by Benjamin J. Kirby
First of all, the news from the Palm Beach Post today on how Florida Republicans engineered voter supression is neither surprising nor is it anything any person who follows politics even a little bit didn't already really know.
It's just that now it is backed up by comments from the disgraced former head of the Florida GOP, Jim Greer:
A new Florida law that contributed to long voter lines and caused some to abandon voting altogether was intentionally designed by Florida GOP staff and consultants to inhibit Democratic voters, former GOP officials and current GOP consultants have told The Palm Beach Post.
Also, breaking news: the sky is blue, water is wet, and the sun will rise in the east.
Anyway, here's my favorite part.
About inhibiting minority voters, Greer said:
"The sad thing about that is yes, there is prejudice and racism in the party but the real prevailing thought is that they don’t think minorities will ever vote Republican,” he said. “It’s not really a broad-based racist issue. It’s simply that the Republican Party gave up a long time ago ever believing that anything they did would get minorities to vote for them."
"...not really a broad-based racist issue."
I don't care if Greer is disgraced or not. That right there is why Republicans will be out of power for a generation, maybe more. Or at least until Republicans actually figure out that trying to disenfranchise an entire race of people from one of their most sacred civil rights is, in fact, a "broad-based racist issue."
The former Republican and former Republican Governor Charlie Crist was interviewed for the article as well. The ill-formed response from GOP spokesman Brian Burgess -- who, I swear, no sentient human being who is currently conscious and able to make adult decisions should ever pay one lousy dime to for communications and/or spokesperson services -- was this:
"Charlie Crist speaks out of both sides of his mouth."
Of Jim Greer, he had this to say:
"Jim Greer has been accused of criminal acts against this organization and anything he says has to be considered in that light."
You know, I'd actually feel better about Burgess -- and about the entire Florida Republican Party -- if they'd just own it. If, on the record, he'd just admit that they were trying to disenfranchise poor and African American voters, because they wanted Florida in the "Romney" column.
That, and that even after their yes, racist, and borderline-criminal efforts, they lost.
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