VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: DoJ Voting Rights Chief Says 'It's a Shame' Elderly May be Disenfranchised by Photo ID Laws, But Minority Voters 'Don't Become Elderly, They Die First'
Incredibly, John Tanner Argues Restrictive Photo ID Laws at the Polls Actually Give Minorities a Greater Voice!
Rest of Panel, Audience Members at 2007 National Latino Congresso in Los Angeles Strongly Disagree...
Posted By Alan Breslauer On 8th October 2007 @ 16:10 In Election Irregularities, Election 2004, Election Reform, Election 2006, Election Fraud, Election 2008, Dirty Tricks, Exit Polls, Election 2007 | 6 Comments
Guest Blogged by Alan Breslauer [1]
Unbelievably, the Chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, John Tanner, contends that while it's "a shame" that elderly voters may be disenfranchised by new Photo ID restrictions at the polls because many don't have driver's licenses, minorities don't have to worry quite as much. Why? Because "minorities don't become elderly the way white people do. They die first."
Yes, that's what Tanner said last Friday at the National Latino Congreso [2] in Los Angeles and The BRAD BLOG [3] was in tow with video camera to prove it.
The NLC kicked off their 2nd Annual convention over the weekend, including an expert panel titled, "It's Not Over - Defending the Right to Vote Against Disenfranchising Tactics". While many issues were covered over the course of the 2 1/2 hour panel, the most hotly debated subject was the current rash of GOP-pushed Photo ID laws sweeping the nation, just in time for the 2008 Presidential Election.
Tanner --- and we'll repeat it again, he's the Chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice --seems to believe that restrictive Photo ID laws are not only non-discriminatory but actually favor minorities (at least in Georgia). All of the other expert panelists, audience members and even one particular vocal cameraman (that would be me), were incredulous, and found Tanner's comments absurd and objectionable.
The BRAD BLOG [4]has long been covering the use of the GOP Photo ID scam, meant to do little more than keep minorities and the elderly (read: Dem-leaning voters) from being able to cast a legal vote at all. They created a White House-tied front group to do exactly that after the 2004 election (special coverage page on ACVR here [5]), and our coverage of recent chapters in this regrettable, anti-democracy tale, includes (Vice) Presidential candidate Duncan Hunter's claim at a Republican debate that in California, he's seen "people that are illegally in the country being rounded up, herded into the polls [and] voting illegally."
As well, Democratic Senators Barack Obama and Russ Feingold recently stepped up to block a deal [6] made by Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow one of the most notorious "Voter Fraud" disenfranchisers, Hans von Spakovsky, to be seated on the Federal Election Commission (FEC). That, in a Presidential Election year where the GOP's strategy #1 will be to "win" by keeping as many legally registered voters from voting as possible.
In the first of several exclusive video clips below, Tanner states that Voter ID laws "very much [are] a state by state issue" that come down to "who has the ID and who doesn't." Tanner goes on to contend that Photo ID issues really only impact the elderly. There is a racial link however, because "our society is such that minorities don't become elderly the way white people do. They die first," he told those of us in the room. And things that disproportionately impact the elderly have the opposite impact on minorities. In other words, Tanner concludes that Photo ID laws actually negatively impact non-minorities and seemingly give minorities a greater voice.
Yes, that's what he was contending. Even as he failed to satisfactorily answer The BRAD BLOG's [7] fervent contention that such laws are little more than a solution in search of a problem, given the exceedingly rare number of voter fraud cases (as distinct from election fraud) which actually occur, by even DoJ statistics, and which would be prevented by Photo ID restrictions at the polls.
Aurora Vasquez of the Advancement Project, exposes (6:21) the true intent of Photo ID requirements being pushed nationally by the GOP, and offers an impassioned response to government attorney John Tanner.
Alma Rosa Silva-Banuelos, Executive Director, Cultural Center for Power and Justice (Albuquerque, NM), discusses (6:45) many of the voting problems, including voter intimidation and the spread of misinformation, confronting New Mexico's minority communities. Interestingly, an election in New Mexico last week where Voter ID was required saw a record low turnout of 10% of eligible voters.
Alma Rosa Silva-Banuelso: "It's time to remember our civil rights movement. It's time to remember the struggles that our elders have gone through. People who have paved the road. And it's time for young people also to rise up and remember these struggles. And also to stand up against corporate profit. The machines in New Mexico... there is a corporation profiting off of this. We cannot forget that there is a direct link between power and profit and corporations and our governments being used as puppeteers so that other people can profit at the disenfranchisement of communities of color."
University of Pennsylvania professor Steve Freeman says (4:43) that fixing our election system is as simple as adopting the successful paper ballot hand counting systems used in countries like Germany and Canada. He then proceeds to rip government attorney John Tanner for his role in covering up election irregularities in Ohio. Finally, Freeman vocally disagrees with the panel moderator who asked that participants stay away from specific criticisms.
The Justice Department's John Tanner states (1:30) that he doesn't support Voter ID because his department is not involved in policy, before taking a question from one testy cameraman who calls his statistics evidencing that minorities carry ID in greater percentages than non-minorities laughable.
Alma Rosa talks (0:58) about the need to change our instant gratification culture in order to make hand counting ballots more palatable to society.
The Justice Department's John Tanner's opening, mundane, remarks (9:03) which were a bit offensive for what they did not cover.
Article printed from The BRAD BLOG: http://www.bradblog.com
URL to article: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5145
URLs in this post:
[1] Alan Breslauer: http://www.hotpotatomash.com
[2] National Latino Congreso: http://www.latinocongreso.org/
[3] The BRAD BLOG: http://www.BradBlog.com
[4] The BRAD BLOG : http://www.BradBlog.com
[5] special coverage page on ACVR here: http://www.BradBlog.com
[6] stepped up to block a deal: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5132
[7] The BRAD BLOG's: http://www.BradBlog.com
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I.U. has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is I.U endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.
No comments:
Post a Comment