Clear Channel design by way of the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Going up this week in Ohio.
Those anonymous billboards in Ohio and Wisconsin that equate voting with a possible prison sentence are coming down, to be replaced in some cases by new ones that say, "Voting is a right. Not a crime!"
After initially defending the billboards paid for by a "private family foundation," the advertising company Clear Channel has announced that it will take down the scary billboards. Their message -- "Voter fraud is a felony! Up to 3 1/2 years & $10,000 fine" -- has been presented now in dozens of neighborhoods of poor and minority neighborhoods across Ohio and Milwaukee. In Ohio, Clear Channel will then put up 10 billboards with the pro-voting message pictured above. In Wisconsin, Clear Channel will sponsor digital billboards that encourage early voting.
The Mississippi Secretary of State's website
On a like note, after pressure from the Jackson Free Press and local lefties, Mississippi's Republican Secretary of State has added a message -- at right, in very small type -- on the state's website that says the voter ID law will not be in effect in November. The law has been put on hold by the U.S. Justice Department.
And in Pennsylvania, advocates for voting rights have sued over a state ad campaign that could make you think you need ID to vote in that state, when that hasn't been true for weeks now. One look at the ads going around, and it's easy to see what they mean.
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Can we talk about who owns the controlling interest in Hart InterCivic, makers of the electronic voting machines that will be in Ohio and other jurisdictions on election day?
I agree, and I would really like to know why this is not being investigated BEFORE they steal the election and deprive this country of its future, for the sake of their religious xenophobia.
I would like the voting machine story to get some serious attention also! This is RIDICULOUS! (Yes, I just screamed "ridiculous" as I typed it out.
I've been hearing about Hart Intercivic and their board members all day. It would be nice for you to shed some light on this.
Thanks
Gee I wonder if Clear Channel was being fair or worrying about losing advertisers. Either way it is almost never too late to start doing the right thing. Thanks to Clear Channel.
Bain capitol has a majority share of Clear Channel!
One of the reasons Clear Channel is OK with taking them down now is that they've already done the intended damage. Blacks, poor people and others who have reason to fear the authorities have already seen them. They've gotten the message and probably won't turn out.
It's also really nice (eyes rolling) of them to replace hundreds of billboard with scary messages with ten that have a positive message. Nice going, Clear Channel.
We all deserve to have the full story her told. Who owns Clear Channel? Who was behind these billboards? Is Bain involved? Why is this not being reported in MSM?
On another note, it would be really nice if dems would keep up the investigation on all these voter issues this time, follow through and try to put changes in place that will make it harder next time. Dems have the very frustrating habit of letting things go and not fighting. This whole election is a joke and scary as hell. After 2000 I cannot believe ....
Well disgust comes to mind, shame too. We talk about how great American democracy is and we can't even hold a semi-honest election. It is beyond words.
Clear Channel is owned by Bain Capital...
as an immigrant to this country I find his comments extremely offensive. Like most immigrants that come here I work hard for my family and pay taxes and contribute to this country. How dare he compare us to dogs and say thats a compliment? Immigrants built this country, maybe in his bigoted view of the world he cant see that.
That will be a great billboard - now we just have to find out if there is any truth in the following: There is a report that Tagg Romney owns an interest in Hart Intercivic voting machines which will be used to calculate votes in Hamilton County. http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/19137
I heard that there is even a Republican that works at the factory that BUILDS those voting machines. I'm on hold with the secret service right now to let them know. We have to get to the bottom of this. I bet that the government has no knowledge of ANY of this. Thank God this story is busted open.
I knew Tagg was going to rig the election. I talked to him and he informed me of his nefarious plan and said they would never be able to trace the machines to him. If the Republicans win, cheating is the only way it could happen. If Democrats win, everything is completely legit. Thats how it was in 2008 and 2010 and that's how it will be this year.
ChefEric ... you're a complete jerk.
If the Obama's or anyone who had ever supported them in any way OWNED the company that made the voting machines, the reichwing would lose their shyte.
It sickens me that the USA has fallen so fricking low that a concerted effort to STEAL yet another election is just so much ha-ha-ha on the right. The GOP deserves to be driven out of existence for the next hundred years.
ChefEric it is your party that is the Conspiracy Squad. The only smart thing you said in your post " If the Republicans win - cheating is the only way it could happen" and yes if Democrats win it will be legit and in spite of all the efforts of your party.
Firstly, 80's girl: pathetic that you have to resort to name calling and going against the COH. Reported as such. For your information, there is a petition going around for this to be investigated by Eric Holder. Anyone on the right that would be freaking out about this and acting as childishly as you have would be utterly wrong to do so as well. Since reading comprehension doesn't seem to be your strong suit, Tagg actually has investments in the company that has ties to the voting machine company.
As Lee Fang points out in his detailed analysis of the Romney investments
“Many of these private equity–owned companies rely on federal and state contracts, from HIG Capital’s Hart Intercivic, a voting machine company, to EnviroFoam Technologies, a biological and chemical decontamination firm that does business with the US military and is owned by Peterson Partners, a private equity firm listed in the Solamere prospectus.”
If you actually believe that this is some right wing conspiracy that would never be expected to be brought to light, I feel sorry for you. I was making an attempt to be funnt about how absurd this is. It is good to know that you react and probably vote with your emotions instead of your head. I'm sure that will help us all in the right direction. Do I really need to add a sarc tag to that last sentence for you?
Lorr, nice try. Not a Republican. I just enjoy calling out stupid bull@!$%# when I see it. As there are, by far, a majority of Democrats on Newsvine, there happens to be bull@!$%# calls on them more often. I do the same thing on other partisan sites. How do you feel about Obama spending a great deal more on his campaign than Romney so far? What about the fact that so many on the left were saying that Romney would have to buy the election and is being outspent?
What about the Super Pac for Romney - Adeleson securing the safety of Israel and perhaps stop the investigations into his China Casino. Koch Brothers well lets see what they are buying - EPA regulations, minimum wage repealed, bringing back segregation, eliminating unions and than Karl Rove lets see - cabinet post - war with everyone - Republican Regime with control of all three branches. So yes The Board of Directors of the Republican Party (formerly known as SCOTUS) put our government out to bid, I wonder what their commission is.
And the
bull@!$%#plot thickens...So you deride other people for being mean and then promptly make a post in which half of your post is insulting the person who initially insulted you? This is why I don't think Newsvine moderators respond to COH claims anymore because people just use the internet as bullying outlets and in this case both you and 80's would get into trouble. 80's point was that if these were machines being backed by Democratic supporters then in all likelihood Republicans wouldn't trust their outcome. The way to debunk that is to address the issue of motive and why the company doesn't have a legitimate interest in doing such a thing, not mocking the intelligence of the person posting. We have seen electoral voting machines used to manipulate votes in the past, but it has seemed to get better with each election cycle since they were introduced. You could have easily addressed those concerns without being rude. For the record you haven't actually debunked or even addressed the concern being raised itself. If you feel that it's too far to say that this is going to throw votes OK fine, but then prove the premise. Don't just insult people.
ChefEric seems to have forgotten about the ACORN accusations from the right. Obama "cheated" according to some conservatives then. Polls showed that over half Republican party members believed they'd help him steal the election!
He's a part of a vast conspiracy! There's no way he could have won the presidency without voter fraud and faking birth certificates and secret gay marriages!
Come on, now. It's pretty disingenuous to claim only Democrats play these games. Bull@!$%#, indeed.
You mean the same Clear Channel that is owned by Bain???
I fully expect the billboards to read "VOTE NOV 7" in a big bold patriotic font.
It is a sad commentary that electing our leaders has come down to how much money can produce certain effects in their qualifications for an office. It is even sadder that the people that we have put in office in the past haven't prevented these problems to surface. So not civil liberties or justice prevails...only money. We are in big trouble.
Interesting you should say that, dville. Did you know that President Obama's campaign is significantly outspending Romney's?
Er that seems to have a lot more to do with campaign strategies than it does necessarily with the issue dville was addressing. Obama's campaign decided to use the summer to blanket the airwaves with ads, whereas the Romney campaign waited until very recently to start airing ads. That means that Romney chose not to compete with Obama over the summer and hence was outspent. Addressing dville's point would've been more direct by just saying that we have an issue with the total amount expected to be spent by both campaigns going over $1billion. If the complaint is that money is influencing politics then it's really not relevant whom is spending more at what point in time. What is relevant is that they are spending anything at any time.
Cheferic, I'm more interested in where those campaign funds come from, not where they go. it's "interesting" that the GOP get the majority of their funding from a handful of billionaires (Hey Koch brothers!), while the Dems get a lot more (but very small) donations from ordinary folk. Telling, eh?
What about the millions from Hollywood. They fund most of Obama's election.
The president and his party had received donations from close to four million people since Mr. Obama announced his re-election bid last year.
While Mr. Obama has raised more than half of his total cash on donations of under $200, Mr. Romney has relied far more on large donors giving the maximum check to the candidate and his party.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/obama-and-democrats-raise-181-million-in-september/
In spite of a direct court ruling extending early voting in Ohio, Kasich and Husted have once again blatantly and purposely confused the issue further. Check out the HOURS of the four days in question: one day doesn't begin until one P.M. and three close at three different times! Can it possibly be worse and still COMPLY WITH THE LAW? This is so ugly I personally am embarrassed by our governor and his staff.
Voting is not just a right.
It's a civic responsibility, one that many Americans need to take more seriously. Voters should be well informed on issues, ensure they understand the nature of the stances of the candidates and Parties that they vote for.
What's remarkable is that much of corporate owned media (which used to offer detailed analysis of issues and policies, not horseraces, polls, scandals and titillation) is circumspect in their avoidance of discussing these things.
Present company excluded of course.
You are correct, shpilk. I put my responsibility to vote right just ahead of my responsibility to serve on a jury if called to do so. I have voted in every election since I registered when I turned 21 (it was more than a few years ago)
I like to remind people that if they do not vote when they are eligible to do so, they have decided to let those people who do vote (like me and you) decide who will be our elected officials. And they have lost the right to complain about what those elected officials do.
Reuters reported that Clear Channel took down the billboards so that they would not have to divulge who sponsored them. Bain Capitol is a part owner of Clear Channel-why is this not being reported by CNN, Fox, etc. The media should be investigating this and reporting the facts....
They have done everything they can to "buy" this election, from threatening coal miners they'll be fired if they don't attend rallies, to stealing voter registration forms in Virginia (and who knows where else), to intimidation by employers, and buying voting machines. Tell me again, why would anyone vote for liars, cheats, frauds? Hey Cher, don't you think that has a nice ring to it? How about whipping out a quick song lyric?!
Clear Channel, who put up the billboards, owned by Bain ......& HART Intercivic bought by Tagg Romney's company while he's working to make his father president....... How can we ever trust the vote count .... we need outside monitoring of our elections because the powers of our own nation can't be trusted to allow an honest election.
OK, who lives in Mississippi? Insist that the public is made aware of not having to show ID. Make some noise in Ohio and any state that may be affected by fraud or blatant misinformation. You need to do it for all of us. Do what you must to force Clear Channel (syndicator for Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, etc.) to back off. Better yet, be sure that Democrats/Liberals are poll-watchers.
I don't know that I have a problem with the Billboards! Maybe it's a matter of being an optimist vs a pessimist; however- it is TRUE! VOTER FRAUD IS A FELONY! IDK- maybe we should leave them there for Tagg!
http://www.change.org/petitions/attorney-general-eric-holder-disqualify-the-use-of-hig-owned-voting-machines-in-the-2012-elections
Someone please shed light on this issue with Hart Intercivic and what we can do to change this craziness. Raising awareness is just a start so please, Laura Conway, get an article about HIG and their conflict of interest!
We need our own billboards! Use our own billboard ads to call out Mitt on his insulting comments about Obama
Mitt Romney claims that the Obama presidency will be a mere "footnote in history".
Tell Mitt that Obama is no "footnote"!Make Governor Romney a "footnote in history" by voting for the President on Tuesday Nov 6th. He is counting on YOUR support.
OR
'Mitt says President Obama is "in over his head".
Tell Mitt that the man who got Bin Laden, ended the Iraq war, decimated the al Qaeda leadership, led an international effort that ousted Lybia's Qaddaffi, turned around an economy in free-fall, saved the US auto industry, and put us on the path of healthcare for all is NOT "in over his head"!Prove Mitt wrong! President Obama needs YOU to vote on Tuesday Nov 6th.
OR
Romney says of our commander-in-chief: "if you do not want America to be the strongest nation on earth, I am not your President. You have that President today"!
What's that Mitt? President Obama got Bin Laden, etc (same as for prev item)
OR
Mitt Romney's wife Ann speculates that maybe "it's time for the grown-up" to move into the White House.
Tell the Romneys that the guy who saved GM and got Bin Laden is a "grown-up", not a boy. Don't let them get away with disrespecting the office and our president.Be sure to vote on Nov 6th. President Obama and America needs YOU to vote.
OR
Josh Romney on why his dad did well against Obama in the first debate: "As a father, he learned how to debate an obstinate child." (same response as prev item)
Instead of millions on tv ads for the small group of undecideds, spend far less in urban areas in swing states letting Obama supporters they need to vote, and keep this guy out of the White House!
You can't possibly believe that load you just spewed. The Navy Seals got Bin Laden. You know, the same ones that worked for Bush, Clinton and all the other presidents before that? And Obama didn't save GM He saved the UAW. Ask the retirees at Delphi how Obama saved them. How did Ford Motor Co. survive without being bailed out? Maybe it was good business practices. Naw, Ford probably did it by screwing poor people.
Obama is the commander in chief: a bunch of navy seals didn't get together and say, "hey, let's go get OBL!" He made the call, despite those around him advising him not to do it.
And if Obama had failed, trolls like you would lay the blame, ALL the blame, at his feet. So you can't have it both ways.
And Obama saved GM; robme said let it go bankrupt.
And your union obsession slip is showing, trollie.
Thanks for the oversimplification Donna, You are right. Obama made the decision to go ahead and send the people that did all the work in finding Osama finish their job. So in your limited use of logic Obama did it all by himself. If the UAW was behind the republicans there is no way in hell that Obama would have given GM squat and you know it. It was a payback for the unions for getting him elected plain and simple,(just how you like it) You don't address all the shareholders and retirees that got screwed in the process. Obama doesn't either. You are right about one thing though, I have a problem with unions in general taking hard working peoples money and wasting it on political parties. ANY PARTIES.
Donna...GM did go bankrupt.
and a lot of industry pundits are saying they might have to go through it AGAIN
just saying...
Oversimplification? LOL You are the KING of oversimplification.
And I didn't imply that Obama "did it by himself." But YOU certainly did.
Obama is commander in chief and he made sure that everyone involved did their jobs. Everyone. And again: had he failed, you would have been the first to give Obama ALL of the blame. ALL of it. ALL BY HIMSELF. So your "limited use of logic" comment is pure projection.
And if the UAW was not perceived as democratic trolls like you wouldn't be screaming about what happened(and it is quite uninformed screaming BTW).
And your "limited use of logic" on who Obama would have bailed out and allof your other bull@!$%# allegations is just plain ignorant troll ranting. Plain and simple.
And if you have a problem with "unions taking hard working people's money and wasting it on political parties" Then I suggest you don't join a union. I would also suggest that you educate yourself beyond your right wing talking points about unions.
And stromfront: GM's bankruptcy was not a traditional one.
http://mediamatters.org/research/2012/02/17/why-the-right-is-wrong-about-saving-detroit/184668
Educate yourself.
Yes That bankrupcy was FAR from traditional. Normally federal bankrupcy laws require that all secured creditors are paid first. Obama didn't like that part because the UAW wasn't a secured creditor. So by executive order dear ruler threw that not so little part of the law out and made up his own rules. Delphi retirees and the stockholders (which by the way were secured creditors) got screwed. Also since you are only educated by the likes of PMSNBC and Media Matters, Stockholders are working people with 401Ks. Please don't put links to political hacks in your replies, It makes you look even more ridiculous. Oh, and the continuous name calling of people get on this site when they don't agree with this regimes way of handling problems? Lose it, it makes you people sound like third graders.
And THAT is what saved GM, little trollie.
And I will call you what ever I like and continue to call you out for the troll that you are.
And the " you get your information from political hacks" comment is pure projection, oh trollie that rides the short bus to school.
Donna I wonder how many straight guys you have turned gay.
As many as your mother has, insector.
Really??? Your Momma ??? I would think a big mouthed welfare wench like yourself would have the time on her hands to come up with something better than "Your Momma".,
Short bus stops at your house I guess.
Really. Your Momma. I would think that an inbred hillbilly troll living in a trailer park like yourself would have time on its hands to be able to count how many guys your mother turned gay. But I guess you can't count that high.
Guess inbreeding is illegal in several states for a reason.
Wait a minute, Gotta get my shoes off. Oh forget it My brother has them today. Oh Well Sure hope that menopause thing works out fer ya.
I'm sure it takes a minute to remove those shoes off of your inbred deformed feet. Oh well, Sure hope yer mother gets those new set of store bought teeth she's been lookin at in that JC Penny's ad.
Why do I have this feeling that we just got the barn door closed but the horse is already in the next county?
Because we have been there, done that...
Bankruptcy is bankruptcy...
just saying...
OK, after all the GOP voter suppression dirty tricks that have been going on lately, I think fairness demands that billboards be immediately posted in all battleground, red or red-leaning states. The mandatory text: "PRAISE JESUS! THE RAPTURE WILL TAKE PLACE ON NOVEMBER 6TH! YOU MUST BE AT HOME BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 5 AM AND 10 PM TO QUALIFY FOR THIS ONCE-IN-AN-ETERNITY OFFER! STAY HOME LEST YE BE FOUND WANTING! JESUS LOVES YOU!" That ought to do it, god damn it. Be sure to include a picture of Jesus that makes him look like the Ace Hardware guy. Not too swarthy. Not a union carpenter either, just a small businessman.
What we have here, is FAILURE to communicate !...
President Obama in case anybody has NOT noticed. Is always talking in generalities about what he would do in the next four years. And on the other hand you have a SLICK usedcar salesman (MITT ROMNEY) giving the American people NUMBERS!. Millions of JOBS numbers and HOW he plans on making it happen. Now you might say his plan is no plan and it's totally bogus compared to what he has promised his tea party backers. But you know what ? it appears to be WORKING !. The polls are tightening as we draw closer to this election and BARACK OBAMA needs to step it up tomorrow and deliver the debate of his life, because if he does not, and if he does not once AGAIN give a CLEAR VISION of what he will do, not just generalities but a CLEAR PLAN delivered to the American people, MITT ROMNEY will SHOCK the world and become the first MORMON to be elected president of these United States, and the only person to blame will be president Obama for NOT having a clear and consistant message of what he would have done differently to spur economic growth and create millions of new jobs in these United States of America from the beginning of his campaign.
Severe Conservative, Flip Floper and Romnesia are just NOT going to be enough....
Not with how the State of the U.S. Economy is, right now...
Come Up with (10 Studies) or show the American people some numbers Mr.president, preferably in the MILLIONS...
How many MILLIONS of jobs could be created by putting the American people to work building a new national electric powergrid ? Or in Infrastructure ? rebuilding Bridges, Tunnels, Highways ? Come up with Numbers Obama !...
Green jobs ? What are the numbers now and for the forseeable future Mr. president ?..
New Drilling for oil reserves ?. What are the numbers ? What about for Natural Gas ?..
What are the Numbers Mr. president ?.. Millions ?..
Cause MITT ROMNEY is outside the White House door knocking, and the American people are about to let him in....
Show no mercy Mr. president, go for the jugular tomorrow...or go home...
Attempts to subvert our democracy should be punishable by death.
The crime is treason, and it is punishable by death.
Joe and the rest of his neocons are obsessing with Beltway talking points about the latest NBC Wall Street Journal poll instead of saying That the Denver Post, Salt Lake Paper, and The Tampa Bay Times all have endorsed Obama with the Salt Lake Headline, "Too many Mitts. " Early Voting shows strong Obama lead/
Tagg Romney has invested in the voting machines in Ohio!
http://www.politicolnews.com/tagg-romney-invested-in-ohio-electronic-voting-machines/
damn skippy it's a RIGHT.
PERIOD.
I just uncovered another potential republican voter suppression tactic in PA. My daughter is in college at Slippery Rock University in Butler Co. PA. She did a change of address form the first week she was in college, but did not receive her new card even though ALL of her Republican dorm mates did. She is not the only Democrat that did not receive it either. So, I called the Butler County Bureau of Elections to see what was going on. The woman first told me that she didn't see my daughter registered in Clarion Co. (our home), or Butler Co. As I became more irate, she said, "Let me see if she is in "pending"." I asked what that was, and she said, "There's a ten day waiting period since she's transferring from another county." I said that every Republican that already received their card were from other counties also. My daughter is in the process of contacting the president of the University Democrats so that they can contact every Dem in that university to be sure they are all registered in Butler county if they signed the form at the beginning of school! This woman assured me that my daughter will have her card in time. I wonder how widespread this problem is, and how many universities have had the Bureau of Elections people come in and bury Democrat registrations~~ This is huge!! The youth vote is so very important, and this is one way to suppress it!! Be aware everyone!
This could be just another ruse, to displace a ruse, to distract a ruse, to deflect from a ruse.
OHIO - Could be said to look like a pair of pingpong balls (O__O), bouncing back and forth over a (_HI_) fence. Take the fence down or remove the balls, problem solved?