The job of Secretary of State Tre Hargett is to conduct fair elections in Tennessee. So why is hiding behind a bush-league legal opinion based soley on website research and refusing to do his job instead of implementing a law that would give Tennesseans secure and verifiable elections?
In 2008, the Tennessee General Assembly passed the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act (TVCA), which mandates replacing the 100% unverifiable touch-screen electronic voting machines we use now in 93 out of 95 counties with paper ballots by the 2010 election. Despite efforts to gut and delay the TVCA during this year’s session, the law still stands – and it’s Tre Hargett’s job to carry it out.
But Secretary of State Hargett says he can’t. Why? Because a legislative attorney did some research on the Election Assistance Commission website and said that he couldn’t [pdf].
In other words, instead of using legal statutes for the basis of a legal opinion on the TVCA, the legislative attorney used “…references on the [EAC] website….” And it’s that flimsy website-based legal opinion – not an opinion based on legal research as he recently stated [pdf] – that Tre Hargett is using as an excuse to not follow the law.
And here is what will happen as each day ticks by and Mr. Hargett is not held accountable for not doing his job and hiding behind this flimsy legal opinion. First, he will continue to delay implementation claiming that “it is impossible to implement” right up until the General Assembly goes back in session in January. At that time, legislators will once again carry bills that will attempt to gut and then delay the Voter Confidence until 2012. If they fail and session ends, then State Election Coordinator Mark Goins will cry that he no longer has enough time to implement the law before the November 2010 election.
Tre Hargett is using a dubious and improperly sourced legal opinion as his basis for not doing his job and carrying out the law that would give Tennesseans secure and verifiable elections. Both Mr. Hargett and Mr. Goins both know that hiding behind such a flimsy and easily dismissed legal opinion is a useful delay tactic. And they know how their delay will play out. In fact, they are betting the next election on it.
[...] Mark Goins to implement the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act, a.k.a. the paper ballot bill (which they have been fighting hard against, for some [...]
[...] Mark Goins to implement the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act, a.k.a. the paper ballot bill (which they have been fighting hard against, for some [...]
[...] and GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey tipped their hand for what’s next, in addition to continuing to push for the delay of the TVCA, on their voter suppression agenda. Voter Suppression [...]
[...] and GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey tipped their hand for what’s next, in addition to continuing to push for the delay of the TVCA, on their voter suppression agenda. Voter Suppression [...]
At least you admit it, thanks Dean… BWLIB isn’t that brave.
On your original post, touche.
I’ve already seen fake photos; that sullied the water for me. I have no way of knowing how many people were there. No one does. We all have our suspicions, but no one really knows.
That wasn’t my ORIGINAL post, but yes.. I dispute the idea that everyone is behind President Obama now, considering he has less that 50% approval, already. It’s a purple country, remember?
Did you see the video, Dean? Did you see the pictures? You didn’t respond to that.. 50,000 people, right?
BWLIB is no where to be found… I wish someone would check on her to make sure she is ok! I’m kind of worried, it’s not like a liberal to type a blog, then not respond to the criticism… or is it?
“Blue Country huh? Did you miss the couple of million people at the Washington Mall this weekend? Your news station may not have covered that…” — Ryan
Sounds like you were disputing the fact this is a Blue Country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sjvc6baor8
Here is another one… Pennsylvania Avenue is full…
http://moderateinthemiddle.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/update-how-big-was-the-crowd-media-credibility-plunges-to-new-low-aerial-views-added-d-c-police-close-roads-to-buses-people-on-foot-estimate-1-2-million-abc-cant-count-912-party-on-patriots/
Here are pictures, and the USA today picture shows how many people Pennsylvania Avenue holds.
I can’t count all those people, I don’t think it was 2 million, but I definitely believe it was over 1 million.
My original point was that we live in a Red STATE, not country. Tennessee has been a red state for a number of years, now. This includes the last election.
I don’t know who contributed the fake photo, but the photos in that link are not fake. Check them out.
In the much-ado-about-nothing department, I guess the time-lapse video got taken down.
Answer me this: If it’s CNN video, then what is CNN’s estimate? How could the fire department have gotten it so wrong? How come conservatives’ estimates vary so wildly? Why did conservatives distribute an obviously fake photo? Frankly, I don’t care.
But let’s pretend it was 2 million people; your original point is misguided. You made the argument that the 9-12ers proved this is a red country. For that to really have happened, each 9-12er would have had to vote for Obama and then switch to the GOP.
This country isn’t blue or red; it’s purple. And even if eleventy bazillion people showed up this weekend, that fact hasn’t changed.
Dean, it isn’t a image.. It’s CNN’s TIME LAPSE VIDEO.. have you still not watched it?
I guess CNN photoshopped in the hundreds of thousands of people to advance their agenda?
Have you even looked at the links? I mean.. that’s some conspiracy.
Notice BWLIB hasn’t spoken up about the issue.. I know she has read this..
Any graphic image can be photoshopped. Remember Forrest Gump with LBJ, Nixon and Lennon? Hell, that was 20 years ago.
All I know is that there were plenty of hotel rooms available in D.C. this weekend, and that the fire department there said you guys at 70,000 — at most. Not bad. Not quite 1.7 million, but not bad.
Of course, the fire marshal is probably an Obama liberal.
By the way, I checked the 2008 electoral map. Seems pretty blue to me.
Dean, did you see the time lapse video? Did you see all the people? Pennsylvania Avenue was FULL, and that’s not “photoshop-able.”
I’m pretty good with Photoshop, too. I can make it so that 10 million people are at the Titans game.
All I know is that something like this went down.
REPORTER: How many were there?
TEA PARTY GUY: Oh, I think 1.7 million.
REPORTER: Who said that?
TEA PARTY GUY: ABC News.
ABC NEWS: No we didn’t. More like 60,000.
BWLIB, it’s amazing how long it takes to get a response when faced with facts…
More “Promise Keepers” photos… http://moderateinthemiddle.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/update-how-big-was-the-crowd-media-credibility-plunges-to-new-low-aerial-views-added-d-c-police-close-roads-to-buses-people-on-foot-estimate-1-2-million-abc-cant-count-912-party-on-patriots/
USA Today says Pennsylvania Avenue holds 945,000.. that’s the full street in the time lapse video..
Time lapse from 9-12-09… if you can see, Pennsylvania Avenue is FULL… is that 50,000, BWLIB?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoPud1TeubM
More conspiracy, I suppose..
A few more pictures… the moral to this is: Conservatives clean up after themselves, liberals expect someone else to do it for them.
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/120-versus-912-compare-contrast
BWLIB, are all of those yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flags from a Promise Keepers rally in 1997?
Maybe its a conspiracy, but that looks like alot more than 50,000 to me..
BWLIB, here are some pictures for you… I didn’t ask you to leave.. I simply said if you don’t like it, leave. You didn’t address my point about being a lawyer.. because that was the point of the blog, right? That you were a better lawyer than the decision makers?
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=109628
John McCain is not a conservative, and all PresBO did was beat W… that is it.
Yes, you are a “better” American than me, but you will never see me talking about you.. because I’m better than that, period.
Will someone also please show this to Ryan. More YOU LIE from this weekend.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2009/sep/14/tea-party-photo-shows-large-crowd-different-event/
Will someone please tell Ryan that it was more like 50,000 people this weekend. The people who ran the thing can’t even tell the truth about that. In other words. YOU LIE!
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/protest-crowd-size-estimate-falsely-attributed-abc-news/story?id=8558055
Also, please tell him that “red state”/”red country” is all smoke and mirrors. And he can tell by the whoopin’ John McCain and Sarah Palin got in November.
One last thing. I’m staying. And I would never tell you to leave. See, unlike you, I believe we all have a right to live and be heard here, even though we disagree.
Does that make me a better American than you? Why yes, yes it does.
Blue Country huh? Did you miss the couple of million people at the Washington Mall this weekend? Your news station may not have covered that…
Progress would be upholding the constitution.. we are far from making progress.. more like regress..
Hey Ryan, You live in a BLUE COUNTRY. If you don’t like it, why don’t you leave? Don’t the door of progress hit your ass on the way out.
BWLIB, Sounds just like some liberal garbage… what are your qualifications as a lawyer? Where did you study, and when did you pass the bar?
You live in a RED STATE.. if you don’t like it, LEAVE.