tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5194776.post5749377253431454007..comments2023-11-05T23:25:31.498+11:00Comments on Wot Is It Good 4: bill maher on plame and traitorsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5194776.post-12037680251797218192007-03-26T01:58:00.000+10:002007-03-26T01:58:00.000+10:00It's no coincidence that the Rove speech was deliv...It's no coincidence that the Rove speech was delivered to the Republican National Lawyers' Association. There's an <A HREF="http://www.votelaw.com/blog/blogdocs/GOP_Ballot_Security_Programs.pdf" REL="nofollow">interesting article here</A> (pdf warning) which lays out the group's origins and functions. The short version is that in the early 80's, after the RNC was hit with a consent degree for illegally purging minority voters, the RNLA was quite deliberately founded as an alternative vehicle for vote suppression and other electoral chicanery. Here's a passage on its role in the 2000 Florida recount:<BR/><BR/><I>Executive Director Thielen gives this account of the organization’s involvement in the 2000 recount: "After election day, RNLA members were dispatched by party organizations and campaigns to multiple locations within several states. When it became clear that the final result in Florida would determine the outcome of the presidential election, members were concentrated there." Thielen adds, "had it not been for the preeminent litigators retained by the campaign entities and the volunteer attorneys who spent weeks defending the intent of voters before canvassing boards, the will of the nation’s voters would surely have been thwarted." Underlining the organization’s enhanced status among Republicans, White House counsel Albert Gonzales told the group, "You know, I must confess I groaned when I was first asked whether I would be willing to address another group of lawyers. However, when I found out this group included many lawyers that helped secure the election for George W. Bush, I quickly reconsidered."</I><BR/><BR/>Chief Justice John Roberts' involvement in the 2000 recourt was due to his position as a long-standing member of RNLA, and the group has targeted vulnerable states in every election since then.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com