I'm tired, and short on time. So I'm writing this from memory. Hopefully I won't make too many mistakes:
Back in 2006, the catfight of a House Race between incumbent Republican Rep. Heather Wilson and challenger Attorney General Patricia Madrid filled most of the television ad space in the state for like six months. The various Republican interventions to protect that seat for "Nipplegate" Heather are still having repercussions today.
The race was very close, less than a thousand votes in the end. Madrid could have won it in the end, but blew it big time in a debate. But that's incidental to the story.
In addition to the campaign money, there was also party money. DCCC and its Republican counterpart dumped tons of money into the race. And in the last few weeks, during early voting (like now), some "Independent" group turned up and ran a bunch of ads in the race.
Nasty stuff, about how Madrid was corrupt because she wouldn't investigate some corruption case. It was bullpckey hogwash. I did a little research on this group, after the fact. I forget their "name", but it's not important. It was as disposable as a condom. Immediately after the last reporting day before the election, they filed their papers with the proper authorities. There was one donor: Bob Perry of swiftboating fame who tossed in something shy of $2 million. Perry, a Houston real estate developer, was the largest single donor to Republican causes in the 2006 midterm cycle.
And a woman called Sue Walden, a Houston socialite, major Republican fundraiser, and personal friend of Tom Delay's, was the sole contact listed on the filing. (Remember, this was only a few months after Delay resigned his office.)
And - boom!!! All the Albuquerque TV stations were completely inundated in these ads. On election day, in Taos County, I was a poll worker. A voter brought her ballot back to me, and asked why she couldn't find the "Wilson v. Madrid" race on her ballot! It was one of those deals.
Madrid was corrupt because she refused to prosecute some case about kickbacks and other corruption involved with construction of a new federal courthouse in Albuquerque. That's total BS. Here's the deal:
Such cases might have state or might have federal jurisdiction. In such cases, prosecutors generally make a deal and only one of their offices pursue the investigation, by mutual agreement. And that's what had happened on this courthouse case. US Attorney David Iglesias (who lost his job shortly after the election) took the investigation. There you have Madrid's "corruption". That's why her office didn't pursue the case.
But hundreds of ads ran about it. In the end, Wilson won the race by a few votes.
VOTER FRAUD 2006 VINTAGE
Meanwhile, out of the headlines, David Iglesias was being pressed by the party to find voter fraud cases to prosecute. He dutifully looked into it, but didn't find more than the occasional employee who turned in fake "Donald Duck"-style forms. Nothing to prosecute.
Iglesias was also under pressure to bring indictments in the courthouse case. While both Democrats and Republicans had their hands in the till, one Democrat in particular had been the Speaker of the State Legislature. Somebody - Karl Rove probably - really wanted that indictment. Iglesias said it wasn't ready, and didn't take it to Grand Jury on the timetable. Sen. Pete Domenici, who has since decided to retire and Rep. Heather Wilson, who failed in the primary to run to replace her mentor, both got involved. They made some calls; Iglesias felt some pressure. But he wasn't ready to prosecute yet, and didn't.
And so? He got fired. It was all tied up with the electoral attacks by swiftboat money to keep Heather Wilson her seat.
VOTER "FRAUD" 2008
And, as it turns out, one of the New Mexico Republican party guys, Pat Rogers, who'd been pushing the "voter fraud" investigation hard two years ago, has turned up in a similar role this year. And, gee willikers, he's joined the chorus against ACORN, even though his last round of "voter fraud" accusations didn't turn up any significant wrongdoing.
fbihop's got it up on his blog (he used up his allotment on dK already today). He's got the links, and I've mostly provided the background.
In fact, on a Barack Obama conference call today, Obama General Counsel Bob Bauer said, according to a Congressional Quarterly transcript, "There's a Republican attorney down there you're well aware of, Pat Rogers, who was involved in the Iglesias firing -- David Iglesias firing, who's continuing to whip up this story. The chair of the New Mexico Republican Party has been actively involved in this."
fbihop says that Rogers has had media coverage lately on this subject which has neglected to mention Rogers' role in the Iglesias firing. He quotes TPM:
In other words, one of the very same New Mexico GOP activists who was found in the OIG report to have tried to pressure David Iglesias to bring bogus voter-fraud prosecutions is still on the case, and has now helped to get a new federal investigation launched just weeks before the election.
Lovely. I've registered voters in New Mexico myself, since back in 2004. I'm always very careful about it, and it annoys the shit out of me, personally, that these attacks keep getting fabricated.