If the Republican Party hopes to improve its standing with African-American voters, it's going to have to do better than this.
Yes, Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster is troubled by the fact that "dozens of black people" voted in rural areas this year, which he sees as problematic because "nobody" in those towns "knows anyone who's black." Asked to identify which towns, the state GOP official refused.
So, let me get this straight. President Obama won the state of Maine by a 56% to 41% margin. In terms of raw popular votes, the Democrat's advantage was well over 100,000 votes in the state.
But for the chairman of the Maine Republican Party, the real outrage here is that "dozens of black people," who some local Republicans didn't recognize, cast ballots on Election Day.
Webster added, "I'm not politically correct." Ya don't say.
I'm trying to imagine the thought process that leads a Republican official to think this way. In this guy's mind, Democrats were so worried about losing Maine -- which hasn't been competitive in 20 years, and which borders an actual swing state -- that they sent hordes of mysterious African-American voters into small rural towns to cast ballots. This, according to the chairman of the state's Republican Party, was the fiendish plan Dems cooked up to win a state they were going to win anyway.
Just, wow.
But wait, it gets worse. Webster has cooked up a plan to combat the voter fraud that exists in his imagination.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Webster told the BDN that he plans to send "several thousand" postcards with a photo of the State House to the addresses of voters who registered on Election Day as a way to investigate potential voter fraud.
"They'll go out in first-class mail," he said. "I don't expect people to respond to the question. The concept behind this is to see if they are returned. This is a reasonably inexpensive effort by me to settle the question" of whether people travel to Maine communities to vote fraudulently.
If cards come back as undeliverable, Webster believes it will prove his theory that people travel to Maine to vote fraudulently.
I see. The scourge of mysterious black voters in rural Maine is so serious that the chairman of the state GOP has cooked up a scheme based on vote caging.
Webster added that his efforts are not racially motivated. No, of course not. Why would anyone think that?
Leave a Comment:
I need to stay off the interwebz. I am slain daily by the stupidity.
It's tubes. It's a series of tubes.
It's not a Big Truck!
There are two things that are true of all teabillies-none of them are racist and none of them watch Fox news or listen to Rush Limbaugh.
Deep denial is their M.O.
Seriously? What in the hell is wrong with these people?? Don't they realize that it is reactionaries like this that is the exact reason that they lost the election in the first place. If they keep up crap like this, they are going to lose handily in 2014 as well. Idiots!!
Aka: "I'm not factually oriented"
Ovar 9000 intertubes. That's a fact, Jack!
LOL - I feel your pain!
It's always amazing to watch people who are so stupid, they have no awareness of how stupid they are, that they can say this sort of crap in public. You may not be "politically correct," idiot, but you definitely are "politically illiterate."
So let me get this right - he doesn't know African - Americans live in rural Maine, so he is gonna spend White taxpayer money to prove that African - Americans live in Maine??? I really hope this gene pool goes extinct ....
Of course it's fraudulent voting! There are no black people in Maine. Everyone know that! <snark>
Romney lost due to voter fraud. The president is black. He won the election because black people voted for him. Therefore black people must be committing voter fraud.
No , no, that's not it. Damn, try as I may I just can't come up with the logical thinking of Maine's chairman of the state GOP. Then to jump from voter fraud charges to committing election fraud tactics like caging to try to prove voter fraud...the mind reels.
Charles Webster thinks Maine's blacks are so scarce,
He'd engage in this back-mailing farce...
His attitude towards race,
I find, is so base,
He can't get his head out of his (R)s...
To be fair to the somewhat confused gentleman, Maine does have a large population of Black Bears!
Are the trees the same height?
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure
about the former."
Albert Einstine
Day and Bartender! I needed to laugh this morning! Thanks!
actually Dragoon the quote goes:
"In all of my wisdom, I have learned that two things are infinite. The Universe and man's stupidity, and I'm not to sure about the Universe." - Albert Einstein
Actually, it's "... I'm not too sure about the universe."
How? How is this not a joke? Everyday I come on this website and I'm appalled that I didn't accidentally make my way to The Onion. G/j amurica.
these people are f'in insane!
The GOteaP won an impressive rope supply in 2010, and immediately proceeded to wrap it around their necks while running with scissors. Darwin approves.
Shooter's paw.
Is this just CYA for him doing a poor job or total ignorance. Does he realize how stupid he sounds or was he like Romney making comments for his tribe only?
There was actually a battle for the Republican leadership of Maine and this guy won! Please don't judge all of us who live in Maine by the behavior of certain Republicans. Sadly, he does not realize how stupid he sounds. Worse, a couple of thousand people were nodding their heads when they read the story in the local newspapers. Most Mainers are decent people. Good neighbors. We did vote for marriage equality.
Don't worry, most Americans realize this guy is special! and not the average citizen of the great state of Maine. I use to go to Maine quite a bit in the 80s & 90s for Lobsters and summer vacations. Anyway, what people should do is pray for this guy, he's troubled and hurting. I'm sure he has a headache 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Watching the Republican Party fight to try to come to grips with what is reality. Is like watching the live action version of The Lorax. Trees?! What trees, we don't need no stinking, filthy trees (Black People!? What Black People? We don't have any Black People here. I don't know of not one and I've lived here for 40+ years. And I know everyone...I think?) Which in itself would be funny, if it wasn't so damn sad.
I myself am troubled by the fact that "dozens and dozens" of teabaggers voted in last week's election, because I don't personally know anyone that seriously deranged so I have to assume they don't actually exist.
So in this guy's mind - NO white person in Maine would have voted for the President over the lying, flip-flopping 1% white man whose only "plan" was to demolish the Middle Class? Wow
Get this guy some meds, quickly!
Countdown to our resident trolls coming to tell us how the whole "voter fraud" thing totally isn't rooted in racism and we're the racists for saying it is in 10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . .
Shooter 242 where are youuuuu!!!!!!!??????
Maybe you have to utter his name three times in a row?..
So call me stupid, but I would think if you were actually going to do voter fraud in the middle of dinky towns in Maine, you wouldn't send African Americans to a 100% white little town where they have known each other for 100 years. I live in one of those nondiverse towns in the middle of Iowa. And I am sure that if strangers showed up to vote, somebody would know it. Whether they were African American or not. If you have to tell the woman with the voter book your name, you don't live there. Because normally when someone walks in the voting area, she knows who they are and turns to that page.
To be (far too) fair, there were some concerns before the election that Romney might be able to collect the single electoral vote awarded to the winner of the Presidential vote in Maine's Second Congressional District. (At the end, Nate Silver had Romney's chances of winning that electoral vote at 5%—which is obviously not great but is still considerably better than the shot Silver gave Romney at winning any of the "Axelrod Mustache States" of Pennsylvania (1%), Michigan (1%), or Minnesota (0%).)
So there are several ridiculous, not to mention blatantly racist, elements to Webster's story—but the notion that the Obama campaign could have been interested in committing meaningful resources to ensure a good outcome in Maine (including in rural parts of CD 2) isn't really one of them.
Like I said to the befuddled white British woman sitting next to me at the tennis tournament, no it's not weird that I'm black, not in the cheap seats and am a huge fan, your stereotypes are just a full generation out of date.
So the black people you usually ignore showed up to vote? Surprise, we are everywhere, not just where you expect us to be.
Charlie, please return to the Cretaceous where you belong with your silly theories. The assumption that no white person would vote for Obama is just as patently ridiculous. Maybe having a candidate no one could really get behind might have been the problem, or no platform...
I guess racist conspiracy theories are just more fun.
I'm white, under 65, and voted for Obama, because Mittens and his party of scary white guys ("grey-faced guys with two-dollar haircuts") terrified me.
I guess I voted against my own self-interest, because according to Mittens, I'm not one of those who qualify for "free gifts" from Obama.
I think this country dodged one hell of a bullet, not electing someone who seems more deranged and unhinged (whose wife worried about his "emotional well-being") every day. He thought he was divinely ordained to win, and the process he's going through reminds me of those doomsday prophets who keep changing the date when proven, once again, painfully and publicly wrong.
Binders full of idiots.
And they're so hard to recognize in your own community unless they wear cowboy hats with tea bags dangling from them.
until they open their pie holes
OK, the first part of this guy's argument is crazy, ridiculous and racist.
But the second part... I can understand an objective observer position that says that same-day registration is problematic. If I were a Republican or a Democrat intent on committing voter fraud, this is how I would do it, and give fake names and addresses. I'm strongly against voter ID, but it seems that cutting off registrations a few days before Election Day, and then sending out a first class postcard to confirm address, is a very mild solution to this problem. Am I missing something?
you are asked for an ID to register to vote , if people like you would just go read the rules and procedures for voting in your own districts , it would clear all that confusion up , well maybe lol ...this advice would help the moron from Main
Only the hundreds of thousands of people in election-day-registration states you've just decided to disenfranchise on a whim. I hope you can take a step back and notice how offensive that is.
Election day registration, like any other registration, requires the voter to provide evidence of his or her identity and residence. Your ugly "If I were a Republican or a Democrat intent on committing voter fraud" hypothetical elides the fact that you'd need to come up with fake identification to present at the polling place, not to mention that you'd be risking severe felony criminal charges... just to cast a single illegal vote. You can't seriously think that that makes any sense.
(There's also the small matter of the fact that "sending out a first class postcard to confirm address" is a process tailor-made to deny the vote to thousands of people whose housing situations do not come complete with reliable and long-duration postal service. And that such processes take far longer than "a few days," FFS.)
Can I perhaps suggest that posting blog comments airily suggesting severe changes (though you think they're "mild") to election procedures that would lead to hundreds of thousands of Americans—most of them young people, poor people, and/or people of color—being denied their human right to vote is not a terribly worthwhile use of your time?
I have voted in 3 states in my lifetime, and have never once been asked for ID. I've been asked to state my name and address, and verify my birthday without seeing the voter log - this is how they confirm that I am me (or my very close friend I suppose). Of course, the law required me to register to vote no later than a week or two prior to the election.
The idea of voter ID was so strong this year that many people at my polling place had their Driver Licenses out for the judges, but we were told to put them away as it is ILLEGAL to request photo ID to vote.
Yes Erin - you are missing the fact that Maine has been voter friendly for a long time. We can register same day and do "In Person" absentee ballots. There are few if any lines where we vote. If you look us in the eye and say you live here and want to vote, we will let you. We note with sadness when our (very) elderly poll watchers no longer show up for duty. Our population is very low (less than 1000 in my town) and many towns still have Norman Rockwellian Town Meetings once a year to vote on all the local issues. Most Mainers respect the rights of all, are civil in their discourse, courteous in defeat and humble in victory. People outside of our state may not recognize that the good people of Maine heard what this man said, and will resolve it The Maine Way. It is sad to note that this poor man still lives in an Us Vs. Them world.
Of course, if you know your friends name and address and birth date, all well and good. You could vote. But if you turn around, and come back in 5 minutes later, I bet they are going to remember you. Unless you are in a huge district in a major urban area. You know those places where Obama won more because it was an Urban area?lol
I see black people.
And they're mysterious . . .
...and...and...they all look the same...
Let's just drag it all out again. Holy crap.
I think we need to thank Romney/Ryan, THEY HAVE FLUSHED THE WACKO'S OUT FOR ALL TO SEE!!!!!!!
Republicans have publicity whores are coming out of the woodwork.
Oh c'mon...they don't call them Mainiacs for nothing!
I think what he meant to say is that he's an unapologetic racist asshat.
Simple solution to voting problems is if SCOTUS extends voting rights act to entire nation.
The real scandal is that each of these dozens of black people was allowed to vote tens of thousands of times.
so they will put out an APB for bus loads of black people driving all about the country side for the next election ......
this guy is the cream of the crop for the gop in places like Main , he got the top dog spot because he is one of the smarter ones
Yeah hells that was my reaction too.
So Obama won by more than 100,000 votes and our conclusion is that "dozens" of black people voted for him. Ughhh in order for it to be "dozens" that would mean more than 10, but less than 100. How were they able to pull off 100,000 "extra" ballots by his own logic?
If this is all this guy has to worry about then he needs another job.
My sentiments exactly...someone is paying their tax dollars for this?
So when you register to vote in Maine, are you required to reveal your race (ethnicity)? It's been a long time since I registered so I don't remember having to give my race or ethnicity. So how else would this guy know that those rural voters were black or white? Is he making this assumption just because a couple of Republicans said they saw some black voters? Did Big Foot vote? Just sayin...
This is how his math works: He saw one black person, he turned to the 20 or so people in line right next to him, he said "How many black people do you see?" They each replied that they saw 1 black person, this adds up in his idiot, racist mind as 20 black people, and they all do the same, they ask each other the same question, thereby exponentially increasing the 1 black person voting to 20, they all got together to add up their totals, and voila! Dozens of black people voting! Morons.
The R's are still continuing the "Lie" about everything even when the truth would fit better
...just can't cure stupid...
You don't have to cure stupid -- you just need to expose it so people will stop electing it. Of course, the republicans are doing a pretty good job of exposing themselves.
Wait . . . that came out wrong . . .
This past 4 years has been a real eye opener for me and helped me pare down my list of friends and acquaintances. Perhaps I am naive, ( I didn't think I was) but the racists and bigoted people revealing themselves was shocking. Unfortunately, we relocated for retirement, and it turns out to be a red state ! I will volunteer in my retirement to help elect Democratic candidates and work in their campaigns. Let's all work together to ensure 2014 is a good year for our candidates in each of our states. Fired up and ready to go forward. ALEC is busy at work in all the state legislatures and we must fight back. I would like to see more about this group. PBS Bill Moyers did an excellent documentary. Stay informed and stay involved and stay FIRED UP !
I agree we should not let up on keeping these crazy radicals out of office and get rid of the ones still in....they are ruining the US with all their ridiculous policies and bills. We need to make sure the Voter suppression is stopped in its tracks, some of the injunctions will stop and the radical voter ID laws will go back in Jan. The judges did not throw them out, just slowed them for this election. The racisim in the US is so bad that I can't stand it....this Charlie Webster is typical of the Republican Party still bringing up that it was black voters that no one knew...well of course they did not know them.....because they live on the other side of town....which is another problem we need to take care of.....but that is what is wrong with our country....just because they did not know these people they automatically thought they were not legal voters....Shame on them.....and they did need to prove who they were to vote.....and a few dozen voter does not change the election....so why is he allowed to do this? and spend money on postcards....I think he is up to something,,,,maybe trying to identify where people live so they can target them later.....the GOP are sneaky with their radical crap.
Yes it is a problem that you do not know your own nieghbors or perhaps you are living in an all white (gated) community and had no idea that there were people living in your district that were ,uh not white?
Solution....quit isolating yourself from the real world!
Of course if God wanted republicans to listen He would not have invented ear plugs, had He wanted them to see He would not have given them eyelids.
I once walked in to an election area and handed my ID to the election clerk. She was visibily shocked. I didn't do it to ID myself. I did it so she could more easily spell my name. LOL. But she was very surprised.
I think the point being missed here is, Charlie said, it was reported that "mysterious black people voted in areas where there are none."
The lie is black people were seen. It's not a matter of whether black people live in Maine or not. They know their neighbors.
I'm dizzy trying to put the insanity into words.
Democrats voted in Maine and they voted for President Obama and good ol charlie can't accept it!!
I get the picture now-my parents hail from TN. and can remember the time a black family came through town. This points to a way to check the story out, kids remember such things. Ask the children. Ooops righties teach kids to lie for the cause.
Of course you are making sense, if a town of all white folk saw black people in line at the polls they would have asked questions and definately had a few pictures of the oddity! Camera phones are not banned in these towns are they?
As a Mainer and and lifelong Dem I find this so ridiculous. Just think: small town where everyone knows everyone else (and are related to them as well) -- send in some blacks to vote.
They'd stick out like a bandaged thumb.
Are we sure this guy isn't /snarking/ us?
95.4% white...maybe he was looking at those 'lawn jockey's' that are still hanging around New England. I'm not disparaging you...we have a place in Vermont where my DH is a lifelong resident AND democrat...