Shame on the GOP

Much has been made about the potentially high turnout rate for this year's presidential election. Both the Democrats and Republicans are revved up and ready to go, with intense voter registration drives and canvassing underway. But recently, it has been disclosed that the Republican party in Michigan has devised a shameful plan to deprive those Americans who lost their homes to foreclosure from voting. Democracy Now! reported this morning:

"In other campaign news, the Obama camp has filed a suit to block a controversial voter suppression tactic in Michigan. The Republican Party in Macomb County admitted this week it plans to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting on Election Day. The plan is likely to disproportionately affect African Americans who are overwhelmingly Democratic voters. In Michigan, more than 60 percent of all subprime loans were made to African Americans. McCain’s regional headquarters are housed in the office building of foreclosure specialists Trott & Trott."

What an absolute disgrace. These Republican "strategists" should be ashamed of themselves, but after 8 years of Bush-Rove politics, what else have we come to expect from the GOP when elections are close? This evening, I received a forwarded e-mail from the organization ColorOfChange.org, which has been closely monitoring this story. The e-mail provided a context for the Republicans' tactic:

"For years, Republicans have engaged in "caging"--challenging the eligibility of voters on election day to suppress turnout and intimidate voters. They'll often try to reject voters by claiming they don't live at the address where they're registered. This year, they've taken it to a new low--the chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan said last week, "We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses.""

What type of people in this country sit around and come up with plans to disenfranchise others? They are the ones who should be evicted from their homes, not hard-working Americans who were preyed upon by a gluttonous economic system.

Well, it's not enough just to be angry. Sign the Color of Change's petition calling for Sen. McCain to "publicly denounce the use of foreclosure lists as a basis for challenging voters." Click here to read the mass e-mail and here to sign the petition.