Bias led to 'gutting' of New Black Panthers case, Justice official says

[onehandle]

Source: Washington Post

A veteran Justice Department lawyer accused his agency Friday of being unwilling to pursue racial discrimination cases on behalf of white voters, turning what had been a lower-level controversy into an escalating political headache for the Obama administration.

Christopher Coates's testimony before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was the latest fallout from the department's handling of a 2008 voter-intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party. Conservatives and some congressional Republicans accuse Justice officials of improperly narrowing the charges, allegations that they strongly dispute.

Filed weeks before the Obama administration took office, the case focused on two party members who stood in front of a polling place in Philadelphia on Election Day 2008, one carrying a nightstick. The men were captured on video and were accused of trying to discourage some people from voting.

Coates, former head of the voting section that brought the case, testified in defiance of his supervisor's instructions and has been granted whistleblower protection. Coates criticized what he called the "gutting" of the New Black Panthers case for "irrational reasons," saying the decision was part of "deep-seated" opposition among the department's leaders to filing voting-rights cases against minorities and cases that protect whites.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/24/AR2010092403873.html

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I wonder what they'll be talking about on Fox News...

[DallasNE]

1. I Watched The Video

And the only hostility I saw was coming from the white Republican poll monitors toward the 2 hapless black guys. There was little foot traffic and nobody seemed to be paying attention. Neither black guy attempted to approach anybody. There may be more video where something did happen but this video showed nothing to be upset with. That said, it is poor taste to carry around a night stick just as it is poor taste for Tea Party rallys to have people carrying guns openly.

[RZM]

2. Let's put this in perspective

First, according to dictionary.com, 'hapless' = 'unlucky,' 'luckless,' 'unfortunate.' I don't think that at all applies here. Second, you should never bring a weapon to a polling place, even if it is just a stick -- I absolutely agree it's in poor taste to bring guns to rallies, but it's not the same as bringing a weapon to a polling station on election day. Third, these morons handed the Republicans an issue on a sliver platter and they've taken the cue and are exploiting it to the max.

[Mnpaul]

3. One of the guys lived in the building

The one without the nightstick. He was a poll watcher and had every right to be there. The police said there were no complaints of voter intimidation. This is 100% manufactured outrage.

[The Northerner]

4. So they claim...

[Rozlee]

5. One incident of voter intimidation vs. institutionalized voter discrimination in 2000

and which will Faux News get more traction out of? Lock the doors and windows, Ma! Black men are comin' to slit our throats in the night and rape the flower of our white wimin hood!

[annabanana]

6. Christopher Coates is one of the "loyal bushies" that burrowed

down into the civilian workforce.

Monica Goodling told us how this worked... ... remember?