Thursday, October 1, 2020

Voter Intimidation 2008 and 2020

 

Voter Intimidation 2008 and 2020

 
In 2008, conservative media went nuts when a video surfaced showing two New Black Panthers at a polling location in Philadelphia. One individual was carrying a billy club and was asked to leave. The other was actually licensed as a poll watcher and had a right to be there.

They were both sued by Obama's Department of Justice on claims of voter intimidation . Much later, and after a lot more drama from the Right, all the charges were dropped. Republicans weren't satisfied with that and conducted an investigation into why the charges were dropped. Nothing more materialized and eventually it was forgotten.

And now in 2020 we have Trump telling his supporters to "patrol" the polls looking for fraud. He has them stirred up and charged with righteous indignation. It's freakin' scary already, and Trump is just getting started.

Trump is not the real problem. It's important to remember that Trump's enablers are the ones making all of this possible. And it's not just the Senate. His enablers include some 42% (or more) of the population who are ready to vote for him again, no matter what. 
 
These people -- our neighbors -- are ready to fall in line for Trump for another four years, of even worse abuses. They are authoritarian personalities who have found their demagogue. The more outrageous Trump's behavior, the more they are invested in him. This can't possibly end well.

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