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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJames O'Keefe of the bogus ACORN scandal is going after Battleground Texas
Democrats have a long term goal to turn Texas purple.
The specific PAC in charge of that goal, Battleground Texas, founded by the former national field director of the Obama campaign Jeremy Bird, has been called by Greg (Nugent) Abbott "a greater threat than North Korea." Republican Senator John Cornyn from Texas has created a website called "Keep it Red" designed to fight against Battleground Texas and the possibility of Democrats gaining support in Texas from minority voters. Last, but far from least, the conservative group FreedomWorks has earmarked $8 million to fight Battleground Texas. The point being, Republicans don't like Battleground Texas messing with the mess they've made of Texas politics. Then along comes that upstart Democrat Wendy Davis who gained national attention for her filibuster over Texas' attempts to limit even further a woman's right to choose in the state. The Republicans are realizing they need to chop this movement in Texas off at the knees before it spreads beyond their control. So who do they call? James O'Keefe the videographer famous for his BS video which led to the shutdown of ACORN.
After founding an independent conservative student paper in college, O'Keefe began to use available, inexpensive technology to make videos. Some of O'Keefe's projects have influenced Congressional votes. Due to his videos of ACORN workers supposedly aiding a couple in criminal planning, the US Congress voted to freeze funds for the non-profit, which had aided low- and moderate-income people for 40 years. The non-profit also lost most private funding and in March 2010 had to close most of its offices.[citation needed] Shortly after, the California State Attorney General's Office and the US Government Accountability Office released their related investigative reports. The Attorney General's Office found that O'Keefe had misrepresented the actions of ACORN workers and that the workers had not committed illegal actions. A preliminary probe by the GAO found that ACORN had managed its federal funds appropriately.[5][6]
Because of the deceptive nature of his video editing work,[4][7] O'Keefe's success in gaining extensive media attention caused controversy and discussions of journalistic standards. By the summer of 2011, his claims to have uncovered widespread Medicaid fraud, purportedly documented on videos released in Maine and other locations, were treated with more skepticism by the media and governmental officials.[8][9] For instance, the Maine governor Paul Lepage said that the video could help improve staff training, but it did not show evidence of a worker trying to defraud the welfare system.[10]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_O%27Keefe
What evidence do they plan to have him present against Battleground Texas? Why a video of course. One which O'Keefe is calling his "new ACORN." In his new masterpiece of 'creative editing' and manufactured drama he's alleging he has evidence of Battleground Texas activist admitting to illegally collecting data from voter registration forms to boost turn out for Democratic Candidates.
Battleground Texas issued a statement, saying it has done nothing wrong and that the complaints and referrals were partisan attempts to slow the group.
........
Pierce said the initial complaints were filed after a conservative activist group produced a video that purports to show a Battleground organizer talking about transcribing phone numbers off voter registration cards. James O'Keefe, whose group Project Veritas made the video, alleges that transcribing the phone numbers off the registration cards is illegal.
Project Veritas uses hidden cameras to film Democratic Party and liberal politicians and activists. The videos are heavily edited and some in the past have misrepresented the actions of the people in them.
........
Battleground Texas, though, said taking down the numbers does not violate the law.
"We will show that these claims restate various demonstrably false assertions, and fail to note legal authority issued in the past by the Attorney General that flatly undermines any suggestion of a violation of law," the group's statement said.
http://www.chron.com/news/politics/article/State-officials-investigating-Democratic-activists-5257110.php?cmpid=hpbn
It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out in Texas over the next few months.
hlthe2b
(102,343 posts)did against ACORN on Battleground Texas. ('Just don't want this perception that ACORN committed wrong-doings that continues to be pushed by the RW to get a further hold)
herding cats
(19,566 posts)Thanks for pointing that out.
ananda
(28,874 posts)Believe me, this is a well run organization.
I'm certain we've done nothing wrong.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)I had them for 2012 election monitoring...so when one of his cameramen tried to get into a polling place, I made sure the election judge knew who she was dealing with.
herding cats
(19,566 posts)This is a typical Republican tactic to fire up their uninformed base in Texas with a faux outrage. It also implies, at least to me, that Battleground Texas is more effective than the Republicans were prepared to deal with this election cycle.
Good work Texas!
LonePirate
(13,431 posts)The Repubs already know their grip on Texas is slowly loosening and Battleground Texas hopes to accelerate that loosening. Until it fully loosens, the Repubs will say or do anything to protect their power, even if it includes using the disreputable slimeball O'Keefe. This fight is going to be a very ugly one because once Texas goes blue, the Republican party becomes a dead party with no significant power or money base.
Gothmog
(145,489 posts)These charges are bogus. http://www.democraticunderground.com/107815347
herding cats
(19,566 posts)Basically the Republicans are scared and trying to create a false smear. I find it amusing they're worried in a state which was once considered a safe hold for for them!
starroute
(12,977 posts)That's the Tea Party group that's known for bringing white suburbanites to inner city polling places to intimidate minority voters. They're based in Texas but have also been active in other states, and Engelbrecht has connections with Ginny Thomas's Groundswell. FBI snitch Brandon Darby is another Texan with close ties to Engelbrecht.
Engelbrecht's other group, King Street Patriots, is one of the main sources of complaints that the IRS was slow to grant them non-profit status -- probably because of well-founded suspicions that its intended use was to launder dark-money donations under cover of anonymity. And the IRS case in turn connects her with Dan Backer, who's not only making the same allegations on behalf of his own Tea Party group but is the lawyer behind the attempt to get the Supreme Court to overturn all campaign donation limits.
What all this adds up to is a multi-pronged attempt to mess with the 2014 and 2016 elections by any means possible. O'Keefe is just the tip of the iceberg -- but he should also be taken as a canary in the coalmine, a sign of exactly where dirty work is afoot.
CatholicEdHead
(9,740 posts)Texas is becoming a more diverse place and Freedomworks is at a demographic disadvantage no matter what they do. Worst case even if Battleground Texas is marginalized (I do not see O'Keefe making that happen), the voting trends in Texas are towards purple and a bluer state overall. Freedomworks does not have the budget to overcome it.
blogslut
(38,009 posts)Politically aware Texans already know James O'Keefe is a lying punk. Those less aware have no idea who he is.
herding cats
(19,566 posts)Which is what I'm both hoping for and expecting to be the outcome.
There's a level of interest here for me, which may be a weirdness on my part, to see the Republicans feeling the need to stoop to such dirty tricks in Texas so quickly. Texas grassroots Democratic workers must have scared the pants off the GOP there. I'm proud of them!
blogslut
(38,009 posts)And the way he's going about getting his face before the public isn't sitting well. Campaigning with a neanderthal troll and sexist attacks on Wendy Davis brings up memories of troglodytes like Clayton Williams.
John Cornyn, may have the only (barely) recognizable face, state-wide, but he's polling badly against his primary opponents and the TXGOP would be foolish to expend current energy/resources on ratfucker tactics. Same goes for David Dewhurst. The old TXGOP guard is in the battle of its life from the Tea Party.
Come the aftermath of our bloody republican primaries, they'll either have a crop of lunatic candidates or battered, worn-out incumbents who will have to continue campaigning via hate and fear just to keep their base.