The DOJ Truly Serves At The Pleasure of the President

[VinBucFan]

Not a big fan of the source, but depending on your perspective the article is either funny or sad:

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/holder-brief-black-pastors-campaign-2012/567501

Love this quote:

"Cleaver said they would not tell pastors which candidate to support. They will let them know who to regard as the bad guys, though (hint: not Democrats). "We're going to talk about some of the draconian laws that have cropped up around the country as a result of the 17 percent increase in African American votes," Cleaver said, describing voter ID laws as a form of Jim Crow-style "poll tax" on seniors and black voters."

Holder getting good use of the Columbia JD . ..  I am sure that had a class on being a political operative. 

[Chief Joseph]

I thought those laws were aimed at illegals? Hard to keep track of who you're discriminating against in such a politically correct country.

[beaners]

For an administration that says everyone has to come together,  their actions seem to be the opposite. 

[dbucfan]

Hope and change has evolved.  Hope for change....

[CBWx2]

Love this quote:

"Cleaver said they would not tell pastors which candidate to support. They will let them know who to regard as the bad guys, though (hint: not Democrats). "We're going to talk about some of the draconian laws that have cropped up around the country as a result of the 17 percent increase in African American votes," Cleaver said, describing voter ID laws as a form of Jim Crow-style "poll tax" on seniors and black voters."

I love it too, because it's spot on. These voter registration and ID laws are aimed at decreasing voter participation under the guise of eliminating voter fraud. Heck, the guy behind them pretty much admitted as much back in 1980...

[Chief Joseph]

Requiring voters to be U.S. citizens = Draconian.

[CBWx2]

Requiring voters to be U.S. citizens = Draconian.

Voters are already required to be US citizens. These new laws aren't a revelation in that regard. The truth is that illegal aliens voting isn't really a massive problem, because the vast majority of them are living in the shadows and wouldn't be stupid enough to risk fraudulently registering to vote. Heck, the vast majority don't even file for income tax refunds. You seriously think if they are willing to pass on thousands of dollars in federal income tax refunds, they are going to risk trying to vote?

A major probe by the Justice Department between 2002 and 2007 failed to prosecute a single person for going to the polls and impersonating an eligible voter, which the anti-fraud laws are supposedly designed to stop. Out of the 300 million votes cast in that period, federal prosecutors convicted only 86 people for voter fraud – and many of the cases involved immigrants and former felons who were simply unaware of their ineligibility. A much-hyped investigation in Wisconsin, meanwhile, led to the prosecution of only .0007 percent of the local electorate for alleged voter fraud.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-gop-war-on-voting-20110830#ixzz1wrSLE3wC

A .0007% rate of voter fraud hardly seems like a reason for such harsh restrictions and reforms, wouldn't you agree?

[Durango 95]

A major probe by the Justice Department between 2002 and 2007 failed to prosecute a single person for going to the polls and impersonating an eligible voter, which the anti-fraud laws are supposedly designed to stop. Out of the 300 million votes cast in that period, federal prosecutors convicted only 86 people for voter fraud – and many of the cases involved immigrants and former felons who were simply unaware of their ineligibility. A much-hyped investigation in Wisconsin, meanwhile, led to the prosecution of only .0007 percent of the local electorate for alleged voter fraud.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-gop-war-on-voting-20110830#ixzz1wrSLE3wC

A .0007% rate of voter fraud hardly seems like a reason for such harsh restrictions and reforms, wouldn't you agree?

That should tell you that all this hullabaloo of voter fraud is not about voter fraud at all.

But....Shhhh....let's not interrupt the kabuki dance by speaking the truth.

[Chief Joseph]

Because "the truth," in your view, is that requiring an I.D. to vote is harsh and Draconian? That's straight up b.s. rhetoric.

[dbucfan]

Is there some reason not to assure the voting process is as secure as a plane ride?  Not intending to be difficult - but having watched the Acorn sagas play through I am more than a bit bothered by the insinuation that all is well - when some rather large issues clearly exist. 

[Durango 95]

Oh yeah, you figured it out, buddy. I am absolutely beside myself with these miniscule numbers of nearly non existent voter fraud and the impact an ID would have.

[CBWx2]

Is there some reason not to assure the voting process is as secure as a plane ride?  Not intending to be difficult - but having watched the Acorn sagas play through I am more than a bit bothered by the insinuation that all is well - when some rather large issues clearly exist.

You mean the issues addressed in this article, which were investigated and found to be completely fabricated?

To hear Republicans tell it, they are waging a virtuous campaign to crack down on rampant voter fraud – a curious position for a party that managed to seize control of the White House in 2000 despite having lost the popular vote. After taking power, the Bush administration declared war on voter fraud, making it a "top priority" for federal prosecutors. In 2006, the Justice Department fired two U.S. attorneys who refused to pursue trumped-up cases of voter fraud in New Mexico and Washington, and Karl Rove called illegal voting "an enormous and growing problem." In parts of America, he told the Republican National Lawyers Association, "we are beginning to look like we have elections like those run in countries where the guys in charge are colonels in mirrored sunglasses." According to the GOP, community organizers like ACORN were actively recruiting armies of fake voters to misrepresent themselves at the polls and cast illegal ballots for the Democrats.

Even at the time, there was no evidence to back up such outlandish claims. A major probe by the Justice Department between 2002 and 2007 failed to prosecute a single person for going to the polls and impersonating an eligible voter, which the anti-fraud laws are supposedly designed to stop. Out of the 300 million votes cast in that period, federal prosecutors convicted only 86 people for voter fraud – and many of the cases involved immigrants and former felons who were simply unaware of their ineligibility. A much-hyped investigation in Wisconsin, meanwhile, led to the prosecution of only .0007 percent of the local electorate for alleged voter fraud. "Our democracy is under siege from an enemy so small it could be hiding anywhere," joked Stephen Colbert. A 2007 report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a leading advocate for voting rights at the New York University School of Law, quantified the problem in stark terms. "It is more likely that an individual will be struck by lightning," the report calculated, "than that he will impersonate another voter at the polls."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-gop-war-on-voting-20110830#ixzz1wrhwaqYQ

[dbucfan]

Oh no, I have failed you.  So the problem is what?  Is there some downside here?  I mean other than the finding from Rolling Stone that you feel validates some sort of assurance that all is well.  Maybe we can get them to review the social programs in place so we can get a similar result.  No way they were looking to ratify their belief...

[CBWx2]

Oh no, I have failed you.  So the problem is what?  Is there some downside here?  I mean other than the finding from Rolling Stone that you feel validates some sort of assurance that all is well.  Maybe we can get them to review the social programs in place so we can get a similar result.  No way they were looking to ratify their belief...

They are quoting DOJ voter fraud statistics, dbuc. I don't know how you can argue that that doesn't validate the assurance that all is well. And that wasn't the Obama DOJ's numbers, it was the Bush administration DOJ numbers. The downside is that poor people who have a meager income and a lack of private transportation are far less likely to catch the bus to the DMV and pay for an ID card so that they can vote. It's an intentional and completely unnecessary roadblock for certain demographics of voters. Who do you think sed demographics of voters are more likely to cast their votes for?

You were saying, Mr. Weyrich...

[Durango 95]

It's not an issue of voter fraud which the numbers clearly demonstrate it's simply an attempt at voter suppression which benefits one political party in particular.