Nov 02 2008
Voter Suppression: It May Be As Close As Your Inbox
This morning I received the following email forward from some one in Texas. I present it here for several reasons. 1) Voter suppression is real 2) You can call this a “joke” all you want. My offense at this type of viral attack is not attributable to a sense-of-humor-challenge; it is reaction to what I see as the complete failure of some-people, who claim “love” for the United States, to respect one’s basic Constitutional Right to their own political beliefs. I am not ignorant of viral campaigns that have perpetuated the pathetic smears of many good people who run for political office.
Interestingly enough, this is called “an East Texas Special” and for good reason. This type of political “tactic” has been perfected by Texan Karl Rove. John McCain, 2000 South Carolina Primary is a prime example: See John Dean 2005, Worse than Watergate, p.4. 3) Forget “fair” in this representation. Let’s talk about legal. There are places in this country that still have laws against this type of censorship, discrimination, and open defiance of civil liberties. Obviously Texas may not be one of them.
On a personal note: We all receive garbage of this type daily. Most of the time, we just delete it and hope it will go away. Well not this time. Not this day. I can not stop this across the world-wide-web; but, I can and will speak out against it. This is wrong and, for me, represents the pinnacle of anti-American.
The email I received, unedited and completely reproduced in purple.
Dear Fellow Business Owners:
As a business owner who employs 30 people, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barack Obama will be our next president, and that my taxes and fees will go up in a BIG way.
To compensate for these increases, I figure that the Customer will have to see an increase in my fees to them of about 8-10%. I will also have to lay off some of my employees.
This really bothered me as I believe we are family here and didn’t know how to choose who will have to go. So, this is what I did. I strolled thru the parking lot and found eight Obama bumper stickers on my employees cars. I have decided these folks will be the first to be laid off. I can’t think of another fair way to approach this problem.
Family…really? So these are those “Family Values” I have heard so much about since 1980? Sounds more like “mafia family values” to me…
Ah, the depths and death throes of the McCainanites…
Some people will stop at nothing to ensure that the status quo remains unchallenged. I’d feel sorry for them if they hadn’t ruined so many lives in the last 40 years.
Hmmm… Did the person who sent this to you mention where they found this? Here is the link where I found the letter, and it seems to be a website for conservative bloggers from Arizona. http://icarizona.blogspot.com/2008/10/dear-fellow-business-owners.html
And, even the writers on this website are questioning the validity of this company: JOOA and the person who wrote the letter.
It’s also on Political Kool Aid, and identified throughout the comments section as spam. The company is fictional. Also on democraticunderground.com as spam. Evidently, this email is everywhere: Indiana Barrister’s site, Orlando news, everywhere.
Looks like just spammy junk. I realize that this is probably not your point, but I did want to throw in the fictional aspect of the letter.
It wouldn’t surprise me if there is a seed of truth here. As a veteran, I was proud to put a “Veterans for Kerry” bumper sticker on my car in 2004. Some inconsiderate Republican soccer mom, defaced my car by putting a Bush 04 sticker over it (I witnessed her do it). These are the kind of people that rant about “Family Values” and “Freedom isn’t Free” rhetoric. Thanks for shedding light on them!