Troopers' visits chill black vote in Florida

[Nambe]

AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star

The state police investigation into get-out- the-vote activities by blacks in Orlando, Fla., fits perfectly with the political aims of Gov. Jeb Bush and the Republican Party. ..

"A Democrat can't win a statewide election in Florida without a high voter turnout - both at the polls and with absentee ballots - of African-Americans," said a man who is close to the Republican establishment in Florida but asked not to be identified.

"It's no secret that the name of the game for Republicans is to restrain that turnout as much as possible. Black votes are Democratic votes, and there are a lot of them in Florida." ..

Meanwhile, the sending of state troopers into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando was said by officials to be a response to reports of voter fraud in last March's mayoral election. But the investigation went forward despite findings in the spring that appeared to show the allegations were unfounded. ..

The interrogation of elderly black people in their homes has already frightened many voters and intimidated elderly get-out-the-vote volunteers.

The use of state troopers to zero in on voter turnout efforts is highly unusual, if not unprecedented, in Florida. But the head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Guy Tunnell, who was also handpicked by Jeb Bush, has been unfazed by the mounting criticism of this choice.

Ride Don’t Drive * * It’s Global Cool

[mitchtv]

1. this is the third or fourth time that I have seen this post

Now what i would like to see is some kind of action , by someone or some group. what the hell is going on in that state?

[Nambe]

2. Oops, is this a dupe?

I did a search but articles sometimes have different lead ins.

[AndyTiedye]

7. They've Moved Up From Grand Theft (Election) to Armed Robbery Thereof

They aren't even trying to hide it anymore.

[Merlin]

13. Has this run in any of the Florida papers? n/t

.

[sweetheart]

3. They should be careful

Some black people got guns. I am totally blown away that the
racist bush/cheney campaign is sending out police to threaten
black people to stay away from the polls.

it is really sick. That any peson on earth supports those evil
men, only confirms that many people on earth are human filth.

[Judi Lynn]

4. thank you, Nambe

I've not been able to read as much as I want recently, and I've missed it the other times, apparently. I've NEVER heard this before a moment ago.

From the article:

His spokesmen have said a "person of interest" in the investigation is Ezzie Thomas, a 73-year-old black man who just happens to have done very well in turning out the black vote.

From the GOP perspective, it doesn't really matter whether anyone is arrested in the Orlando investigation, or even if a crime was committed.

The idea is to send a chill through the democratic process, suppressing opposing votes by whatever means are available.

I hope and pray they are going to be beaten on their attempt to intimidate and frighten people in Florida. Surely bullies aren't allowed to continue without interruption, getting worse and worse, year by year.

I hope Ezzie Thomas won't get discouraged, and will stay safe.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. This is the kind of thing that should NOT happen in America --

the print press has alerted to it, and I, too, am wondering what can be done about it. Some kind of legal action would seem the only route. Under what auspices, I don't know. Does anyone know if this is being addressed at all?

[AndyTiedye]

8. It Should be a Federal Civil Rights Case, but No Way Under Ashcroft

[Media_Lies_Daily]

19. Neither was the illegal selection of FratBoy by the Supreme Court....

...in December 2000. It's all been downhill from there.

[NeoConsSuck]

6. Welcome to ameriKKKan democracy..

Bush style.

And the fact that this is not front page news speaks volumes about a complicit media.

[retread]

9. What a bunch of incompetent morans. Do the bushies have

no sense of history? Any African-American 50 years or older that grew up in the south carries memories of the struggle.
It's like the bushies are working to insure a massive turnout!

[DeepModem Mom]

10. It occurs to me that may as well ad the adjective "storm" to headline --

fed up today!

[highnooner]

11. They are just trying to insure the "right" votes

[lottie244]

12. So why not have even international protests about this Nazi-Bush regime?

The Dems should be organizing national and international protests about this behavior. It probably exists in other states as well. If this were Venezuela we would be the first to complain world-wide.

Where are you "free press?"

[psychopomp]

14. Get up and vote!

This should be a wake-up call to Floridians against the Bushes! Let's hope this gets some media attention (and otherwise)!

[acmavm]

15. Where is Jesse Jackson? Where are the demands to respect the

civil rights of black voters? Where is the outrage?

This is crazy. This friggin' administration is intimidating Americans like they are attempting to intimidate the Iraqis. The only thing missing are the bombs.

This lunatic bunch is hurling us back into the Dark Ages of American politics.

[xchrom]

16. give me that old time religion

it worked in the past -- might as well try it again.
repukes are pigs.

[Child_Of_Isis]

17. Why does it state opinion? n/t

[Berserker]

18. They are a threat to PNAC

http://www.commondreams.org/views02/1121-03.htm

Welcome to the American Gestapo

This new Department of Homeland Security has the power to wiretap any American it wants, without a court order, without cause and without justification to any higher authority. Homeland Security goon squads will have the power to enter any American home, without a search warrant, without probable cause, simply because someone somewhere says “hey, this guy might be a threat.” No checks and balances, no due process. Nothing.

[trapper914]

20. Reprehensible

Kick!

[TryingToWarnYou]

21. FDLE probe under scrutiny

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/9427680.htm

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into possible absentee-ballot fraud in an Orlando mayoral race has blossomed into an election issue itself, with Democrats calling for Gov. Jeb Bush to halt a practice they say is aimed at intimidating elderly black voters.

At issue is an investigation into former state Sen. Buddy Dyer's March 9 re-election as Orlando mayor. Dyer, a Democrat, won by just less than 51 percent of the vote. His opponents filed a lawsuit, alleging an aide filled out multiple absentee ballots on behalf of black voters to help him get elected.

The FDLE went door to door in black neighborhoods collecting evidence to turn over to the State Attorney's Office there. Democrats charge the technique, which is not the FDLE's normal mode of questioning witnesses, is harassment.

"The efforts under way here, just 75 days before a presidential election, are appalling by any American's standards," said Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton. "These tactics are designed to frighten away elderly minority voters from exercising their constitutional rights."

Bush spokeswoman Jill Bratina said the FDLE's portion of the investigation is complete, but the governor thinks it did nothing wrong.

More....

[psychopomp]

22. kick

[wurzel]

23. What kind of people are in our police force today. They act like aliens.

Has the extra powers coming from 911 gone to their heads?

[colonel odis]

24. what would happen, you think if people targeted heavily republican

precincts, and tied up the lines so the suv crowd couldn't vote. go vote at your own place early in the morning, then let a couple of hundred or a couple of thousand folks enter the line at the rich man's polling place.

might take the poll workers two to three minutes to determine that each person isn't registered in that precinct. even longer if the person in line insists s/he is supposed to vote there.

rich republicans don't like to wait in line for things. they think they're too good for something like that. might be interesting to see what would happen if their polling places got bogged down.