EXCLUSIVE: DoJ Voting Chief Says PhotoID Laws Are a 'Shame' for Elderly, But Minorities 'Die First'

[BradBlog]

Source: BRAD BLOG

VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: DoJ Voting Rights Chief Says 'It's a Shame' Elderly May be Disenfranchised by Photo ID Laws, But Minority Voters 'Don't Become Elderly, They Die First'
Incredibly, John Tanner Argues Restrictive Photo ID Laws at the Polls Actually Give Minorities a Greater Voice!
Rest of Panel, Audience Members at 2007 National Latino Congresso in Los Angeles Strongly Disagree with DoJ's John Tanner...

Amazingly, the Chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, John Tanner, contends that while it's "a shame" that elderly voters may be disenfranchised by new Photo ID restrictions at the polls because many don't have driver's licenses, minorities don't have to worry quite as much. Why? Because "minorities don't become elderly the way white people do. They die first."

Yes, that's what Tanner said last Friday at the National Latino Congreso in Los Angeles and The BRAD BLOG was in tow with video camera to prove it....

COMPLETE STORY, VIDEO EXCERPTS:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5145


Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5145

[kurth]

1. Who is paying for this asshole's salary?

[UrbScotty]

2. What else but our taxpayer dollars (nt)

[BradBlog]

5. You are.

[mark414]

3. are people actually this mind-numbingly stupid?

or are they just so driven by ideology that they completely cease to think?

a combination of both, perhaps?

[Maq]

4. Look at the life expectancies of the two groups.

The US Census office has the statistics.

The Life Insurance industry has known about this Factoid for a long time. This industry was so blatent that they used to price Insurance based on Race. One price usually lower for whites and one price for blacks. Till they got sued big time.

Now there is one price for all. They raise the price slightly for whites and lower the price for blacks....somewhat like a median price.

But the FACTOID still stands; Minorities usually live not as long as whites. The whites have better economic access to Medical care.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. Discrimination is real, out here. The hostility crosses the social strata.

If they even suspect you're not playing on their side, they treat you like trash. Being a Democrat and a minority guarantees you a life of stress.

[defendandprotect]

7. In order to work for Bush you have to be mind-numbingly stupid . . ..

[defendandprotect]

8. Anyone see this last week: Bush Senior Official . . .. "I Hate All Muslims!"

Published on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 by The Daily Mail/UK
‘I hate All Iranians,’ US Aide Tells British MPs
by Simon Walters
Britsh MPs visiting the Pentagon to discuss America’s stance on Iran and Iraq were shocked to be told by one of President Bush’s senior women officials: “I hate all Iranians.”

And she also accused Britain of “dismantling” the Anglo-US-led coalition in Iraq by pulling troops out of Basra too soon.

The all-party group of MPs say Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defence Secretary Robert Gates, made the comments this month.

The six MPs were taken aback by the hardline approach of the Pentagon and in particular Ms Cagan, one of Mr Bush’s foreign policy advisers.

She made it clear that although the US had no plans to attack Iran, it did not rule out doing so if the Iranians ignored warnings not to develop a nuclear bomb.

It was her tone when they met her on September 11 that shocked them most.

The MPs say that at one point she said: “In any case, I hate all Iranians.”

Although it was an aside, it was not out of keeping with her general demeanour.

“She seemed more keen on saying she didn’t like Iranians than that the US had no plans to attack Iran,” said one MP. “She did say there were no plans for an attack but the tone did not fit the words.”

Another MP said: “I formed the impression that some in America are looking for an excuse to attack Iran. It was very alarming.”

Tory Stuart Graham, who was on the ten-day trip, would not discuss Ms Cagan but said: “It was very sobering to hear from the horse’s mouth how the US sees the situation.”

Ms Cagan, whose job involves keeping the coalition in Iraq together, also criticised Britain for pulling out troops.

“She said if we leave the south of Iraq, the Iranians will take it over,” said one MP.

Another said: “She is very forceful and some of my colleagues were intimidated by her muscular style.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=484762&in_page_id=1770

[Posteritatis]

9. I dunno; it takes at least some intelligence to be *that* vile. (nt)

[Faygo Kid]

10. The Supreme Court has taken this issue for this term. The whole thing is an outrage.

Yes, the John Roberts court will decide the constitutionality of an Indiana voter ID statute. So you can automatically figure four votes to disenfranchise older, poorer and minority voters - with Anthony Kennedy again the swing vote.

God help us all.

[BradBlog]

19. Yes, be VERY worried about SCOTUS here!

[bobbolink]

11. And when the Dems let them get away with it, we'll do .... what?

:shrug:

[pinto]

12. Wow. I guess it's an understatement to say that longevity has *nothing* to do with the franchise.

That line of thinking would include the demographics that suicides are more prevalent among the young, violent death - whether by murder or accident - or more prevalent among the young, and genetic diseases disable millions of young people. Should we disenfranchise them as well with an unreasonable hurdle to access the polling booth?

Amazing, twisted logic.

[DemoTex]

13. Almost as egregious as an Earl Butz joke.

Unbelievable.

[KamaAina]

14. Asian Americans are longer lived than whites

there goes that stupid theory. :P What a dunderhead.

Of course, in Hawai'i, older Asian Americans, particularly those of Japanese ancestry, are core Dem voters, so Tanner presumably wants to disenfranchsie them. :grr:

[Wilms]

15. Wow. n/t

[me b zola]

16. "...Chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division..."

The republics have turned civil rights into an Orwellian nightmare.

[mod mom]

17. OMG! KO has to get a hold of this one. UFB!

[sandnsea]

18. the white racist male party

If it weren't for white racists, there'd be no need for a Republican Party. *sigh*

[BradBlog]

20. 'An Imus Moment'

A DoJ source of mind calls this report a "homerun" and suggests it could be Tanner's "Imus moment".

But you're gonna have to kick this one a few times to help make it so!

[emlev]

21. He didn't say people of color have lower life expectancies,

he said they don't get old! They die first!
The way he said it sounded like there's no such thing as an elder of color!

And y'know what? This guy claims to have a history of working in the Civil Rights movement. Check out the bio on him for the Latino Congreso, which is where he made these comments:

Mr. John Tanner

"John Tanner is the Chief of the Voting Section of the US Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. He began involvement in voting rights activity as a teenager in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1960s, and assisted the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and others on voter registration drives. He began working in the Voting Section in 1976 as a research analyst, attended law school at night at American University, and upon graduation, was hired under the Attorney General’s Program for Honor Law Graduates. In 1995, he left the Voting Section to prosecute criminal violations of civil rights laws, and was a member of the National Church Arson Task Force. He also held temporary assignments with the White House Office of Counsel to the President, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs. In July, 2002, he returned to the Voting Section to coordinate enforcement of the minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act. He was named Chief of the Voting Section in June 2005. He has been honored by a number of African American community groups in Alabama and Mississippi and by the District of Columbia City Council, and was the 2004 winner of the John Doar Award, the Civil Rights Division’s highest honor."

Go figure.

[Senator]

22. I Smell "John Lott -- Schmatistician"

I'll bet they've got one of his statisticackle gymnastic routines making the rounds of the "voter fraud is everywhere" crowd.

The kind that got him laughed out of the US Comm. on Civil Rights hearings on Florida 2000.

---

[flashl]

23. That comment probably explains ...

Voting Section Chief John Tanner call for states to purge their voter databases in letters sent to election offices under an arcane provision in the National Voter Registration Act, better known as the Motor Voter law.

He must be seeking to purge all of these dead black people from the voter database.

[emlev]

24. To all my friends of color

May you live to old age in good health and in better company than Mr. Tanner would provide!

[BradBlog]

25. STORY UPDATE...Former DoJ Colleagues Say Tanner 'Ludicrous'...

Former DoJ Officials Say Voting Chief's Comments on Photo ID 'False' 'Cherry Picked' 'Ludicrous'
Statement Suggesting Whites More Disenfranchised Than Minorities Because They 'Die First' Before Becoming Elderly, Disputed by John Tanner's Predecessor, Former Colleagues
An 'Imus Moment' Declares a BRAD BLOG DoJ Source...

COMPLETE STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5149