So Which Is It, Bev?

After what even a few of my Democratic friends who attended the meeting of the Commissioner’s Court called a good presentation by County Clerk Bev Kaufman, many of us were made to feel reassured that all systems would be “go” by Early Voting. Then this Chron blog posts seems to cool down our warm and fuzzy feelings.

Kaufman writes, “… this office is now in desperate need of election equipment. Despite a commitment from Hart InterCivic to manufacture and provide eSlate equipment to conduct the upcoming election, there is not sufficient time to produce enough equipment to meet the needs of Harris County….”

Bexar County recently announced that they’d make their equipment available, which is specifically for paper ballots. Still, the fact that there are doubts about Hart InterCivics’ recent replacement order of 2,000 machines makes me hope the $13 million was paid out to them yet.

I tend to agree with Campos–we need a massive awareness campaign.

Another Refudiation of Riddle’s Lies

A Pew researcher has found that 85% of immigrant parents of children have been in the U.S. for more than a year. Over half of them for more than five years. The conclusion:  ”Birth Tourism” makes up a “tiny” portion of immigrants’ babies. Still, for Republicans, they really don’t care if you have your papers. They see one brown baby and automatically consider it illegal, papers or not. Debbie Riddle sees the demographics of her district changing quite fast, to the point where a wingnut like her will be beaten.

As if her TV appearance wasn’t enough, a visit to her website will find that she continues spreading the lies. She’s no different than Jan Brewer and her “headless” lies which she refuses to put to rest.

Perry’s Line In The Sand Deadline

Rick Perry has no business setting deadlines, other than for his moving date. His line in the sand showboating does nothing to contribute to a real discussion of issues. In fact, it shows him for the chicken he is. Obviously, that’s the game plan.

Cesar vs The Right Wing Nuts

My friend Cesar Espinosa takes on the anti-immigrant wingnuts after another Pew study found that migration into the U.S. has fallen dramatically–mostly because of the economic crisis.

While the right-wing avoids giving President Obama credit, instead saying it is not enough, Cesar has a better response.

“This actually invalidates a lot of the arguments that the right wing is making, saying that immigration is up and our border is out of control,” Espinosa said. “It supports our point that immigration has been decreasing because of the global economic crisis. To say that the borders are open and people are coming in in massive numbers is once again shown to be a lie.”

Because the bottom line is that the right-wing is all about fear when it comes to Latinos. Great job, Cesar!

Houston Votes Responds to Leo Vasquez Political Attack

On Tuesday, August 24, Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Leo Vasquez made reckless and false allegations against Houston Votes in an apparently coordinated, partisan effort to suppress voter registration and to intimidate citizens into not voting. Sadly, this type of shameful tactic has worked all too well in the past.  Houston Votes is committed to non-partisan voter registration and helping register the over 600,000 citizens eligible to vote who are not even registered in Harris County.

Fred Lewis, head of Houston Votes, said, “Those who propagate lies and distortions like those of Mr. Vasquez and his partisan allies are eroding our democracy, and we ask the Voting Rights Section of the Justice Department to immediately investigate and monitor his office and his radical allies.”

Mr. Vasquez’s histrionic complaints are false and defamatory. Houston Votes seeks to register as many Houstonians as are eligible, which Mr. Vasquez unfortunately sees as a “burden” and a threat. Rather than celebrate new registrants, Mr. Vasquez apparently intends to reduce his workload by intimidating people from registering. He and his staff are paid with taxpayer dollars to process voter registration cards.  They should do their jobs without complaining or engaging in partisan, political activity.

The recklessness and falseness of Mr. Vasquez’s allegations, combined with his unprofessional and partisan actions, raise serious questions about his political motivations. Houston Votes is asking the Justice Department to investigate voting rights violations by Mr. Vasquez and his office through a political campaign to intimidate voter registration.  The Registrar’s Office has a long history of voter suppression. We have reason to believe that his office is continuing its systematic practice of illegally not approving registration applications from eligible citizens despite public outcry and costly litigation.

Mr. Vasquez’s press conference, as part of his official non-partisan duties, was a political circus, with dozens of partisan operatives present. Mr. Vasquez appears to have abused the power of his office by collaborating with the King Street Patriots, a partisan organization that took credit for uncovering the “fraud” alleged against Houston Votes This political organization’s website states “that current political initiatives must be focused on mobilizing the conservative electorate”.  It appears that Leo Vasquez openly coordinated with King Street Patriots to further personal political goals and retard the efforts of Houston Votes in registering people. He also appears to have shared legally confidential voter registration data with partisan political third parties, which is unlawful. Both activities warrant a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.

Democracy–It’s Hot!

At least at the Harris County Clerk’s Voting Machine storage building. This is going to be very interesting, indeed. Perhaps they should put together an ALL-MAIL BALLOT election for this one.

Just a thought…

As Democracy is under attack, please try to have a good weekend.