"Please leave these shameful tactics to Republicans."

[ProSense]

Deserves Attention

By Josh Marshall

Maybe there's a reason this isn't as beyond the pale as it looks. But I'm not seeing it.

The Nevada State Democratic party has set up nine at-large caucus locations on the Las Vegas strip for casino workers who might not otherwise be able to caucus on January 19th. Remember, because of the recent Culinary Workers Union endorsement of Barack Obama, casino workers are expected to vote heavily for him.

Now, the Nevada State Education Association (the state teachers' union), which is seen as supportive of Clinton though it has not formally endorsed her, is suing the Democratic party to prevent block those at-large caucuses from meeting on the grounds that similar arrangements have not been made for other Nevadans.

I don't know the particulars of how the Nevada caucuses are arranged. But the 'tell' is the fact that the teachers' union apparently didn't think this was a problem until Sen. Obama bagged the key union endorsement. When asked why the union had never approached the state party about this issue until Friday, union president Lynne Warne, tellingly replied, "We're approaching them now."

If there's one thing that's core to the modern Democratic party is that voter suppression tactics are always wrong. Much of the US Attorney purge scandal was at root about Republican voter suppression tactics. I suspect this is doubly wrong -- both in the sense that the suit is meritless on its face but certainly also in the sense that you don't decide how easy to make it for people to vote depending on who you think they're likely to vote for.

Please leave these shameful tactics to Republicans.

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Tough-Guy Politics on the Vegas Strip

January 12, 2008 7:58 PM

Two days after a key Nevada union of casino employees endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, allies of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, filed a lawsuit to block the special "at-large" casino precincts set up months ago for those very casino employees.

With the stated purpose of ensuring voting participation by casino employees in the Jan. 19 Nevada caucuses, the Nevada Democratic Party created nine at-large precincts designed for the "4,000 or more shift workers per site who could not otherwise take the time off to go to their home precincts."

The sites will be located at the Bellagio, Luxor, the Mirage, the Rio, Caesar's Palace, the Paris, the Flamingo, Wynn Las Vegas, and New York, New York casinos.

But the lawsuit, filed by six Nevada Democrats and the Nevada State Education Association teachers' union -- whose deputy executive director, Debbie Cahill, is a member of Clinton’s Nevada Women’s Leadership Council -- seeks to prevent those At-Large Districts from meeting in next Saturday's caucuses.

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[spotbird]

1. There you have it. nt

[Bread and Circus]

2. K & R. Very good piece.

Thank you JM

[tsuki]

3. As a Floridian who has been disenfranchised by the state party, I

side with the casino workers.

[thunder rising]

4. FL here too ... It's discusting to see HRC drag teachers into the mud with her

[1monster]

5. Florida here also. This is just one more reason that Hillary is my last choice.

And that is sad, because when this campaign began (seems like years before it should have) I would have loved to have had Bill back in the White House. But as time goes by, Hillary becomes less and less what I want in the WH. And Bill is losing some of his luster too.

To quote from an old show song, "Knowing when to leave may be the smartest thing that anyone can learn...."

[Muddy Waters Guitar]

9. Her campaign seems to contributing quite a bit of filth

in many places recently.

[Rageneau]

6. How in the HELL does anyone know that HRC had anything to do with this?

Because as action might benefit Hillary, that PROVES that Hillary instigated it?

And people who think that way cal;l themselves progressives?

I call them wingnuts.

Why don't we wait until we see the evidence before we throw the lever on the gallows?

[ProSense]

7. Where does it say she does directly? It says allies, and they are! n/t

[Muttocracy]

11. I'd like to hear if she's made a statement either way? n/t

[City Lights]

12. FWIW, DUer ursi posted this in another thread:

Asked about the lawsuit Clinton said:

"I know about the lawsuit. I hope it can be resolved by the courts and by the state party. Obviously, we want as many people as possible to participate."

In a later interview, I asked Clinton again about the lawsuit. She repeated her criticism of the caucus process, that it leaves too many people out and said she wants as many people as possible to participate. Does she support the lawsuit?

"I have no opinion on the lawsuit."

Does she have an opinion on the at-large precincts as a way to make the process more fair?

"I don't. I just don't know."

http://www.rgj.com/blogs/inside-nevada-politics/2008/01/rory-reid-on-caucus-lawsuit.html

[Muddy Waters Guitar]

8. WTF??

So is the Hillary campaign now channeling Rove?

[FrenchieCat]

10. uh-Ye-Ah.....

they figured out how to win elections. Instead of working on voters' rights, they decided to just emulate Rove. Guess that doing the right way would hard work. Too much I presume.

[Laelth]

13. That stinks. n/t

:mad:

-Laelth