GOP Planning Voter Intimidation In Mississippi?
The reality-based world knows what the term “poll watchers” means, particularly when they are deployed by the GOP in the former Confederacy — and especially when anti-democracy extremists like J. Christian Adams and Ken Cuccinelli are involved:
As Senator Thad Cochran, the veteran Republican, fights for his political life in Mississippi by taking the unexpected step of courting black Democrats, conservative organizations working to defeat him are planning to deploy poll watchers to monitor his campaign’s turnout operation in Tuesday’s runoff election.
Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, president of the Senate Conservatives Fund, a political action committee that has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars backing Mr. Cochran’s Tea Party opponent, State Senator Chris McDaniel, said in an interview on Sunday that his group was joining with Freedom Works and the Tea Party Patriots in a “voter integrity project” in Mississippi.
The groups will deploy observers in areas where Mr. Cochran is recruiting Democrats, Mr. Cuccinelli said. J. Christian Adams, a former Justice Department official and conservative commentator who said he was advising the effort, described the watchers as “election observers,” mostly Mississippi residents, who will be trained to “observe whether the law is being followed.”
After nearly 42 years in Washington, Mr. Cochran is facing a dire political threat from Mr. McDaniel, a former radio talk show host. Under state elections law, Democrats may vote in the runoff if they did not vote in the Democratic primary on June 3.
“The laws in Mississippi are unusually open to poll watching from the outside,” said Mr. Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general. “We’re going to take full advantage of that and we’re going to lay eyes on Cochran’s effort to bring Democrats in,” he added. “And of course, if they voted in primaries, that’s illegal.”
KrisMurphyBlountCountyAL June 23rd, 2014 at 2:01 am
Since when is “observing” “intimidation?” …..oh yes, when it’s New Black Panthers with billy clubs. I don’t think Cuccinelli’s folks are planning to carry anything other than cell phones.
KrisMurphyBlountCountyAL June 23rd, 2014 at 2:04 am
There is a huge difference between observing and intimidating. If Cochrane’s team has anything to do with it, these observers will be closely observed.
Talibandrew Breitbot June 23rd, 2014 at 8:27 am
Sockinit, Chris. I’ve done GOTV and seen GOP-style “observing” up close. The “observers” in effect try to criminalize minority voters. That’s intimidation, you ass.
Hell, I’d LOVE for the New Black Panthers to show up with billy clubs — to observe the “observers”. Give them a taste of their own medicine.
KrisMurphyBlountCountyAL June 23rd, 2014 at 10:02 am
Do you have just one example of this heinous behavior that you can document? The Left’s (and your example) of vitriolic hyperbole, is typical.
talibandan2010 June 23rd, 2014 at 10:43 am
Strawman, not relevant to the thread topic. And a typically assholish attempt to hijack the thread. Well, suck on it, Kris. Because we’re talking about neofascist racist vote suppressor J. Christian [sic] Adams, not me. And suck on this, courtesy of the much-smarter-than-you’ll-ever-be Rick Hasen:
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The idea here appears to be that because poll workers cannot discourage Democrats from voting in the election (based upon an unenforceable Mississippi law which says that only those who intend to support the nominee of the party in the primary can vote in the primary), these outside election observers led by Adams may make such encouragement. That is what Adams must mean about “the law” “being followed.” That’s very troubling and I hope DOJ has some observers now heading down there too.
Here’s the background: According to Breitbart,
“Technically, according to former Department of Justice Civil
Rights division attorney J. Christian Adams, it is illegal for Democrats to vote in the GOP primary in Mississippi unless they plan on supporting the Republican candidate in the general election.”
In response to my post saying that Adams was suggesting that poll workers exclude Democratic voters from voting at the polls, despite the fact that the state attorney general has held the law basically unenforceable, Adams responded:
“Hasen obviously ignores the significance of all that I have said about the law at issue. The Breitbart story notes ‘poll workers aren’t mindreaders.’ I’ve also tweeted that Carnac the Magnificent and the Amazing Kreskin might have to be recruited to work the runoff to enforce this law.”
I guess Adams now fancies himself as Carnac or Kreskin.
arc99 June 23rd, 2014 at 10:59 am
the New Black panthers were exercising their 2nd amendment right to bear arms. under the law, able bodied men are part of the militia and have every right to bear arms.
KrisMurphyBlountCountyAL June 24th, 2014 at 2:28 am
Actually there is no right to show up at a polling place and use verbal or physical intimidation. You should read up on that particular incident. Not quite the poll watching these White guys have in mind.
wpadon June 23rd, 2014 at 10:20 am
The only people intimidated by New Black Panthers are racists. I’m know that the 15 to 20 registered Republicans, due to gerrymandering, who still lived in that ward voted. If any of those people were intimidated, that would have been the story, not how someone from “Iowa” would feel.