Obama Files a Complaint (RE: Voter Suppression)

[mod mom]

JANUARY 23, 2008 3:01
Obama Files a Nevada Complaint
Posted by Karen Tumulty

I won't insert any what-happens-in-Vegas jokes here, but the Barack Obama campaign is not letting go of its accusations that Hillary Clinton's campaign engaged in voter suppression last Saturday in Nevada.

Obama lawyer Bob Bauer has now put forward the contentions in a formal complaint to the Nevada Democratic Party, in which he says the Clinton campaign closed voter registration and shut the doors to some of the caucuses at 11:30 a.m. and earlier, which was a half-hour or more before they were supposed to under caucus rules.

While stipulating that the Obama campaign does not intend to challenge the outcome on a precinct level, Bauer asks for an investigation and writes:

These reports suggest the possibility of activity conducted in violation of Party rules and the rights of voters-activity that, as the volume and distribution of those complaints indicate, may have been planned and coordinated with the willful intention to distort the process in the favor of one candidate, Senator Clinton. A sheet of instructions provided by the Clinton campaign to its precinct works captures its program for the Caucus: "It's not illegal unless they tell you so." (See attachment). This certainly suggests that, for the Clinton campaign, the operative standard of conduct was, simply and only, what it could get away with. On the day of the Caucus, we received by phone reports of misconduct, violations of the rules and irregularities, in the hundreds. Since that time, well over a thousand more accounts have been sent to us.

-snip
http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/01/obama_files_a_nevada_complaint.html

[Dogmudgeon]

1. "While stipulating that the Obama campaign does not intend to challenge the outcome ..."

Translation: they have a weak or non-existent case, and this is all being done for the Media.

That's politics!

--p!

[EFerrari]

2. The media doesn't exactly jump on these cases.

And, unfortunately the Clinton campaign did put it in writing. Why in the world would they do such a thing?

[cloudythescribbler]

3. Kerry said the same about Ohio 04 -- It does NOT mean case is weak, only the politics problematic

[dailykoff]

4. Glad he's on it.

Hope he's got a back up plan to fight rigged machine counts now that Kucinich has been forced out.