The GOP in the Looking Glass: Stop, Thief!

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

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"When the Republicans are preparing for a really big vote theft, they create a diversion."

The Republicans are great thieves and have become especially expert at stealing the votes of Black folks ever since the GOP merged with the old Dixiecrats, 40 years ago. Business-suited Republicans have replaced the old white supremacist tools of fire, ropes and lead, with mass computer hackery, illegal voter roll purges, selectively overcrowded polling places and a host of other high- and low-tech tricks designed to disenfranchise the most reliably progressive voting bloc in the nation: African Americans. When the Republicans are preparing for a really big vote theft, they create a diversion. "Look over here," they shout, pointing at some innocent party. "There's a thief. Catch him!" As all eyes turn toward the blameless foil, the Republicans proceed to steal the election, unmolested.

This year, the foil is ACORN, the national grassroots organizing outfit. ACORN has been worrying the last nerves of politicians and corporations since 1970, fighting to stabilize poor and working class neighborhoods through better jobs and housing. It has long been the most consistent mass voice on predatory lending. In fact, ACORN coined the term, predatory lending.

ACORN also registers poor people to vote, which qualifies them as subversive in the eyes of entrenched power. This election cycle they claim to have registered 1.3 million new voters, and you can bet very few of them are Republicans. However, a very, very few aren't people at all, but characters made up by some of the poor folks ACORN pays to sign up new voters. Naturally, some of these economically marginal voter-gatherers tried to cheat ACORN by filling out the registration forms themselves, with fictitious and sometimes quite fanciful names. But, since no Batmen or Supermen and such are going to show up at the polls on election day, the harm done is to ACORN's pockets and reputation, and the extra work that falls on local election workers. At any rate, ACORN routinely sorts out the suspicious-looking paperwork, to make elections officials jobs easier.

"John McCain is the loudest of the diversionists."

Now, based on a few relatively harmless instances of folks taking advantage of dedicated community organizers, the Republican diversion machine has been turned loose on ACORN. The FBI is squandering precious manpower and resources in a what is billed as a "nationwide investigation" of possible voter fraud. John McCain is the loudest of the diversionists, claiming ACORN is behind the "greatest frauds in voter history."

Of course, McCain's own party was behind the two greatest voter frauds since the wholesale disenfranchisement of southern Blacks, during Reconstruction - that is, the theft of the 2000 and 2004 elections. The GOP is going for three in a row.

ACORN has had some embarrassing moments, this year, but being libeled by John McCain isn't one of them. The real shame lies with the Democrats, who should have yelled "Stop, Thief," in 2000 and 2004. The Democrats are soft on crime: the repetitive Republican crimes against Black voters.

For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford.

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.

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