The Colorado Republican Party has terminated its contract with a firm hired to run voter registration and get-out-the-vote operations here after allegations of fraud, FOX31 Denver has confirmed.
The move came at the recommendation of the Republican National Committee, leading to the termination of contracts with Strategic Allied Consulting in seven swing states, following an investigation of voter fraud by the company in Florida.
[...] In Colorado, the state GOP has spent $466,643 — roughly half its total budget — with Strategic Allied Consulting, the firm in question.
Already this year, the RNC has funneled more than $3.1 million to the company, just formed in June by Nathan Sproul, an Arizona voting consultant who has run other firms that have been accused of dumping registration forms filled out by Democrats and other improprieties aimed at helping Republican candidates.
And FOX31 Denver has confirmed that the young woman seen registering voters outside a Colorado Springs grocery store in a YouTube video, in which she admits to trying to only register voters who support Mitt Romney, was indeed a contract employee of Sproul’s company.
“I’m actually trying to register people for a particular party,” the girl tells a woman in the video, which has been viewed more than 417,000 times. Because we’re out here in support of Romney, actually.”
Coincidentally, there are also problems in Denver: “Colorado’s election chief says many of the nearly 800 people who registered to vote using a mobile device may not be registered because of a website glitch from Sept. 14 to Sept. 24.”
When you have a campaign built on nothing, cheat to win:
The person recording the video exits a Safeway grocery store and a young woman who is registering voters outside the store asks her, “Are you voting for Romney or Obama?”
The woman recording responds, “Well, wait, I thought you were registering voters a minute ago.” To which the young woman replies, “I am.”
The person recording then asks, “Well, who are you registering? All voters?”
“Well, I’m actually trying to register people for a particular party. Because we’re out here in support of Romney, actually,” the young woman registering voters says.
“And who is paying you for this?” The video recorder asks. “We’re working for the County Clerk’s Office,” the young woman replies with some hesitation and confusion.
[...] Later in the video the woman recording says to the volunteer, “Okay, you cannot come out here and register one party, lady.” The young woman now becoming clearly embarrassed puts her hands up in front of the camera to block her face. “You’re working for the County Clerk’s Office?”
“I believe so, yes,” the young woman says. “And you’re only registering Republicans?” The video recorder says with outrage. To which the young woman replies, “No.”
“You said you’re only registering Romney people,” says the video recorder.
And the young woman replies, “Well, we’re trying to, to be honest.”
NATURALLY the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Wayne Williams disavows what the young woman said. If you’re caught cheating, wouldn’t you also deny it?
That is, if the Voter ID laws in other states don’t turn things around for Romney…
While Obama has a clear advantage given his incumbency, Romney does have a path to victory — though it’s a steep climb. He must win most of the seven most competitive states — Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire and Virginia — in order to reach the magic number. For instance, he can lose Ohio’s 18 electoral votes and still become president if he wins the other six and hangs onto those already in his grasp. It’s difficult to see a scenario where Romney wins without a victory in Florida, which offers 29 electoral votes. — Obama-Romney race is focused on 7 states – SFGat
THE GOO-GOO SYNDROME: Paul Weyrich, father of the right-wing movement and co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, Moral Majority and various other groups tells his flock that he doesn’t want people to vote. Here’s the problem with fundies in politics:
Mike Turzai: “Voter ID, which is gonna allow Gov. Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, DONE.” Watch:
…
Here is how the Justice Department explains Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965: “…a nationwide prohibition against voting practices and procedures, including redistricting plans and at-large election systems, poll worker hiring, and voter registration procedures, that discriminate on the basis of race, color or membership in a language minority group. It prohibits not only election-related practices and procedures that are intended to be racially discriminatory, but also those that are shown to have a racially discriminatory impact.”
RNC Platform Formally Backs Voter ID Laws— The GOP platform committee adopted language on Tuesday supporting states that have passed voter ID and proof of citizenship laws. The citizenship amendment, proposed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), would support laws that make voters prove their citizenship before they are allowed on the voter rolls.
Voter ID laws: Why do minorities lack ID to show at the polls? – Slate Magazine— Because a lot of minorities don’t have much use for them. The most common voter ID is a driver’s license, and minorities are less likely to drive… Minorities are less likely to have driver’s licenses because they are more likely to be poor and to live in urban areas. If you can’t afford a car, or if you don’t need one because you take the bus or subway, you are less likely to have a driver’s license. Students are less likely to have driver’s licenses for the same reasons (plus the fact that they can sometimes rely on student IDs, and may just have not gotten around to getting a driver’s license yet). [...] Of course, minority voters aren’t the only group likely to be disenfranchised. Seniors, for example, are also less likely to drive. Academic studies suggest that voter ID laws do probably reduce turnout, both among Democrats and Republicans, but not by more than about 2 percent.
“… What makes the voter ID law special is that they propose to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. We have empirical data proving that essentially no one is showing up to the polls and impersonating a legally registered voter. Runaway slave laws were racist and wrong, but at least there occasionally was a runaway slave!” — Bill Maher, from his Friday night monologue, via: Daily Kos
The Real Cost of Voter Id Laws — In 2011, Republicans have advanced photo ID legislation in at least 35 states. The report concluded that if these 35 states enact a photo ID law, they collectively will spend at least $276 million, and possibly as much as $828 million, in the first four years alone. At a time when states are experiencing huge budget shortfalls, it would be an enormous waste to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to disenfranchise voters.
“Cockblock the vote”/ “Paid for by people who want Romney to win”
‘There’s a conspiracy among those who want to steal the election,’ says Jennifer Granholm — In Texas, a gun permit is a valid voter ID, but a university ID is not. Wait, what? Jennifer Granholm says the system of catch-22s and unconstitutional fees being enacted by Republicans who claim to be fighting voter fraud is having a very real effect on real people whose votes are being suppressed. “By using this pretense of voter fraud and the weapon of voter ID laws, the Republicans are systematically snatching away people’s rights,” Granholm says.
Something big is happening in Philadelphia ahead of this fall’s presidential election – the first in the state since a stringent new Voter ID law was passed earlier this year – although people there concerned about it are having a maddeningly hard time putting their finger on the precise size of the problem. The city has just over 1 million registered voters. About 800,000 of them are considered “active.” […]
The Pennsylvania Department of State recently released two lists of the Pennsylvania residents whose state IDs have expired since last November (and thus can’t be used to verify their identity at the polls this fall), as well as a list of the active voters whose names don’t match up with the PennDOT database as currently having an ID. This second list is terribly sloppy (one database spells names like McCormack as “Mc Cormack,” and there’s all kinds of chaos with hyphens and apostrophes). But nonetheless, the best official data available suggests that as many as 280,000 voters in Philadelphia may need to get an ID between now and November to have their votes counted.
“Nearly 500,000 eligible voters in 10 states with restrictive voter ID laws live in households without vehicles and reside at least 10 miles from an ID-issuing office open more than two days a week, a new Brennan Center for Justice study found. Because many of these voters may not have driver’s licenses — and nearly all live in rural areas with dwindling public transportation options — it could be significantly harder for them to get an ID and cast a ballot. The Brennan Center’s study undercuts the claim by many politicians in restrictive ID states that eligible voters can easily obtain a free ID to vote. A federal court considered this issue last week during a trial over Texas’s voter ID law, and Pennsylvania’s ID law will go before a state judge next Wednesday…. The Center’s research shows 1 in 10 eligible voters lack the necessary government-issued photo ID required by new restrictive voter ID laws, including 25 percent of African-Americans and 18 percent of Americans over 65.” — Study: 500,000 Americans Could Face Significant Challenges to Obtain Photo ID to Vote | Brennan Center for Justice
“James Taranto, the WSJ rightwing nutjob whose job is the Best of the Web feature, which invariably means reposting whatever Glenn Reynolds or the halfwits at NRO write every day:
“He is, of course, referring to the reports that a number of men used their bodies to shield their loved ones during the Aurora massacre. Most of us thought of this as a noble and amazing sacrifice… You know who got to make the decision whether their lives were worth it, Taranto? The three heroes who ate bullets saving their loved ones, not some fat scumbag neocon filth sitting comfortably with a glass of bourbon while wanking on twitter from the comfort of a wingback chair in Manhattan.”
What John Cole said. And when Cole tells Taranto to go fuck himself, I think we can all understand that’s probably an accurate description of Taranto’s entire relationship history. The Wall Street Journal must be very proud to have this guy on board.
Michael Tomasky calls bullshit on the idea that after the Aurora theater shooting, we’ll work to make sure it “never happens again.” In our current reality, Wayne LaPierre’s National Rifle Association owns the GOP, body and soul, and controls the Democrats through fear. The NRA has successfully marketed itself as the national symbol of ‘Merican Freedom™ and as the only logical answer to all modern fear and anxiety. He says,
“… I can understand why it makes people feel better in some way to say it. But really. Nonsense. We have no collective will in this country to make sure such a day never happens again. In fact, if anything, we are headed for a day when 20 percent of the people in a movie theater are armed themselves, and we have a good old shoot ’em up that would’ve made John Ford’s head spin but will make the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre’s heart soar like an eagle.
“[...] The net effect is that we have laws no one wants—not cops, not the military, not even most gun owners themselves—except the NRA. Earlier this year, the Indiana state house passed—with NRA backing—a bill spelling out when citizens could kill police officers. Some prominent military leaders wanted military personnel to be able to discuss gun safety with troops as a way of trying to stem military suicides, many of which are committed with personally owned guns. The NRA was having none of it. Finally, as to gun owners, I will never forget the late 2009 poll—conducted by Frank Luntz, no less—that found that 69 percent of NRA members back closing the gun show loophole. That poll produced a series of fascinating findings that showed NRA members to be pretty reasonable people in private on the telephone. But alas, in the political arena, in Wayne they trust, I guess.”
Personally I’m not anti-gun. I am against the gunshow loophole. I’m against how easy it is to buy semi-automatic rifles and high capacity mags because Bush let those bans expire. I’m against how easy it is for straw purchasers along the border to load up on semi-autos and high capacity mags for Mexican cartels (Hello! Fast and Furious).
You know who’s not against any of those things? The NRA. Their bottom line is profit for gun manufacturers and dealers — that’s who they lobby for. Doesn’t matter who buys their products, only that their products are bought. If terrible crimes are committed with their product, great. They’re happy to generate more fear so more of their products are purchased. Follow the money.
“Every country has, along with its core civilities and traditions, some kind of inner madness, a belief so irrational that even death and destruction cannot alter it. In Europe not long ago it was the belief that “honor” of the nation was so important that any insult to it had to be avenged by millions of lives. In America, it has been, for so long now, the belief that guns designed to kill people indifferently and in great numbers can be widely available and not have it end with people being killed, indifferently and in great numbers. The argument has gotten dully repetitive: How does one argue with someone convinced that the routine massacre of our children is the price we must pay for our freedom to have guns, or rather to have guns that make us feel free?” — Adam Gopnik : The New Yorker
The Denver Post: The man accused of committing one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history sat quietly beside his defense attorney in court this morning, his hair dyed a reddish orange, his face changing from blank stare to wide-eyed and dazed.
…
He’s scheduled back in court next Monday on 7/30/12.
Update:msnbc: “The Colorado prosecutor says it will likely be a year before James Holmes would stand trial.”
The Denver Post: “James Eagan Holmes, the 24-year-old suspect in the Aurora movie theater massacre, is scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. [MT] before an Arapahoe County judge. The purpose of the hearing, known as an advisement, is to tell Holmes about the murder charges on which he is currently being held. A formal filing of charges by the district attorney’s office will come later. Prosecutors could add to or change his charges in between. Advisement hearings are typically short — perhaps only a few minutes — and may not even require the suspect to speak. Nonetheless, the hearing will allow the public its first look at Holmes since the early Friday shootings and may provide new insight into how lawyers on both sides intend to approach his case.”
CSMonitor: “As the suspected gunman in the Colorado theater massacre heads to his first court appearance, authorities have disclosed that he is refusing to cooperate and that it could take months to learn what prompted the horrific attack on midnight moviegoers at a Batman film premiere. [...] Holmes has been assigned a public defender and Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said that the 24-year-old former doctoral student has “lawyered up” since his arrest early Friday, following the shooting at an Aurora theater that left 12 dead and 58 wounded, some critically.”He’s not talking to us,” the chief said.”
Chicago Tribune: “Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers will decide whether to seek the death penalty for Holmes. She has prosecuted two of the three inmates on Colorado’s death row. Chambers may not announce her plan at the hearing.”
Matt McQuinn was shot dead after he dived in front of his girlfriend, Samantha Yowler, and her older brother to shield them from the gunfire Photograph: AP
Micayla Medek lived in the Denver suburb of Westminster, Colorado, and attended Aurora Community College Photograph: AP
Veronica Moser-Sullivan, six, the youngest of the victims. Her mother, Ashley Moser, remains hospitalised with gunshot wounds to her neck and abdomen Photograph: -
Alex Sullivan was at The Dark Knight Rises premiere celebrating his 27th birthday and his first wedding anniversary Photograph: AP
Alexander C Teves, 24, of Phoenix, earned a master’s degree in counselling psychology from the University of Denver in June Photograph: -
Rebecca Ann Wingo had started a job several months ago as a customer relations representative at a mobile medical imaging company Photograph: Facebook
Jonathan Blunk had high hopes for the future, with plans to re-enlist in the Navy and the goal of becoming a Navy Seal. The 26-year-old served three tours in the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea between 2004 and 2009 Photograph: AP
Alexander J Boik, known as AJ, recently graduated from high school and was to start classes at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design Photograph: AP
Jesse Childress was an US air force cyber-systems operator based at Buckley air force base in Aurora Photograph: AP
Gordon Cowden had gone to the midnight movie premiere with his two teenage children. At 51, he was the oldest of the victims killed in the shooting Photograph: AP
Jessica Ghawi was pursuing a career in sports journalism. She had previously survived a shooting at a Toronto mall Photograph: AP
John Larimer, 27, was a US navy sailor based at Buckley air force base, where he was a cryptologic technician Photograph: AP
producermatthew: ”Speaking at a memorial on Sunday, President Obama demonstrates with his right hand how a 21-year-old woman saved the life of her 19-year-old friend by applying pressure to a gunshot wound during the Aurora, Colorado mass shooting. [KMGH]“
The idea that several people shooting in a dark, crowded, tear gassed theater is better than one, because everyone who can get a gun is obviously an expert marksman with crisis intervention training and nerves of steal.
“If only people would have had guns to fire back!”- Fuck off with this argument. It’s a complete fantasy.
Agreed — the ‘everyone should carry a gun’ argument is completely stupid. For the reasons you say and also because just like Ta-Nehisi Coates is arguing in that post by azspot this morning, James Holmes was wearing body armor. Are we all supposed to wear body armor now too?
I wouldn’t trust 98% of the people around me to be able to identify the correct target, let alone hit it in a dark theater, with people screaming and running, alarms blaring, and their blood pressure skyrocketing. There’s good reason for use of force / tactical training.
And has there ever been one situation in modern history where an ‘armed’ citizen (who wasn’t former or current LE) saved the day? Ever?
One last thought: you want to be ‘that guy’ who starts shooting back in a crowd? Good luck with all the lawsuits!
A gun in every cold, dead hand. The NRA is a lobby for firearm manufacturers and gun dealers. Money. That’s what it’s always all about.
“… in the day and a half since the Aurora massacre another 100 or so people have been shot to death in America. The land of the free. The home of the brave.” – Andrew Cohen, on gun violence in America. (via: thepoliticalnotebook)
