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November 02, 2004

A Reward and a Promise

Slate gets Black and Republican in the same headline. Wow! But wait... it's a sideways attack.

It's probably true that the Republicans are not targeting heavily black precincts because they're heavily black; they are targeting them because they're heavily Democratic. But let's not be naive: They are also targeting black precincts because they expect to find voters and polling officials who are relatively poor and socially powerless and hence easier to bully and intimidate. This may not be racism in its purest form—animus based on nothing other than race—but it's close enough to make decent people want to take a shower. Note to Karl Rove: If the GOP wants to shake its image as the home of modern racism, this is not the way to go about it.

Considering that for Ford, the full-time black man who wrote this stuff, Carl Rove is the only Republican he thinks worthy of his 'advice', I'll go him one better.


As a black republican I hereby offer a $500 reward for any photograph of an identifyable Republican operative at a polling place who is harassing African American voters.

You have until Friday to produce the evidence.

I will deliver it to the Chairman of the California Republican Party and I will find out the names of the people involved and I will publish them here.

I find it hard to believe that the same Republicans I know, who don't have time or experience to get off their backsides and get out the black vote are more motivated to go into those same neighborhoods and pester blackfolks. It simply doesn't make sense to me. So show me the money, and I'll show you the money.

Posted by mbowen at November 2, 2004 03:57 PM

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Tracked on November 3, 2004 05:41 PM

Comments

Can you have cameras in the polls? We cannot in Missouri.

Posted by: Lester Spence at November 3, 2004 06:35 AM

I tried to intimidate black voters in East Oakland, but they just laughed at me & hurt my feelings. Some VRWC

Posted by: jeff at November 3, 2004 05:49 PM

Truth be told Jeff, even if I could have taken pictures in the polls i wouldn't have seen anything.

Because we WERE intimidating the challengers. Nothing scarier to a republican challenger in a black neighborhood than a perceived "gang banger" taking pictures of license plates.

My girl at another poll witnessed intimidation though. Wasn't a pretty sight.

Posted by: Lester Spence at November 4, 2004 01:56 PM