If credible people produced convincing evidence that such a conspiracy existed--you'd expect the papers and broadcast media to run with that story.
Media coverage of a very real conspiracy to suppress votes would be "headline every day/update every night" during the run-up to a major election.
And it would be an "everybody's talking about it" story because it involves a demonstrable conspiracy (not a crackpot conspiracy; a real one with plenty of evidence to document its existence.) And it would be an "everybody's talking about it" story because it has real live villain: it's clear that people who would try to stop Americans from voting in a particular election are enemies. Not just enemies of America, but enemies of democracy.
So where's the daily coverage on the conspiracy to thwart Minnesotan's right to vote? Where are the daily headlines and updates from the Minnesota new icons--the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota Public Radio, and the dinosaur journalists at the MinnPost?
The conspiracy to stop people from voting is very real, we know that. We know that this would be a "daily coverage" story if the perpetrators were foreigners. But why do the perpetrators of an anti-democracy conspiracy get a pass if they're Republicans and conservatives?
(CONTINUED)
Maybe those those guys do daily coverage of the conspiracy, updating the facts and identifying the perps as the information comes in every day. I wouldn't know if they do, because I don't read those guys regularly (except for MPR.) I don't read those guys on Minnesota politics because they've been such cowards on the Bachmann story. I figure if they deliberately buried reporting her extremist views for ten years--they're not worth reading.
The notion that a significant voter fraud problem exists--has been exposed as a lie, over and over again. It's clear to anyone with more than half a brain that the attempts to make voting harder target Democrats--and that the people and organizations backing the attempts are Republicans. It's a entirely partisan conspiracy aimed at suppressing wins for the opposition party.
The professional media won't do daily coverage of a daily effort to suppress democracy?
The fact of a GOP/conservative conspiracy to make voting harder for Democrats-- proves at least two things. It proves that the GOP and the conservatives know that they don't represent the will of the American people or anything like it. If that were true, they'd be trying to get more people to the polls--instead of trying to stop people from voting.
And the fact of a conspiracy against fellow citizens proves that Republicans and conservatives don't represent "the real America" or "liberty" or "American values."
Today the Strib is running a headline about the level of support for the voter i.d. amendment. It's a "barometer" story, a story about polling. But where are the daily Strib stories about the people behind the voter i.d. amendment, their daily efforts to suppress Dem votes, the reporting on their backing, funding and political orientation?
A story in today's PiPress cites a a report finding that there's "ittle evidence exists that large numbers of people have been barred from voting in states with strict voter ID laws." But that's a canard. The conspiracy isn't about barring seniors, young people, the disabled and the veterans from voting--it's about suppressing their vote and their turnout at election time.
There is plenty of evidence of a partisan conspiracy to do that. The PiPress note that in "almost all cases -- including Minnesota -- it's Republican legislators pushing voter ID and Democrats opposing it.
Partly that's because both parties recognize that since 2000...a lot of elections are being decided on the margins.
The PiPress is desparate be "even-handed" in assigning partisan fever. (The "both parties are at fault here" BS.) But PiPress also reports (correctly) that Dem efforts are aimed at increasing voter turnout in elections across the board, regardless of party. Is that somehow "like" a Republican attempt to suppress voter turnout?
An organized attempt to suppress voter turnout is a headline story; a scandal and an assault on one of the most basic American civil rights. Where is the coverage of the "bad guys" trying to do this to the voters?
If you produced credible evidence that a foreign government or the Mafia or communists were gathering and spending funds, organizing front groups, putting people on salary--all to try to make it harder for citizens to vote...
...the professional media would report and investigate the hell out of them until their anti-American attempt to suppress citizen votes--stopped. Here the media admits that voter fraud at the polls is practically non-existent, that the Republican motive is strictly partisan and aimed at keeping Americans away from the polls...
...but they won't do daily coverage of people actually perpetrating a conspiracy against democracy. Why not? Because that would make Republicans and conservative look like they were doing something "bad?"
Star Tribune:
http://www.twincities.com/ci_2...
PiPress:
http://www.twincities.com/ci_2...
