Posted on 12/06/2011 9:09:22 AM PST by IbJensen
I understand that the NAACP opposes voter-ID laws. Given the long history of fighting against uses of state law to deny blacks and other minorities the franchise until the Civil Rights Movement prevailed, their deep skepticism over proposed stricter enforcement of eligibility laws cant help but recall echoes of voter suppression in their communities, even if the new laws are innocent of any racial animus. We still have plenty of mistrust that will take generations to undo, especially given that we still have those with living memories of having been denied the right to vote.
Still, if the NAACP wants to make the argument against such laws, shouldnt they do it in a forum that has some jurisdiction over them?
The largest civil rights group in America, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is petitioning the UN over what it sees as a concerted efforted to disenfranchise black and Latino voters ahead of next years presidential election.
The organisation will this week present evidence to the UN high commissioner on human rights of what it contends is a conscious attempt to block the vote on the part of state legislatures across the US. Next March the NAACP will send a delegation of legal experts to Geneva to enlist the support of the UN human rights council.
The NAACP contends that the America in the throes of a consciously conceived and orchestrated move to strip black and other ethnic minority groups of the right to vote. William Barber, a member of the associations national board, said it was the most vicious, co-ordinated and sinister attack to narrow participation in our democracy since the early 20th century.
In its report, Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America, the NAACP explores the voter supression measures taking place particularly in southern and western states.
Fourteen states have passed a total of 25 measures that will unfairly restrict the right to vote, among black and Hispanic voters in particular.
None of this is particularly new. Its the same argument that the NAACP and other civil-rights groups make against voter-ID laws, and have for years. Wisconsin just passed one such law (and its neither southern or western, either), and Minnesota would have passed one by now had we elected a Republican governor in 2010. States have begun adopting these laws because of increasing instances of vote fraud, either in registration or in actual voting. Minnesota leads the nation in prosecutions at the moment for these violations, which erode the value of legitimate voting.
Why take this to the UN, though? The UN has no authority to tell states within the US to pass or not pass laws. They dont have the authority to tell the federal government in Washington to do so, either. They might be able to gin up some public-relations momentum in an attempt to embarrass the states, but its only going to impress those people who already buy into the concept that the UN has any moral authority at all especially its Human Rights Council (with whom the High Commissioner works), which spends most of its time and effort attacking Israel.
The NAACP should spend its time engaging with people who are legitimately concerned about voter fraud and the protection of the value of the franchise to all eligible citizens of the states. One concern mentioned in this petition is the difficulty in getting state-issued ID because of Jim Crow policies decades ago that kept blacks and other minorities from getting birth certificates. If this is still a widespread problem, then solve it as part of the necessary reform to secure the vote. They also complain that states dont allow felons who have completed their sentences to vote; thats another issue that can only be solved by local and state action, and not in Geneva, Switzerland.
Instead of complaining to people who have nothing to say about the law of a self-governing people, the NAACP would be better advised to start engaging with their neighbors to find ways to achieve a better result for all of the legitimate voters in their communities, and to protect the value of the votes they want to cast. A UN petition only makes it look as though theyre interested in grandstanding rather than reaching solutions, and hints that theyd be happier with the imposition of foreign diktats rather than self-governance. Thats no way to win this argument.
Brains, not ballots! |
I'd think if the "disenfranchisement" is 11%, the fraud is higher due to double+ voting.
The NAACP is no longer a civil rights organization. It is a gang of thugs.
NAACP knuckleheads needs the U.N. to be their Big Daddy.
Instead, they would be directing their attention to peaceful grassroots organizing to help those whom they claim will be disenfranchised to obtain their voter ID cards in accordance with the new state laws.
The truth is that the NAACP is teed off by the new laws not because any significant number of people who want to vote will not be allowed to do so. That's just a pretense. What really rankles the NAACP is that leftist Democrat campaigns will find it more difficult to cheat at the polls.
You want CW-II, NAACP?
Bring it on.
I’m tired of your bull-Obama.
The law requires that citizens have a valid ID of some type. Why not fight against that law instead of requesting the ID that makes the citizen legal every other day, be presented on an election day.
In a tax deal with the government the company I worked for had hired blacks off the welfare rolls. I went to the production floor to take photos for the company brochure and whenever I raised the camera the black males literally ran away from their production stations. The black floor manager came over and said, You cant take pictures of these guys. Most of them have outstanding warrants and unwed mothers looking for child support. They dont want their pictures taken. It turns out the company turned a blind eye and provided paychecks to people who were wanted on criminal and civil violations. Company policy was to give no aid to people or organizations looking for employees. (If the policy had been otherwise the employees would all disappear, the company would fail its audit and lose its tax credits. The tax credits were, apparently, substantial.)
Black men wanted for civil or criminal acts are afraid to go to government agencies and present themselves for photographs and then give an address where those photos can be mailed. My guess is that the NAACP wants these same black men to vote.
Heres another thought. The NAACP is acknowledging the UN as more powerful and important than US courts. It seems to be a trend among the white teenagers Ive talked with that the UN is the natural government. Local national governments are colloquial, old-fashioned and, frankly, racist.
“Most liberals that I have met are so blasted ignorant that they might actually BELIEVE that the U.N. has the power to do something about this.”
Most liberals want to GIVE the UN power to do whatever it wants.
I recently attended a presentation by an anti-vote fraud group. They started examining voter rolls by only checking SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCES WITH 20 OR MORE VOTERS.
One eager beaver they found had 1500 voters registered at one small house.
No fraud?
Check out TrueTheVote.org
Their goal is to have one million volunteers nationwide by the 2012 election.
Voter ID laws mean nothing if the entire precinct is staffed by only one party.
VOLUNTEER!
I recently attended a presentation by an anti-vote fraud group. They started examining voter rolls by only checking SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCES WITH 20 OR MORE VOTERS.
One eager beaver they found had 1500 voters registered at one small house.
No fraud?
Check out TrueTheVote.org
Their goal is to have one million volunteers nationwide by the 2012 election.
Voter ID laws mean nothing if the entire precinct is staffed by only one party.
VOLUNTEER!
UN out of US, US out of UN, NCAAP GTFO!
Expected
Voting fraud ought to be a capital offense. Voting fraud is an attack on democracy and freedom.
the guys I used to see out in rural Michigan taking target practice at a bunch of blue helmets will be thrilled, I’m sure
"I'm going to take my problem to the United Nations."
Preeecisely, Tintin. Or more precisely, polls will have difficulty accepting cheaters.
The UN will fix it for the NAACP. Their despotic member states know how to steal elections with or without voter ID. Leave it to the pros.
Enough already. Let’s just try to kill each other and see who wins. I’m tired of this whining.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.