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We've been keeping an eye on the phenomenon of Republican poll-watchers, and ThinkProgress appears to have moved the ball forward today, obtaining a copy of Romney campaign materials training watchers in Wisconsin by giving them bogus information.
Documents from a recent Romney poll watcher training obtained by ThinkProgress contain several misleading or untrue claims about the rights of Wisconsin voters. A source passed along the following packet of documents, which was distributed to volunteers at a Romney campaign training in Racine on October 25th. In total, six such trainings were held across the state in the past two weeks.
The Romney campaign's training materials say a photo-ID is mandatory, though state courts have said otherwise. The materials go on to misstate the facts on felon eligibility, proof of residency, and access for those with physical disabilities.
Adding insult to injury, Romney poll workers "were instructed to hide their affiliation with the campaign and told to sign in at the polls as a 'concerned citizen' instead." Romney's legal counsel specifically told volunteers the campaign hopes to "alleviate some of the animosity of being a Republican observer up front."
Maybe some of the animosity is the result of the campaign giving these volunteers false information?
Scott Keyes concluded, "This packet could cause major problems if Republican observers across the state try to enforce such wrong and misleading information on Election Day. Even if they simply slow the voting process down, this could discourage voters waiting in line and drive down turnout."
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Welcome to the new normal. This is just the beginning of what is going to be an unrelenting assault on voting rights and eligibility.
The irony is that all of the efforts to deligitimize a second term for Obama are going to be undercut by the fact that they have all these ridiculous "Poll Watchers" ostensibly trying to "prevent" a stolen election.
Bring your Louisville Slugger with you to the polls. Help the poor idiot become a "good" Republican.
As H.L. Mencken said: "There are times when even normal men must spit in their hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
I hope no one gets shot . Tempers will flare and you can take that to the bank
They've got the guns but we've got the numbers...
Jim Morrison
Well thanks for that ....I had to go look it up ...check this
One of the greatest rock bands ever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DfG1SNydnc
The only thing voters need to know is their vote counts so show up and stay in line no matter what someone says or does because at the end of that line you are guaranteed the right to vote.
Claims of protecting us from "voter fraud", while actually committing voter fraud, is analogous to closeted homosexuals denouncing same-sex rights. It's part & parcel for the psychosis... which is to turn the hate you have for yourself outwards into full-blown (no pun) hypocrisy.
In other words, Conservatism. And to no small extent, the American Taliban we know as politicized Evangelical Christianity.
I fail to understand why you don't see Romney's plan for this election. The unabashed lying is calculated to give a clear message: 'I do not need to follow the rules. As President, the USA is not going to follow rules; we make the rules.' Couple this with a $2 Trillion increase in weapons development and you have a dangerous, provocative policy.
A nice, and very true, soundbyte: Romney has Large bills; not Big change:)
He's following in the footsteps of the last few republican administrations that didn't follow rules and doing and saying whatever they want, up to, and including lies. So, what's new with the teapubs?
open YOUR EYES, clean your ears, read. this will make you understand!!!!!!!!!
The last time a guy this dangerous was heading a country, it took 6 years, 40 million lives and the resources of the whole planet to put him down, and Germany didn't start with 52% of the world's military.
It was just the other day that a Looneytarian on another thread furiously insisted (in effect) that there was no such thing as voter suppression by Republicans. He also pretended that the Koch brothers were not trying to buy the election, and a bunch of other hogwash.
Clear eyes, full hearts, lie like a mother@!$%#er.
The Mormon way.
Bingo! "discourage voters waiting in line and drive drown turnout" is exactly what the Republican Party is trying to achieve in Wisconsin and other states!
Yup, that is absolutely, positively completely what this is about. Tie up the lines with a ruckus and set up their loyal volunteers to take the fall for it. .
Just look at the way they set their volunteers up as patsies. First the volunteer shows up at the polls and says "no, I'm not an official observer, I'm just a 'concerned citizen.'" Then they raise a ruckus with this nonsense that's been fed into their gullible heads by authority figures and thus is absolute gospel truth as far as they're concern. Then they get themselves arrested. (Because there will be an Obama volunteer there too, the volunteer will call the campaign and the campaign will do what needs doing, up to and including getting injunctions and calling cops).
So there's the volunteer, now saying "hey, you can't do this, I'm an official Republican poll watcher" as he's led away in cuffs. Poor volunteer, his friends Team Romney have manipulated him into putting himself into an "all
cretinsCretans are liars" credibility problem. "Official observer? Perish the thought. These misguided 'concerned citizens' only said that because they were arrested. Nothing to do with us."Yes, that's exactly the kind of sneering contempt for their own base I've come to expect from Team Romney.
In 2008, I was an official poll watcher on the Dem side. We were provided phone numbers of law enforcement and attorneys prepared to come to our location as needed.
I have no doubt that there will be an even stronger plan in place by the Obama camp this year, given all of the stories like this that smack of fraud, intimidation, and an all-out plan by Republicans to literally steal the election.
And, this story IS being reported on all Wisconsin news stations, right? It's probably too much to expect any of the national news media, like NBC, ABC, CBS to report this as voter fraud/intimidation, but surely Wisconsin viewers are being given this information.?
Seeing that the MSM is owned by big teapub corporations, of course they are reporting this! HA!
No Judy, I live in Wisconsin and have not heard a peep about this at all....
As of now, NO Have contacted The Milwaukee Channel, tip line (414 937-1212) and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (414 224-2919) I am only one voice, But if these are contacted by Many, That will help!!
Isn't what the Romney camp is doing here highly illegal?
My thoughts are the same. It would seem that this could be the legal basis, maybe an injunction, for keeping these workers out of the polls since it is obvious they pose a threat to the integrity of the process as well as the potential to interfere with the election. This should be enough for the Justice Dept. and the Dems to call in a squadron of attorneys to prevent these workers from disrupting the process. Dems should have people to dispatch to polling places in any swing state. Even if these people are not attorneys, they can have a hot line to an office that will field calls to dispatch attorneys or law enforcement officials to any polling place where these purported "concerned citizens" are actually trying to challenge voters with these bogus claims. In addition, the Dem elections judges should be trained and given the necessary information to dismiss bogus challenges. There is no better way to counteract this type of voter suppression which should include major ads on television and radio and a court injunction.
I believe it is. He's so sure he will win that he doesn't care.
Campains should be run like they were in the ond days! T.V. adds should be band, and the people running for office should meet the people who are voting. This way, if they say something we don't like, we can throw eggs at them! (of course, it would put the hens into overtime)
yes! yes! and more yes's
There are two ways to look at this. One is that he's very unsure of winning and believes that he needs to steal the election to be sure.
The other is that he does believe that he's a shoo-in and does it for the same reasons Nixon felt he had to not merely defeat but utterly crush the late Senator McGovern.
Either way, it's a clue to what we'll be in for if Mi
lhousett wins.Someone advocating voter suppression should be eliminated from the ballot.
I feel enraged and helpless on this. This is so frustrating to watch. It's horrifying. Romney should be shamed, first for all of the lying, and then this
Is there anything we can do but watch this in horror? Romney should be removed from the ticket for this. He's promoting voter fraud. Isn't there a law against this?
AGREE. ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER REPUBLICAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Over 30 members of my family live in Racine, WI. This is disgusting. I've emailed this to every one of them that has email. My grandmother already voted.
PROOF: GOP Party Bosses Rigging Elections For Romney
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/10/27/gop-rigging-elections-for-romney/
Mitt Romney paid zero taxes for 15 years...thanks to a 1996 loophole which let him "rent" non-profit status from the Mormon Church.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-29/romney-avoids-taxes-via-loophole-cutting-mormon-donations.html
Why isn't this being more widely discussed by main stream media?
I live in WI, and did not find anything in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about this story, Voted early last FRI, Obama / Biden, will pass this on to above mentioned and look at other sources.
I for one do not know how I would treat a 'poll watcher' who is trying to swing the vote. I would hope that I would be calm, patient, and persistent in 'persuading' said 'poll watcher' from the polling location. That's what my zen side wants. I can not promise that ego would go along though.
iF HE TRIES TO SWING YOUR VOTE. HITT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your vote is private and is of no concern to anyone else!
No hitting...squirt guns full of water!
Louisville Slugger time.
911, people, 911. Disruptive individual attempting to intimidate voters.
Official poll watchers and poll workers are not allowed to say anything at all to you regarding the candidates or who they want you to vote for. They are only to oversee the process. The most they can do, legally anyway, is to question one's legal standing to participate in the voting process. This is what they will try to do; but the fact that they are using misinformation and lies to do so is very troubling.
So...Keep Calm and Vote Obama.
For every attempt like this to commit voter fraud/intimidation, how many are we missing?
ZERRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BY THE DEM'S, MANY BY THE REPO'S
How about some Dem poll watchers call the cops.Obstructing voting at a polling place is against the law pretty much everywhere.
Another dead man talking through his ass!!!!!!! There is and never been voter supression by the Democrats. ONLY BY THE REPUBLICANS!!!!!!!!!
I believe he meant that Democrats should put poll watchers out to watch for the Republicans and call the police when they start their crap.
The Civil War is still in progress. Doesn't everyone know this? End slavery; start 'vagrancy' laws and chain gangs. End KKK voter suppression; campaign against 'voter fraud'. One man - one vote; far too many people do not accept this principle.
It is clear, that mitt(flipper) romney, is for voter supression! Since he can not win with out it, he and the republicans have made this illigal attempt, to deny our rights to vote. A shamefull, and disgusting way to win the White House. People of America has to see this!! We as americans will be in another civil war if this happens. We can not let this happen....
Update: The campaign committee for ROB ZERBAN is well aware, just got off the phone with them, A response to this story is in the work's
The Romney Campaign and Republicans (in general) being disingenuous?
Who would have thought?
.
The GOP seems to think that it's not winning unless you've lied or screwed someone.
Romney poll workers "were instructed to hide their affiliation with the campaign and told to sign in at the polls as a 'concerned citizen' instead."
Were they also instructed to leave their white robes and pointy hoods under the seat of the bus that brought them from wherever?
They've traded the robes and pointy hoods for street clothes and caps with dangling tea bags.
.
I was going to say "leave their brownshirts and armbands at home".
The more I see of this 'blatant' voter intimidation (fraud) the more I wonder what's under the covers...
Obama is right, it comes down to trust. We can trust Mitt will lie to our faces, we can trust he will do everything it takes to help himself to God like status, we can trust that if he wins, this attitude of arrogance and elite-ism will continue for the next 4 years. America doesn't have a class society, but maybe that's where we are headed.
Really not understanding why voters would prefer someone like this...what is it saying about the ethics of this self-prescribed "christian" nation?
That when it comes down to choosing sides between the Antichrist (Obama) and the angels, nothing else matters but whose side you're on.
Hey sports fan's, All of the Campaign's on the Dem side are all over this story!! Well see what is reported in the News and the papers.
This is not only frightening but sad... what have we come to in this country? I'm so disillusioned with the state of this campaign cycle. I don't know that I will believe any results on election night that says Romney is the winner. I won't.
So when do some of these Romney staffers get hauled in to court and charged? I guess since Wisconsin is in the hands of the Republicans, it would never be prosecuted. It is a crime!