This morning, the AP ran a story in the increasing dirty trickis this election, including a number of racist appeals. Curiously, though, every example they mentioned was designed to supress democratic voters or demographic groups likely to be predominantly Democratic.
We have all hard of the tricks the GOP operatives are using. But to have the AP list them and no "fair and balanced" tricks on the other side of the coin is quite remarkable.
Complaints have surfaced in predominantly African-American neighborhoods of Philadelphia where fliers have circulated, warning voters they could be arrested at the polls if they had unpaid parking tickets or if they had criminal convictions.
We have all heard of this one. The Commitee of Seventy is working on it, but some of the damage may already be done.
Over the weekend in Virginia, bogus fliers with an authentic-looking commonwealth seal said fears of high voter turnout had prompted election officials to hold two elections — one on Tuesday for Republicans and another on Wednesday for Democrats.
Now, why would anyone tell people that the Democrats are going to vote on some other day unless they were trying to suppress the vote of the likely victors in Virginia and steal the election?
In Pennsylvania, e-mails appeared linking Democrat Barack Obama to the Holocaust. "Jewish Americans cannot afford to make the wrong decision on Tuesday, Nov. 4," said the electronic message, paid for by an entity calling itself the Republican Federal Committee. "Many of our ancestors ignored the warning signs in the 1930s and 1940s and made a tragic mistake."
Why is it that Pennsylvania has so many of these dirty tricks being played within its boundaries? There are some sick people out there in my state.
This one would make the late Chief Justice William Rehnquistproud:
In New Mexico, two Hispanic women filed a lawsuit last week claiming they were harassed by a private investigator working for a Republican lawyer who came to their homes and threatened to call immigration authorities, even though they are U.S. citizens.
The ACLU is monitoring:
Laughlin McDonald, who leads the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said he has never seen "an election where there was more interest and more voter turnout, and more efforts to suppress registration and turnout. And that has a real impact on minorities."
but more needs to be done. Thankfully, there is an army of Obama volunteers and staffers who can go and do the things the ACLU and Committee of Seventy can't.
And there is more to come.
"Oh, there's plenty of time for things to get ugly," said Zachary Stalberg, president of The Committee of Seventy, a Philadelphia-based government watchdog group that is nonpartisan.
In an ugly campaign, the GOP is about to get even uglier? Say it isn't so, Joe! But at least the AP now recognizes who the trickers and the trickees are.
Each of us, especially in the areas where the worst tricks are being played need to do whatever we can to prevent them -- call friends; take someone to the polls; call out those who would believe ths GOP tripe; volunteer to watch the polls; etc.
This election is too important to lose because of some last minute stunts by the GOP.