When Republicans Let Slip the Truth
July 23rd, 2004
A Michigan Republican, John Pappageorge, stated recently in a print article that “If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we’re going to have a tough time in this election.” Detroit is 83% African-American. It is doubtless that in Florida, Jeb Bush is calling him and saying, “Shh! You’re not supposed to tell anyone!”
Pappageorge later confirmed that it was crucial to get “the vote down in Detroit,” but that it would be done by delivering a “good message.” Right. I’d love to see how a “good message” can “suppress” and “get down” a city’s vote. Not a very good job of covering up there.
There’s been quite a history of this over the past few years.
Following the 1992 elections, the GOP consultant Ed Rollins openly boasted his success at of “voter suppression” during a journalists’ breakfast (bribing Democratic campaign workers in the NJ governor’s race which Christine Whitman won). He also said he gave money to ministers in black churches to tell them not to urge people to vote. After being hit by a lawsuit, he later backpedaled and said it was all a lie.
A few days previously, Whitman’s campaign spokesman said to a reporter: “Sometimes vote suppression is as important in this business as vote getting.”
And in the past few days, James Tobin, (President Bush’s former New England campaign chairman), was indicted on four counts related to the jamming of Democratic get-out-the-vote phone lines on Election Day 2002. (http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=47771)
The GOP’s hatred of democracy is becoming more and more overt all the time.