"The integrity of the ballot"

[Lanya]

   
[............]
 Last April, while the Justice Department and the White House were planning the firings, Rove gave a speech in Washington to the Republican National Lawyers Association. He ticked off 11 states that he said could be pivotal in the 2008 elections. Bush has appointed new U.S. attorneys in nine of them since 2005: Florida, Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Arkansas, Michigan, Nevada and New Mexico. U.S. attorneys in the latter four were among those fired.

    Rove thanked the audience for "all that you are doing in those hot spots around the country to ensure that the integrity of the ballot is protected." He added, "A lot in American politics is up for grabs."

    The department's civil rights division, for example, supported a Georgia voter identification law that a court later said discriminated against poor, minority voters. It also declined to oppose an unusual Texas redistricting plan that helped expand the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. That plan was partially reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

    Frank DiMarino, a former federal prosecutor who served six U.S. attorneys in Florida and Georgia during an 18-year Justice Department career, said that too much emphasis on voter fraud investigations "smacks of trying to use prosecutorial power to investigate and potentially indict political enemies."

    Several former voting rights lawyers, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of antagonizing the administration, said the division's political appointees reversed the recommendations of career lawyers in key cases and transferred or drove out most of the unit's veteran attorneys.
;...................]
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16962753.htm

[BT]

Are you suggesting a blind eye be turned towards the integrity of the ballot box?

[Plane]

"The department's civil rights division, for example, supported a Georgia voter identification law that a court later said discriminated against poor, minority voters."


I think it is very biased against Democrats to insist that persons vote only once.

"A Court" is very wrong in this particular case , the law was written to make certain that ID would be made free and easy to obtain.

[Lanya]

I think ballot integrity was the furthest thing from his mind.   

[BT]

I think ballot integrity was the furthest thing from his mind.

Why would that be? THe GOP is the champion of the ballot box. They gave blacks the vote, as well as women.

or did you forget?

[Lanya]

He wanted to assure that the election would be won by Republicans. Thus the "hot spots" were where 9 of the fired US Attorneys were from.  Simple.

[BT]

So if a state is a close one according to the polls, ballot integrity should not be a consideration. And voter fraud should not be investigated?

Why should these states get a pass?

[Lanya]

They shouldn't get a pass.  They also should not have their USA's fired for purely political reasons in the midst of a 2nd term.

[BT]

If they were fired for poor performance in prosecuting the law, specifically ballot integrity issues, why is that a bad thing?

It's their job. If they can't do it, perhaps someone else can. They serve at the pleasure of the president any way.

Perhaps it displeased him, that US Attorneys would take such a cavalier attitude toward protecting one of the fundamental safeguards of a free people.

I am surrprised you are in favor of fraudulent behavior around the voting booth, by advocating limitations on the executive branch's oversight and ability to rectify performance issues concerning voting.

[sirs]

I am surrprised you are in favor of fraudulent behavior around the voting booth, by advocating limitations on the executive branch's oversight and ability to rectify performance issues concerning voting.

Ends justify the means     

[BT]

You know, is suspect a lot of the noise and misinformation that comes with the noise is simply a result of pressure on the authors to come up with adequate word counts to fill the pages between ads.

The case concerning Georgia involved requiring a picture ID to vote. and if you couldn't afford to pay the normal fee that fee would be waived. A court decided that was an unjust burden on the poor, likely minority, likely democrat voting public.

Pfffft.

[Lanya]

Do you really want a country where who is prosecuted is based on whether they're Republicans or Democrats?
That's what we fought the Cold War for---against the Communists who thought that was just a fine idea.  That is un-American.  And that is what this whole thing is all about.  All the firings.

[BT]

The prosecutors were fired for not vigorously prosecuting cases.

Is it ok for dems to break the laws?

Should they be investgated and prosecuted Same as republicans?

Tom DeLay comes to mind.