Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Jim Crow Falls, McCarthyism Rises

On Monday, voters in Wisconsin won a temporary reprieve from the onerous and oppressive Jim Crow voter suppression laws enacted by Scott Walker last year, when a second judge found the law to be unconstitutional and imposed a permanent injunction against it.

The money phrase comes from the actual ruling:
A government that undermines the very foundation of its existence – the people’s inherent, pre-constitutional right to vote – imperils its legitimacy as a government by the people, for the people, and especially of the people. It sows the seeds for its own demise as a democratic institution.
As I said above, the reprieve, as significant as it is, is only temporary.  I believe that Walker and company will not only appeal the ruling, but will try to take it directly to the Supreme Court, citing some nonsense about how it is needed in time for the upcoming recall elections.

And we all know how well things turn out in the Supreme Court of Fitzwalkerstan, where David "Choke Hold" Prosser doesn't bother reading the lawsuits, the law or the Constitution, but rather makes his decisions based on what his campaign donors, the Fitzgerald boys and the Walker administration tell him on how he should rule.

I hope that the recallers are ready to file immediately in federal court to have that act of disingenuousness turned over

But sad to say, with the falling of the Jim Crow laws, there is another disgusting relic from the past on the rise recently: a new version of McCarthyism.

To practice this art of intimidation and bullying, the right wing is using their "Verify the Vote" database from the recalls.  Whenever someone does or says something they don't like, the lemmings on the right scramble to the database to see if they signed the petition.  They then use this in an effort to intimidate their chosen victims.

As of the time of this writing, some of the first victims of the New McCarthyism includes Dane County Judge David Flanagan, who was the first judge to rule against the Jim Crow laws; UW staff and Regents; and Mary Lou Young and Linda McFerrin, officers at United Way of Greater Milwaukee.

Even yours truly isn't immune from the harassment from the right.  For the umpteenth time, someone has filed an Open Records Request against me with my employer.  The requester wants to see if he can find more dirt on me from the acts of retaliation Scott Walker and his minions threw at me as well as to see if I'm qualified to do my job.

I am not worried about this in the sense that they will find anything to discredit me or get me into trouble.  But I do find it irritating that they will not cease in their harassment because they don't like that I speak the truth and keep exposing Scott Walker and his allies for the miscreants that they are.  And yes, questioning my qualifications to do my job is nothing short of an act of harassment and retaliation.

The person who made this request is a sloppy blogger turned GOP operative named Kyle Maichle.  Maichle has worked for the Koch brothers and Herman Cain, to show you the type of person he is.  As a blogger and researcher, he has a very poor reputation.  But given his severe man-crush on Walker and his flailing efforts at besmirching people that oppose his hero, who knows what he will try in his desperation.

But I'm sure the right wing will have no problems with their harassment, bullying and intimidation of Wisconsinites.  They'll just keep telling themselves it's only fascism when the other guy does it.

40 comments:

  1. In this town we have a new brand. Charlie McCarthyism

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  2. Im not so sure having a blog that libels your boss will look real good on your resume if you find your way into the real world workplace.
    Just sayin.

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    1. Libel would be if it's not true. Unlike your right wing heroes, I supply supporting facts and do not simply make things up out of broadcloth. Nice way to defend illegal and unethical behaviors, btw.

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  3. You do throw some valuable information out there. But that being said I do find many flaws in your assumptions.
    Oh, and McCarthy was right too. http://www.wnd.com/2000/02/4020/

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    1. So sayeth the Koch brothers...

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    2. Flaws? Please share.

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    3. Anom, lets start with: "the governor wants to give the pension funds to the Koch brothers"

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    4. Change that to Wall Street.

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    5. A sacrifice and rite of passage made in the name of Koch.

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    6. Yeah...Sure...McCarthy was right. He was discredited, and finally maligned for the publicity seeking canker he was. But, like some commenter here wrote...McCarthy was right. Since his witch-hunting sensationalism was stopped, the communists were able build strength, and gain glorious victory in America, and forty-nine of the fifty states fell to Moscow. Hence...our nation's name today...AmeriKremlin. You right-wing nuts in your fact void bubbles kill me.

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  4. It's libel only if it can't be proven.

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    1. Nobodys going to charge him for it, but he will make enemies. Would you blog against your current boss?

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    2. Really? So are you blogging for your current boss?
      (Just kidding, it was irresistible)

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    3. Nobody here is farther from being involved in politics than I. I just continually question and verify my own opinions by trying to understand other opinions

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  5. I think many people figured that something like this would happen and didn't sign because of that.

    Voting is still secret, however.

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    1. Would you be ashamed of your vote if it wasnt secret?

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    2. Of course not. I am not ashamed to have signed the recall petition either.

      But, I can see how if voting weren't secret and you didn't agree with your boss or your customers politically, it could cause problems.

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    3. Thats all I was saying to Capper, he makes waves at his place of employment and then complains about the results.

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    4. Republican members of my family are counting on voting still being anonymous - exactly to your point why they didn't sign the recall petition.

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    5. Actually, I don't work for the state, so Walker is not my employer. Furthermore, you will never see me talk about my job, good or bad. I will talk about the government in general terms or in areas that or not directly related to my job. The ORR that was filed against me was clearly an tool of harassment has no bearing other than people aren't happy that I am exposing things the mainstream media won't. (Please excuse the Charlie Sykes-esque bragging.)

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  6. I don't see where the blogger libels his boss, Imustberacist. (love the tag by the well, probably very fitting.) Can you point out where he libels his boss?

    And your contention that McCarthy was right is just plain chilling. Have you studied the history of that time? I can see getting caught up in that mania during that era, when you're knee deep in it, but to look back now, through the lens of history, and STILL justify it is terrifying.

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    1. Its not a contention, check the FBI files. What is scary is that you don't see the similarities of communism to your liberal Utopian dreams.
      Dont believe its true just because your teacher (or union) said it is. The world would still be flat if we didn't question the "truths" of our past generations.

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    2. What is scarier is that you seem to think all teachers are communists. Aren't you even aware that many teachers are/were conservatives?

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    3. I didnt imply that, I have respect for most teachers. My social studies teacher told us that we shouldnt be so quick to judge McCarthy as our textbook did. Maybe thats a lesson that stuck with me.

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  7. One of things that was supposed to happen with the 'Verify The Recall' searchable data base was that we were going to hear from hundreds? thousands? of people who didn't sign the petitions but whose names were subsequently found there. They created a "No Sign Registration' page for that express purpose.

    So the searchable data base has been up for a while now...anybody heard about anybody finding their name on the petition when they didn't sign?....anybody?...anybody at all?...

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    1. No, but I still haven't found my own name and I know I signed.

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    2. I have found 15 signatures that I collected as circulator that are missing (out of about 175 that I checked). But a bunch more of mine were there, although misspelled.

      You can download their database as a csv file from the TrueTheVote web site, open it with WordPad, etc and then search it as plain text. Easier to search partial strings that way, and figure out if you're there but misspelled, or truly missing.

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    3. You mean their 14,000+ volunteers didn't even process all the names?! BWA HA HA!

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  8. No, Robert, but who knows how that database of "I didn't sign" will be used. VTR/TTV doesn't explain that. I bet it'll be sold to the GOP. It's solid info about people who could be supporters.

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  9. You are a typical brain washed right winger if I ever heard one. Communism and liberalism are quite the opposite. This country is for the people, by the people, of the people not rich against the middle class. What you don't realize that the tea party repubs have made you all their little puppets. And another thing, when you people are done and out you are their accepting help, which is ok if you need it. You shouldn't have to feel like the scum of the earth because you need assistance in this mess the repubs made.

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    1. your right, I should have used socialism instead of communism. My mind was on McCarthy I guess.
      So lets assume your right about the repubs creating this mess then too. But as I look around I see Illinois far worse off than us fiscally, is that due to the repubs? how about Greece? was that due to conservative ideals?

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    2. Anonymous 8:30,

      Please cool it with the name calling and ad hominem attacks. Even though Imu is conservative, he has, for the most part, kept his arguments to the subject at hand. He (or she) deserves the same respect from us.

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    3. You're right. He or she actually reads the columns and our comments and generally gives thoughtful replies.

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    4. They're still wrong, though.

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  10. Back to the topic of this post.

    If it's unconstitutional to require that a voter prove who they are, is it not also unconstitutional for a gun owner to have to prove who they are? Both are constitutionally protected rights.

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    1. Gun owners identities are protected now. Why would voters be treated to a double standard?

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  11. If I have a constitutional right to purchase/own a gun and I have a constitutional right to vote then the double standard is requiring an ID for one and not for the other. Both are constitutionally protected rights.

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  12. @capper: "I hope that the recallers are ready to file immediately in federal court...."

    Federal court may not have jurisdiction.

    Both Flanagan's and Neiss's rulings were based on the state constitution (as the lawsuits were brought), not the federal constitution, so it's more than likely the state supreme court would rule on the same basis.

    And even SCOTUS traditionally and explicitly declines to intervene in a state supreme court's interpretation of its own state constitution.

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  13. Came back to see what BS would be made up by my previous comment about voting and guns.

    I see nothing. 'Nuff said, liars!

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  14. SB 1070, HB 56 and other copy-cat racist Neo Jim Crow laws.

    WHEN INJUSTICE BECOMES LAW, RESISTANCE BECOMES DUTY.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuauhtemoc-hidalgo_villa-zapata/7759329174/in/photostream/

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