Republican Tim Griffin likes to run ads emphasing his own military service in his bid for Congress in AR-02. However, in his old gig at the RNC, Griffin wasn't all that supportive of his fellow military men and women. In fact, he worked to deny them the right to vote.
Now let me be clear here. I am not attacking Griffin's military service. On its own, his service would be admirable and probably the only redeeming quality he has. But the fact that he would run ads touting his own service while he committed such a horrible offense against men and women serving overseas (in a war that his old bosses lied to get them into mind you)is stomach turning.
Don't recall Griffin's crime or who Tim Griffin is? He's Karl Rove's boy that went down in the Attorney Firing Scandal because he had illegally caged voters-meaning that he challenged the votes of countless potential Democratic voters, most of them minorities. As Greg Palast wrote at the time:
The Griffin scheme was sickly brilliant. We learned that the RNC sent first-class letters to new voters in minority precincts marked, "Do not forward." Several sheets contained nothing but soldiers, other sheets, homeless shelters. Targets included the Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida and that city's State Street Rescue Mission. Another target, Edward Waters College, a school for African-Americans.
If these voters were not currently at their home voting address, they were tagged as "suspect" and their registration wiped out or their ballot challenged and not counted. Of course, these 'cages' captured thousands of students, the homeless and those in the military though they are legitimate voters.
That's right, Griffin had two sheets-one for the poor, and one for soldiers serving our country overseas.
This is a man who has no business being in Congress, and he's running against a great progressive, state senator Joyce Elliott. I keep hearing it said that this race isn't winnable and there's no point in fighting here. I disagree with that sentiment, but more to the point, I'm not about to let a man who did this to members of the military giving their lives for us in Iraq and Afghanistan walk into Congress without a fight. I'm not about to let a man who stripped our soldiers of the most basic and essential right they were fighting for get off so easily. And I'm not going to let him get off with smiling and touting his own service while he spat on others who wear the uniform. In Arkansas, we're going to work to hold him accountable. It will be an uphill fight for sure, especially this close to November and in this climate, but for those that serve I think we have to do this.
Update:As suggested in the comments, you can help out by contributing to Joyce Elliott on Act Blue.