[NOTE: I
posted this diary on Saturday and it stayed on the "recommended" list for a few hours. One commenter
suggested that I should re-post it today so that weekday-only readers get a chance to see it. There's lots of other big news today, but remember that the workaday business of undermining the integrity of government at all levels never stops for this administration.]
[Cross-posted from Blue Mass. Group.]
A big hat tip to Rick Hasen who noticed this White House press release (buried in the Friday night trash). President Bush is going to nominate Hans von Spakovsky to the Federal Election Commission.
Who?
Well, Hans von Spakovsky is a long-time activist in "voting integrity." Translated, he is a long-time activist in keeping people away from the polls. His ideas led to the notorious purge of Florida's voting rolls before the 2000 election in which thousands of mostly-eligible, mostly-Democratic, and mostly-minority voters were removed from the voting lists. Von Spakovsky also was a volunteer for Bush in the Florida recount. Want more? It's all
here.
This guy is a disaster. There is no way he should be on the FEC. FEC Commissioners are subject to Senate approval, so write or call your Senator.
Confirmation hearings will occur in the Committee on Rules and Administration. Chair is Trent Lott; ranking Dem is Christopher Dodd. Other Dems are Byrd, Inouye, Feinstein, Schumer, Dayton, Durbin, and Ben Nelson; other Republicans are Ted Stevens, Mitch McConnell, Thad Cochran, Santorum, K.B. Hutchison, Frist, Chambliss, Bennett, and Hagel. Some heavy hitters on both sides.