in this country is a sensationalist media and some powerful lobbyists/powerbrokers that are sore about the way they lost the last election.

They play off of each other to their own benefits.

So what you get are stories like this, where you can cut through the media bias with a knife. It's obvious, it's blatant.

Is it right? No, I never said that. I made a *point* to bring up examples of election meddling from both parties, because it's a fact of life in American politics.

The quotes in this piece are priceless, it reads like it's liberal propaganda, mostly because it probably is. The conservatives and religious right are no better either, I about put my fist through the TV this weekend when I was channel surfing and stopped on a political lecture from a republican figure who was just to the right of Hitler in a lot of ways.

It's shit like this article that really irritate me. The world isn't fair. It's a mostly evil place and the worst in people wins almost every day. When your party EXCELS at these tactics.. when it benefits your party in a palpable way and then you point at stories like these to "expose" the other side for what they really are, it's only more propaganda that feeds into the bullshit machine that we call the American media.

JFK was helped into office by the Mafia.
The KKK ran indiana.
Nixon engineered Watergate.
Reagan negotiated with the Iranians in '80.
Bush fucks with FL voters.

When either side says it's isn't fair, re-examine that list. Then carefully reread their comments.

In all honesty, I've come to a realization that except for a few minor policy differences, it won't matter who the fuck you vote for in November. It hasn't really mattered for a while. You're getting the same horse of a different color anymore and pandering and peddling this shit to Joe Lunchbox is a distraction to the middle and lower classes designed to make you think you're making a difference while the elite in this country pick your fucking pocket.

Pick a billionaire family in november and vote for it.. either way they don't fucking care about you.

(rant over)

Loopz · Aug 17, 2004

Do you guys seriously believe everything you read?

Give me a break.
I seriously gasp and shake my head at posts like these. I have refrained from posting in *any* political threads on this site, but I'm posting this in both of the current active political threads up right now. "Bush is against blacks and gays?" How can you people muster the energy to respond to posts like that?

I'm not advocating for one side of the next, my request is simple. Use your brains. You HAVE to sort through the bias that exist in EVERY media outlet to unveil the truth, and it is even more important during campaign time.

*Sigh*
Thank God you have to be 18 to vote in this country. The people paying attention see right through this sort of hyperbole.

It's well-documented what the GOP did in Florida to steal the election in 2000.
Deleting 59,000 mostly black and Hispanic names from the voting rolls there solely because of similar surnames to inmates is pretty fucked up, and so is what they're doing now. As for hyperbole, no one's been a bigger purveyor of false information than GWB and Co. WMD anyone? They never fucking existed, they were our primary reason to go to war, and now almost 1,000 American soldiers have died for nothing. How can you justify spending billions to pacify a nation that was NOT a threat to us when we have such urgent need for investment in schools and health care right here in America?

Join the debate with something useful next time, OK?

Tacitus · Aug 17, 2004

Loopz said:
It's well-documented what the GOP did in Florida to steal the election in 2000.
Deleting 59,000 mostly black and Hispanic names from the voting rolls there solely because of similar surnames to inmates is pretty fucked up, and so is what they're doing now.

Prove it.

Nobody can and nobody will. Give it up. The election was lost by hook or by crook, but it's too late to do anything about it now.

The reason why the left can't get things together and make a huge push... at least not one as big as they should have gotten post-2000 is this exact problem. They'd rather whine.. 4 years later and the act just doesn't bring 'em in like it used to.

As for hyperbole, no one's been a bigger purveyor of false information than GWB and Co. WMD anyone? They never fucking existed, they were our primary reason to go to war, and now almost 1,000 American soldiers have died for nothing.

Yes, they did.

We sold them and sent them to Iraq in the 80's. During that little Iran-Iraq skirmish. We know/knew exactly what they had.. just pick up an inventory list in the pentagon.

If he didn't have them anymore, well, you certainly had everyone fooled. Even your beloved John Kerry, France and most Democrats voted on the issue the same way.

How can you justify spending billions to pacify a nation that was NOT a threat to us when we have such urgent need for investment in schools and health care right here in America?

Join the debate with something useful next time, OK?

Because it di just that... distracted everyone from what's going on over here. Freshman year sociology, my friend..... it's called controlling the masses.

It's why we're not living under british rule anymore....

Geddon_jt · Aug 17, 2004

Loopz said:
It's well-documented what the GOP did in Florida to steal the election in 2000.
Deleting 59,000 mostly black and Hispanic names from the voting rolls there solely because of similar surnames to inmates is pretty fucked up, and so is what they're doing now. As for hyperbole, no one's been a bigger purveyor of false information than GWB and Co. WMD anyone? They never fucking existed, they were our primary reason to go to war, and now almost 1,000 American soldiers have died for nothing. How can you justify spending billions to pacify a nation that was NOT a threat to us when we have such urgent need for investment in schools and health care right here in America?

Join the debate with something useful next time, OK?

VanillaThunder is doing a pretty admirable job of arguing the substantive issues. I got all the debating out of my system when I saw your movie a couple months back.

As for contributing something useful, IMHO, my post is the most "useful" thing in this thread. :cool:

I've said my peace, no further comment from moi.

Florida's Gov. Bush out to suppress black vote in Florida

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