It was almost three years ago that
The BRAD BLOG first spotted the
conspiracy long-range business plan being fronted for the Republicans by GOP con-man/operative Mark F. "Thor" Hearne II. The scheme became immediately transparent, to those who wished to see it, when his brand-spanking new "voting rights"
group scam, calling themselves the "American Center for Voting Rights" (ACVR), popped up at a phony Congressional hearing on the 2004 Election, in March of 2005, as chaired by the now-jailed felon from Ohio, Rep. Bob Ney (R-Abramoff).
Hearne had identified himself at the hearing only as "a longtime advocate of voter rights and an attorney experienced in election law," conveniently omitting that he had been the very partisan national general counsel for Bush/Cheney '04 Inc. and had founded the "non-partisan" ACVR with his "non-partisan" partner, Jim Dyke, who had previously been the communication director for the RNC. (Shortly thereafter, the "non-partisan" Dyke went on to work for the "non-partisan" Dick Cheney at the White House, and now fronts for the "non-partisan" Rudy Giuliani.)
We spent a good portion of the ensuing three years with our hair on fire, trying to wave red flags about the transparent scheme/propaganda that Hearne was selling: Phonied up data on a non-existent "epidemic" of "Democratic Voter Fraud" in order to force restrictive Photo ID laws at the polling place, meant only to keep millions of largely Democratic-leaning minority and elderly voters from being able to cast a legal vote at all.
Like any accomplished grifter, Republican fraudsters like Hearne just find a new place to hang their shingle, and keep selling the same old, anti-American, anti-democratic bullshit to the same gullible corporate media.
After the U.S. Attorney Purge Scandal finally shed light on the Republican "voter fraud" scheme to the rest of the media, folks started paying attention and Hearne quickly shut down his ACVR shop
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These three provisions [statewide voter registration
databases, driver's license number
on voter registration form, and voter ID requirement
for first-time voters who register
by mail] will ensure that dogs . . . will no
longer be able to register and vote. These
provisions will ensure that our dearly departed
will finally achieve everlasting peace
and will not be troubled with exercising their
franchise every 2 years. And importantly, the
provisions will ensure that voter rolls will be
cleansed and protected against fraudulent
and duplicate registrations.