Crazy Eddie, Voter Intimidation and The Donald

Back in 1981 The Republican National Committee was sued for voter intimidation during the New Jersey gubernatorial race:

The RNC allegedly created a voter challenge list by mailing sample ballots to individuals in precincts with a high percentage of racial or ethnic minority registered voters and, then, including individuals whose postcards were returned as undeliverable on a list of voters to challenge at the polls. The RNC also allegedly enlisted the help of off-duty sheriffs and police officers to intimidate voters by standing at polling places in minority precincts during voting with ‘National Ballot Security Task Force’ armbands. Some of the officers allegedly wore firearms in a visible manner.

The RNC entered into a consent decree to settle the matter, agreeing to comply with federal and state voting laws, get court consent before engaging in ballot security activities, and to refrain from intimidating practices like interrogating prospective voters at the polls and removing lawful campaign materials from polling sites. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) sued for violation of the order in 1982, and became part of the consent decree.

That decree ends next December but only if the RNC does not find itself in violation. If they violate the decree it could be extended for another 8 years. For months, Trump has been screaming that the election is rigged but only if he loses. He has said that he won’t accept the election results. He has also been calling on his loyal supporters to go into cities with large minority communities and watch the polls. Which is fine, except this story broke on Monday in The Huffington Post:

Trump Loyalists Planned Voter Intimidation Using Fake ID Badges, Fake Exit Polling — Until HuffPost Asked Them About It

Vote Protectors, the anti-voter-fraud group hosted by Donald Trump ally and political dirty trickster Roger Stone, plans to send volunteers to monitor polling places in nine cities with high minority populations on Election Day, Stone said last week. Untrained poll-watchers have intimidated voters in previous elections. But Vote Protectors is going further than its predecessors.

Stone’s group created an official-looking ID badge for its volunteers to wear, and its volunteers planned to videotape voters and conduct fake “exit polls,” efforts that election experts say risks intimidating and confusing voters. Or at least that’s what the group was planning to do before The Huffington Post asked Stone about it on Tuesday. The controversial Trump ally, long known for his bare-knuckled political tactics, said that key proposals on his group’s websites were there without his knowledge, and assured HuffPost that he would operate within the confines of election law.

Stone had initially refused to explain just how Vote Protectors planned to accomplish its goals. So on Monday, The Huffington Post responded to the group’s request for additional volunteers to work as “Exit Pollers and Citizen Journalists.”

Once registered, HuffPost used the site’s “I.D. Badge Generator” to create this badge, which could pass for an official credential to people unfamiliar with polling signage and rules.

The badge generator has been removed. So what and who is “Crazy Eddie” and what has he got to do with voter intimidation and Trump? And why is the RNC in a panic. I’ll let MSNBC host Rachel Maddow connects the dots

Last night this became an even “bigger thing”

Democratic Party Takes GOP to Court Over Voter Intimidation

The Democratic National Committee asked a judge to block the Republican Party from supporting efforts to discourage minorities from voting based on Donald Trump’s claims that the presidential election is “rigged.”

In a preemptive strike against what it called a coordinated effort to intimidate voters, the Democratic Party’s governing body alleged Wednesday that the Republican National Committee is violating a court order in a case that started 35 years ago.

The RNC is supporting Trump’s recruitment of so-called watchers at polling places, which is in breach of consent decrees going back to 1982 that forbid the group from engaging in ballot-security measures, according to a filing in federal court in Newark, New Jersey. The DNC said the watchers are really intended to deter registered voters from casting ballots.

Yes, that was fast and more important than ever in this election, especially for those down ticket candidates.

This nasty woman votes and will not be intimidated. Vote November 8