Early voting brings cries of bullying (by Dems in FL)

[leQ]

Republican Rep. Tom Feeney of Oviedo said the antagonizers are "Kerry thugs" out to harass Bush voters.

"If you ask me whether I believe there is an organized effort to intimidate Republican voters, the answer is absolutely yes," said Feeney.

The Republican Party is calling on the secretary of state's office for help, asking that early voting rules be clarified.
(snip)
Republican Party senior adviser Mindy Tucker Fletcher said she had more than a dozen affidavits from voters around the state that would be forwarded to Hood's office.

According to the affidavits Fletcher released:

One woman who voted early in Boca Raton, at the Southwest County Regional Library, complained that as she stood in line, two men behind her were "trashing our president," Fletcher said, declining to identify the woman. She tried to ignore them. Then the man touched her arm and said, "Who are you voting for?"

"I said, `I don't think that's an appropriate question,'" the woman said she responded.

"Uh oh! We have a Bush supporter here," screamed the man behind her.

For the 2 1/2 hours she had to wait in line, she was heckled by the man. As they neared the voting room, someone in the rear of the line yelled, "I sure hope everyone here is voting for Kerry!" she reported.

That's when the man behind her held his hand over her head and screamed, "We have a Republican right here!" There were "boos and jeers" from the crowd.

so, are these people making it up, or is there really some kerry thugs out there?

[mikehiggins]

1. Making it up

Floridians are way too southern polite to do crap like that.

Just another GOPuke lie.

[agingdem]

28. Sounds to me like it a Rove dirty trick...

think about it...you hire a couple of repug thugs to harass people in line...then you file suit...kind of like burglarizing your own office.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

2. Dems can't control everyone

These weren't employees they were just guys in line. Geez. I've been intimidated by Repubs.

[Az_lefty]

3. The repug's are now afraid of Dem's?

:shrug:

[schultzee]

11. I have had nasty old men sneer at me when I wear my Kerry T shirt

and I just give them a third finger salute. I don't care if those dems talked bad about **** in front of that woman. I have put up with the same baloney from rePIGs for years. Cheney them.

[prodigal_green]

4. Did they attempt to prevent her from voting?

Did they give her misinformation, or throw out her ballot, or push her out of the way and vote in place of her (all things that pukes have been doing this week). Simply being enthusiastic about their candidate and excited that the chimp may be going back to his tire swing in Crawford is not "harassment".

[AnyMajorDudeTellYou]

5. We don't need these union thugs giving Democrats a bad name

Why can people just respect others and their choice for president? What good does it do to belittle others for choosing a different candidate? This is still America the last time I checked.

Let people vote the way they choose and just wait for the results.

[emulatorloo]

9. Do you actually beleive this story? EOM

[AnyMajorDudeTellYou]

16. Who decides what mainstream reports are believable?

If we are being lied to by reporters then we need to fire them and put them out of business.

[emulatorloo]

17. See this thread - This Lady may be a Republican Operative

Or "professional victim of Mean Democrats

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1150236


There are links in that thread to newspaper stories from 2000 about her pulling similar stunts.

[Evergreen Emerald]

30. Are you kidding me?

Everytime you turn on the TV you are lied to by a reporter!

[GRLMGC]

10. union thugs

WTF? Where the hell did you get that?

[cvoogt]

12. no respect for anyone voting for Bush

.. with everything that is public knowledge that wasn't back during sElection 2000. People supporting him are either not well-informed (which a voter who cares about this country *should* be, with or without media accountability), or xenophobic/evil. no r-e-s-p-e-c-t. However, that doesn't need to translate into haranguing (if not harassing) people at the voting booth. People are not going to change their mind that late in the game anyway.

[tkmorris]

13. Union thugs?

If there is anyone trying to intimidate anyone, it is the Repubs doing it. As per their usual MO, they accuse the Dems of doing exactly what they intend to do themselves, thus taking the steam out of any complaints we make.

[nosmokes]

14. as a union *thug*, i do hope you're joking

because my union brothers and sisters are most respectful of the rights that many of us have fought and died for. intimidating voters ain't our style.

nor is making weasly little comments.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

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[icymist]

6. What's your source? could we have a link?

Sounds fishy to be voting so early and standing in a two and a half hour wait of a line.

[PATRICK]

7. Amazing

how they get an anecdote about one person from ONE point of view(guess whose?) and yet still the event turns out to be whole cloth fiction.

Pathetic. The format is not a real complaint. It is 100% propaganda.

For those here who start out by saying "even if it was true" shouldn't waste their time. The GOP can't even make this sad story sound like a conspiracy. Needs more rewriting and exaggeration, then come back to us after November 2nd.

As an experiment she should go to a GOP district wearing a Kerry sticker.

[SoCalDem]

8. This Tom Feeney??

[Steelangel]

18. ...they are making up

GOPs & certain republicans already do that to democrats, I don't think democrats would..

[Carolab]

19. It's not ILLEGAL

and, IMHO, it's just PAYBACK for the nasty, outright bullying they pulled in Florida in 2000 to stop the recount.

Oh, boo hoo, you whiners--as you said to US, GET OVER IT!!!!!!!

[WhiteTara]

20. Little old ladies can't be considered "thugs" can they?

I think that people in the lines are just expressing the
things that we all say and think, the repugs are just not used
to hearing anything but their own voices saying what traitors
we are 

[Skittles]

21. doesn't ring true

not at all

[AnyMajorDudeTellYou]

24. repubs or dems are no different when it comes to voter intimidation

There are bad assholes in both camps and both should be condemned for trying to cause trouble for people trying to cast their votes. Civility should be the rule when it come time to cast the vote.

[Skittles]

25. BS

republicans are much more ruthless and organized. THEY STOLE THE LAST ELECTION.

[AnyMajorDudeTellYou]

26. I refuse to give them that much credit

Stolen or not we can't lower ourselves to their hatred and trickery. It's not worth winning if we can't win fair and square.

[Spinzonner]

23. In California

this is considered 'Electioneering' and is illegal.

You can' post material or discuss issues or people on the ballot within 100 yards of the polling place and is to be enforced by the Poll Workers and - if necessary - the police.

[aquart]

27. Electioneering within how many feet of the polls is illegal

in Florida, I hope? It is here.

If he really did shout that "voting for Kerry" line, he should have been arrested.

However, where was the physical threat? If Republicans are scared, they earned the fear. Steal an election, you end all rules.

[Divine Discontent]

31. union thugs???? get out of dodge.

union wasn't even mentioned til you said that.

anyhow, no one should be saying ANY candidates name at the polling places, and I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't young republicans acting like kerry supporters with a republican woman to make it be seen by many and then call in this goofy representative (he's my rep, he scares me folks!) to claim democratic voter intimidation.

outside of that, there is going to be intimidation by too many people this time, mostly repubs with black people. did you all hear that the rethugs (first time I've used that term, for good reason) are going to be manning THOUSANDS of precincts in ohio to question the validity of voters they think aren't allowed to vote??? hmmm.. wonder whot that would be. do a search for the story if interested further.

here's feeney's website
http://www.house.gov/feeney/bio.htm

here's a laugher pic - click

[Zorra]

29. Could you please post a link? Thanks! n/t

[Moderator]

32. locking, as imflammatory.. please repost with a link

without a link it's just another rumor..and the use of the term "kerry thugs" is an odd choice of language:)