# Republicans destroying Democraat voter registrations? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971 "2004-10-13T06:07:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/61 "2004-10-14T20:07:19Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > The issue here is the ballots the city was ordering. And the city of Milwaukee has fewer than 600,000 people. No, the issue is that they don’t know where people will go to vote, so they have to have enough ballots at each place. Look at it this way. You and I both run restaurants in the same town; so does **John**. We know that there are fifty people in the town going out to eat tonight, but we don’t know which restaurant they’ll go to. Your restaurant can serve fifty people. You’re placing your food order for the evening; whatever food isn’t eaten can be frozen. For how many people do you order food? Me, I’m ordering food for fifty people: far better to freeze some food than to not be able to serve some people. And I’m guessing that you and John will make the same decision. Someone looking for stupidity might see that, in a town of 50 customers, the restaurants were preparing food for 150 people. But that’s not stupid behavior on the part of the restauranteurs; that’s simply logical preparation. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/62 "2004-10-15T02:12:12Z")
Open letter to nobody in paricular: I’ve spent too much time in the last few months having to deal with your party. Your party is the one that coordinates getting its people to park in all the spaces around majority African American polling locations. Your party. Your party is the one trying to get police officers stationed outside of every polling location… in majority Democratic areas. Because of homeland security concerns, of course! Wouldn’t want Al Qaeda to bomb a black church in a cornfield in the middle of nowhere, no siree! Your party. Your party: the ones who organized phone jamming operations to stop up Democratic GOTV operations. You are the ones with a federal injuction on you for countless violations because of the stuff you pull EVERY election. None of this is a surprise to anyone who works on campaigns. You don’t care if you get fined. You do’t care if it’s illegal. There are no do-overs in elections: causing as much confusion as possible on election day is worth the fines for you fine chaps. You have a playbook called “how can we prevent people from voting and making voting as difficult as possible?” whereas we have a playbook called “how to we stop these evil fuckers from pulling these sorts of shennanigans?” You are the ones who win elections by starting whisper campaigns about how a judge who is passionate about fighting child abuse is a pedophile. Your party is the one that pulls this sick evil shit and then shares lots of chuckles about it over a beer, unsuspecting who’s in their midst listening. The Democrats aren’t planning on challenging a SINGLE Republican voter this year. But your party is planning on fielding thousands of challengers: only in African American neighborhoods, of course. Not because they expect to find many illegitimate voters. Because each challenge gums up the system, slows down the polls, and frustrates people waiting in line so that they give up and leave. This is what YOUR party sits down to plan out how to accomplish every election. It’s not a secret. It’s the reality everyone has basically just become accustomed to. There are certainly some scattered corrupt Democratic machines. But this is your party’s SOP. So don’t try to fucking compare the two, scumbag. Your party ARE a bunch of scum. Live with it: I certainly have to live with you shit smears stinking up my beloved country. You are low, detestable roadblocks in this county’s path to greatness. I don’t know how you can bitch about Kerry throwing away his medals when you’re planning on disgracing them in the polling booth this year. Might as well wipe your ass with them for all they’re worth in your dirty hands. That non-partisan and selective enough for you? Hope this won’t hurt our friendship any, good buddy. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/63 "2004-10-15T02:56:43Z")
Again, your selective outrage is quite telling, **Apos**. I suppose you’re fine with vote fraud and voter intimidation tactics when they come from your side. Nobody here has had a thing to say about former Democratic congressman Austin Murphy’s fine example. I’ve seen far too few people outraged at the trashing of Bush-Cheney headquarters in several areas by thugs brought in by organized labor. I’m pretty pissed off at all of this. You’re only pissed off at the stuff directed at Democrats. Please forgive me, then, if I dismiss your anger as yet more partisan rhetoric. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/64 "2004-10-15T03:39:04Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > I’ve seen far too few people outraged at the trashing of Bush-Cheney headquarters in several areas by thugs brought in by organized labor. Oh, did you miss the three seconds FOX news dedicated to say, “Stuff is happening to Democrats, too”? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/65 "2004-10-15T12:07:09Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > Please forgive me, then, if I dismiss your anger as yet more partisan rhetoric. Please forgive me, then, if I dismiss your dismissal. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/66 "2004-10-15T12:21:01Z")
Very, very well said, **Apos**. Perhaps one day there will be a return to a Republican party with some integrity? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/67 "2004-10-15T12:49:09Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Your party: the ones who organized phone jamming operations to stop up Democratic GOTV operations. Rather a broad brush you’re painting with there. That wasn’t the whole party, just the [current director of the 2004 New England regional Bush-Cheney campaign, his buddies, and now, the justice department.](http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=45614). ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/68 "2004-10-15T13:21:15Z")
> [@](#): > > I suppose you’re fine with vote fraud and voter intimidation tactics when they come from your side. Nobody here has had a thing to say about former Democratic congressman Austin Murphy’s fine example. As I said, trying to compare scattered tactics of this or that corrupt candidate to a widespread party MO just doesn’t fly. If it were a year ago, I might agree with you. Now that I’ve actually worked on the ground, I think it’s an utter bullshit comparison. I’ve seen how the Dems operate, inside and out. I’ve seen how they operate, inside and out. It just doesn’t compare. There are no sit downs about how to supress the rural vote on the Dem side. They of course try to target only their known or likely supporters to GOTV them, but they leave the Republican voters alone. Completely. The playbook ends there. It DOESN’T end there in the Republican playbook. > [@](#): > > I’ve seen far too few people outraged at the trashing of Bush-Cheney headquarters in several areas by thugs brought in by organized labor. Oops. I didn’t post about that on this messageboard, but if swing over to [halflife2.net](http://halflife2.net) you’ll see my post about how the AFL-CIO was really boneheaded to try such protests. While they perhaps didn’t break any laws right off the bat by entering the public sections of the offices, they did by being a nuisance and definately did by being physically agressive and they did by trying to get into the private sections: that was reckless and should indeed be punished by law. I’ve never condoned such tactics, and consider them stupid and counter-productive. However, calling this voter intimidation is again, dumb. These were stupid attempts to get free earned media: attempts that deservedly backfired. > [@](#): > > I’m pretty pissed off at all of this. Bullshit. Maybe you’re lying even to yourself, but any outrage you feel over Repulican tactics is merely a shield to allow to try and excuse Republicans by pretending that everyone’s the same. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/69 "2004-10-15T14:32:02Z")
Guess who’s running the entire New England regional campaign for Bush 04? Oh, yes, it’s Jim Tobin [http://www.theunionleader.com/articles\_showa.html?article=45614](http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=45614) His cronies have already confessed and implicated him in the phone jamming scandal of 2002 that helped kill Democrat Shaheen’s bid for the Senate. It would be nigh impossible for the Bush people not to know he had been involved when they hired him. Right now, instead of firing or suspending or even investigating him, they are apparently trying to hold up the investigation until after Nov. 2nd. [http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week\_2004\_10\_10.php#003685](http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_10_10.php#003685) I’m also happy to hear the news that the Republicans currently under investigation for massive voter fraud in South Dakota were pulled out of that state to come run the GOTV program in Ohio. Yes, the Republican party wants only the best in suspected (but as long as they aren’t convicted until after the eleciton is already over) voter fraud criminals running the most important state in the race. Certainly no systemic problem there! ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/70 "2004-10-15T14:43:02Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Yes, the Republican party wants only the best in suspected (but as long as they aren’t convicted until after the eleciton is already over) voter fraud criminals running the most important state in the race. Convictions won’t matter. Presidential pardons gonna spray out like a fire hose this time around. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/71 "2004-10-15T15:13:29Z")
Uh huh. I don’t pretend everybody’s the same, and I’m not excusing proven Republican cases. The law is the law, and it should be strengthened and obeyed. I’m going to flat out ask you, **Apos** , your views on the Austin Murphy matter. This was a congressman who was as corrupt as they come in Washington, to the point that he had a ghost employee on his congressional payroll. Now he’s been convicted of voter fraud, casting ballots for old folks in a nursing home. Taking advantage of confined senior citizens to gain political advantage. Can you denounce this? Or will you merely keep on your tack that whatever crimes Democrats commit, the Republicans are worse? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/72 "2004-10-15T15:31:22Z")
More about Austin Murphy. [From the House Trafficant hearings:](http://www.house.gov/ethics/Traficant_pdfs/Traficant_July_18pm_hearing.pdf) > [@](#): > > **Mr. Walker**. There have been since 1967 eight reprimands…There was the matter of Representative Austin Murphy in 1987 who had allowed another person to cast his House votes and permitted his law firm access to official resources, and he maintained an employee on the committee payroll who was not performing duties commensurate with pay. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/73 "2004-10-15T15:34:04Z")
Again, you’re comparing the malfeasence of **one** guy, Austin Murphy, with the systemic misdeeds of the party organization. Get Some Perspective! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/74 "2004-10-15T15:35:45Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > Uh huh. > > I don’t pretend everybody’s the same, and I’m not excusing proven Republican cases. The law is the law, and it should be strengthened and obeyed. > > I’m going to flat out ask you, **Apos** , your views on the Austin Murphy matter. This was a congressman who was as corrupt as they come in Washington, to the point that he had a ghost employee on his congressional payroll. > > Now he’s been convicted of voter fraud, casting ballots for old folks in a nursing home. Taking advantage of confined senior citizens to gain political advantage. > > Can you denounce this? Or will you merely keep on your tack that whatever crimes Democrats commit, the Republicans are worse? Your cite states that six of seven charges were dropped, leaving one that it does not give the disposition of. It says nothing about a ‘ghost employee’, nor does it mention anything about him being ‘as corrupt as they come’. I’ve googled and can’t find anything. Can you help me out by letting me know where you’re getting your information from? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/75 "2004-10-15T15:40:06Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > Again, you’re comparing the malfeasence of **one** guy, Austin Murphy, with the systemic misdeeds of the party organization. > > Get Some Perspective! Not to mention that \*\*MM \*\* had to go back to 1987 to find something that even he, determined as he is, would consider comparable. No perspective problem here, mate. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/76 "2004-10-15T15:53:56Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Not to mention that \*\*MM \*\* had to go back to 1987 to find something that even he, determined as he is, would consider comparable. > > No perspective problem here, mate. Hey, we’ve only had four presidential elections since then. I guess **Mr. Moto’s** point must be that the Democrats have a pretty sterling 17 year history, whereas there are a litany of Republican crimes and misdemeanors right now. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/77 "2004-10-15T15:56:08Z")
I brought Murphy up because I have personal knowlege of the case. He was my congressman for years. Besides which, only his House reprimand was from 1987. I included it as further evidence of the man’s character. House reprimands aren’t easy to get. You really have to have done something truly reprehensible. The vote fraud case is from 1999. Let’s try to keep up here. And again I see lots of excuses, and no condemnation of the behavior. This is saddening, but not wholly unexpected. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/78 "2004-10-15T16:14:44Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > I brought Murphy up because I have personal knowlege of the case. He was my congressman for years. > > Besides which, only his House reprimand was from 1987. I included it as further evidence of the man’s character. House reprimands aren’t easy to get. You really have to have done something truly reprehensible. > > The vote fraud case is from 1999. Let’s try to keep up here. > > And again I see lots of excuses, and no condemnation of the behavior. This is saddening, but not wholly unexpected. I didn’t know there was a statute of limitations on fraud. Gee. Does that mean the fraud in Florida is almost up as well? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/79 "2004-10-15T16:18:41Z")
I didn’t follow that last one of yours at all, **Mockingbird**. Can you clarify, please? ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971/80 "2004-10-15T16:21:27Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > I didn’t follow that last one of yours at all, **Mockingbird**. > > Can you clarify, please? It’s pretty simple. If rereading it isn’t enough to help you figure it out, perhaps an adult can help you understand it [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-destroying-democraat-voter-registrations/268971.md?page=5)