Speedkill

Maybe it’s bad for my health to be on the official GOP website, but this is sheer insanity:

Washington, D.C. – RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie issued the following statement today regarding a Kerry/DNC campaign document that instructs Democrats to make up charges of voter intimidation even if no signs or evidence of voter intimidation actually exist.

“This document proves the Kerry Campaign and the DNC are more interested in scaring minority voters than in working to reach out to them on Election Day, even if it means completely making things up.

“The Kerry Campaign and the DNC are instructing Democrats around the country to make charges they know to be false, and to manipulate the media into printing and repeating the false charges in newspapers around the country.

The GOP helpfully provide a link to the indicated documents further proving my theory that the best source for debunking GOP propaganda is the GOP’s own website.

Just to cover all the bases, here’s what they specifically object to:

As I look at this 66 page guide and look on, I think it’s page 54, it actually says in plain English, that if no signs of intimidation techniques have emerged yet, launch a pre-emptive strike. What that means in clear language is, if there is no evidence of intimidation, which we don’t expect there will be, because we’re not going to engage in it, then make it up and talk about it anyway. That is totally outrageous.

It would be outrageous. However, that’s not what the documents say because I’m so nice, I’ll type the section out:

2. If no signs of intimidation techniques have emerged yet, launch a “pre-emptive strike” (particularly well-suited to states in which there (sic) techniques have been tried in the past).

• Issue a press release
• Reviewing Republican tactic used in the past in your area or state
• Quoting party/minority/civil rights leadership as denouncing tactics that discourage people from voting
• Prime minority leadership to discuss the issue in the media; provide talking points
• Place stories in which minority leadership expresses concern about the threat of intimidation tactics
• Warn local newspapers not to accept advertising that is not properly disclaimed or that contains false warnings about voting requirements and/or about what will happen at the polls.

This is all under the heading of “How To Organize To Prevent And Combat Voter Intimidation.”

Now, what exactly are they saying here? In order to prevent voter intimidation tactics that have happened in the past, Democratic operatives should make them known and get them publicly discussed? That sounds like exactly the way to prevent it from happening again. Where does it say anything about making up information?

This is simply Republicans reading things into a document that they, the dishonest party operatives they are, would do. It says more about the GOP than the Democrats.

Jeff 2004 election cycle