The GOP war on voting: Romney lies about Ohio early voting lawsuit

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

What else would you expect from a campaign that is built upon a Big Lie propaganda campaign, and a candidate who is a pathological liar. James Downie writes at the Plum Line, The Morning Plum: The Romney campaign’s disgraceful falsehood about military voting:

Willfully misleading attacks from Mitt Romney and his campaign aren’t new: “You didn’t build that” and “Obama’s apology tour” and so on have been a staple for the Romney camp. But the latest from the Romney camp just may be their lowest attack yet:

Despite a spate of headlines out of Ohio that push back on the notion that President Obama’s campaign is trying to strip military members of voting rights in the upcoming election, Mitt Romney’s campaign is drilling down on the claim.

In a memo out earlier from counsel Katie Biber, Romney’s camp insisted that the suit the Obama camp filed — to restore early in-person voting rights to every Ohio citizen — is targeting military members.

The suit doesn’t actually say this, and papers the campaign has filed called it “appropriate” to give three extra days to military members (more on that here). The suit argues against creating two classes of voters, using the legal term “arbitrary,” which Romney’s camp is seizing on to make its point — along with the argument that it’s “unconstitutional.”

The article cited in the quote, from Buzzfeed, points out that while fraternal military groups are opposing the Obama campaign’s lawsuit, the groups “make no suggestion that the Democrats’ suit would restrict Ohio soldiers’ votes.” Their objection is purely “that the Obama move might set a precedent that giving soldiers special consideration is unconstitutional.” Despite the plain text of the various motions, the Romney camp is calling the Obama lawsuit “despicable” and an “outrage.” Not only are Republicans misleading voters, but they’re using our soldiers to do so.

Such a disgraceful maneuver is just the latest sign that the Romney campaign has an increasingly weak hand. 

Kathleen Geier at the Political Animal blog writes, Today in Mitt-Romney-Lies-Like-a-Rug:

Via Think Progress, Mitt Romney, on his Facebook page, is claiming that President Obama is running to the courts to prevent members of the military from voting in Ohio. Saith the Mittster:

President Obama’s lawsuit claiming it is unconstitutional for Ohio to allow servicemen and women extended early voting privileges during the state’s early voting period is an outrage. The brave men and women of our military make tremendous sacrifices to protect and defend our freedoms, and we should do everything we can to protect their fundamental right to vote. I stand with the fifteen military groups that are defending the rights of military voters, and if I’m entrusted to be the commander-in-chief, I’ll work to protect the voting rights of our military, not undermine them.

But as Think Progress’s Judd Legum points out, this is a big fat lie. Earlier this year, the Republican Ohio state legislature, in keeping with nation-wide Republican efforts to restrict ballot access, eliminated early voting in the state, except for members of the military. (Gee, I can’t imagine why they might have made an exception for the military, of all groups! Can you?) The Obama administration filed a lawsuit to restore early voting for all voters; its suit does not in any way attempt to restrict military early voting. Even Fox News, of all sources, acknowledges this.

I’m certain that Romney, or whatever staffer wrote the Facebook post for him, knows very well what the truth is here. But I think the point, strategically, is to muddy the waters, so far as ballot access and voter fraud issues are concerned. It is, after all, Republicans who are ideologically and operationally committed to massive voter suppression efforts. Especially when elections are close, as I believe the 2012 presidential election is likely to be, those efforts can make all the difference.

But since Republicans don’t want to look like the bad guys who are disenfranchising vulnerable populations, they know that it is to their advantage to make it look like “both sides do it.”

At some point the media has to make the decision to say, "goddamnit, enough! This constant lying from Mitt Romney disqualifies him as a candidate for the presidency." Who will be the Edward R. Murrow or Walter Cronkite of our time?

UPDATE: Steve Benen, who has chronicled the voluminous lies of Willard "Mittens" Romney, weighs in on his latest whopper. Romney gets caught lying about Obama, military voters:

After spending the last several months paying attention to Mitt Romney's habitual dishonesty at a granular level, I've become largely inured to his more routine, casual lies. Some of the deliberate falsehoods are just too common to get upset about.

But once in a while, Romney tells a lie so blatant and offensive that it raises questions anew about the candidate's character and what standards of decency he's prepared to abandon to advance his ambitions.

* * *

Obama wants all eligible Ohio voters, including servicemen and women, to have the same ability to vote, which Romney says, in writing, means Obama is trying to "undermine" the troops' ability to vote.

This is as loathsome a lie as Romney has told all year -- and given his record, that's not an easy threshold to meet.

It's important to realize that this isn't a matter of opinion. CNN's headline over the weekend said, "Romney campaign jabs at Obama over voting rights suit." The headline on the Politico homepage yesterday said, "Obama, Mitt camps spar on military voting."

No. Wrong. No one is "jabbing" or "sparring." One candidate lied and got caught. Full stop.

Indeed, when pressed, Romney's spokesperson could point to "no place in Obama's lawsuit that seeks to restrict the rights of military voters," and Romney's legal counsel failed to "offer evidence that Obama's lawsuit would make it tougher for members of the military to vote."

* * *

Yesterday, the Republican presidential campaign said the Obama campaign's lawsuit calling for equal voting rights is "despicable."

It's as if words no longer have any meaning, and Americans politics has become so blisteringly stupid, candidates believe they can say literally anything and get away with it.

UPDATE: A separate issue before U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley last week, is whether Ohio must count provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct when the mistake was the fault of a poll worker rather than the voter. In Ohio, a fight over votes not counted.

UPDATE: Once you leave the military, you are no longer covered by UOCAVA. Your voting rights are the same as any civilian. Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets.org writes, Why Does Mitt Romney Want To Restrict Voting Rights For More Than 900,000 Ohio Veterans?:

Because Mitt Romney, by supporting the Ohio law that would do away with three days of early voting for all but those covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voter Act (‘UOCAVA’), is supporting the restriction of voting rights for as many as 913,000 Ohio veterans. This includes military retirees with over 20 years of service and multiple deployments. In short, Mitt Romney supports efforts to make voting more difficult for the very people who have put their lives on the line after swearing an oath to uphold our Constitution and democracy.

* * *

By all accounts, Ohio voters liked and used the early voting law. In 2008, nearly one-third of all ballots was cast under the early voting measures, surely many of them veterans.

* * *

My question for Mitt Romney is simple: “Why won’t you join the Obama lawsuit in Ohio, and protect our veterans’ right to vote?”

UPDATE: Politifact adds its voice to those condemning Romney’s Ohio lie.

Comments

[Cheri]

As far as I'm concerned, he's a liar and a cheat.More today...he even manages to piss off the Italians...and rightfully so.

$1B Bain Deal Keyed Italy Outrage
If Mitt Romney wins the presidency, he might be in for some awkwardness the first time he runs into Italian politicians at a state dinner. That’s because when he headed Bain Capital 12 years ago, the company was part of a group that bought a telephone-directory company from the Italian government and then flipped it for 25 times more money about two years later, at the height of the tech bubble. Bain evaded taxes on the deal by routing its profits through Luxembourg. After the company’s value collapsed, the deal sparked widespread outrage and various probes in Italy, which has been slammed with economic woes in recent years. Romney himself, however, has little to complain about, as he likely made between $50 million and $60 million on it.

Daily Beast piece

[Guest]

Kind of off topice, but I came across this interesting list earlier today. It's a list of companies that support LGBT rights. Look under B, first entry.

http://www.yourchristianspace.com/blog/view/id_18489/title_top-companies-that-support-gay-rights/

You see the RWNJs screeching about boycotting Target and JCP. Looks they'll have to start cancelling all their credit cards, changing banks, revising their weekly shopping list, and on and on.

[kolaid_drinker]

lets talk about lies My Church Is Like Any Other Christian Church
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor for the last 20 years at the Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's south side, has a long history of what even Obama's campaign aides concede is "inflammatory rhetoric," including the assertion that the United States brought on the 9/11 attacks with its own "terrorism."
I don’t Have Lobbyists
Mr. Obama's nominee for deputy secretary of defense, William Lynn, has been a lobbyist for the defense contractor Raytheon, and his nominee for deputy secretary of health and human services, William V. Corr, lobbied for stricter tobacco regulations as an official with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

I’ll get rid of earmarks
Obama Lied about giving the public 5 days to look at the health care bill before signing it, but then again, is it any surprise from the people that said you’ll save 3000% on your health Care Costs? To them I’m sure it made sense that Sunday Night to Tuesday Morning was 5 days.

[AZ BlueMeanie]

At least you are not too far gone to realize that you are a Kool-Aid drinker. Turn off FAUX News, turn off your hate radio ... go outside to take a walk and get some fesh air and exercise and work off that crazy.