BREAKING: Voting Rights Chief Resigns-TANNER-WOO HOO!!!

[mod mom]

BREAKING: Voting Rights Chief Resigns

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/061068.php

Voting Chief Tanner Resigns
By Paul Kiel - December 14, 2007, 11:43AM
Today, John Tanner resigned from his position effective immediately as chief of the Civil Rights Division's voting section. His resignation email, with the subject line "Moving On" was sent out at approximately 11 AM to voting section staff. He said that he will be moving on to the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices. The email is reproduced below in full.

With Tanner, it had seemed like a matter of not if, but when. As we reported late last month, his travel habits had angered attorneys in the voting section, leading to an investigation by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility.

And that was after his comments about the tendency of minorities to "die first" led Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and others to call for his resignation. When he went before the House Judiciary Committee in October, he was lambasted for his tendency of "basing your conclusions on stereotypes."

But most of all, Tanner's reign is notable for his collusion with the political appointees who oversaw the section, an ongoing effort to reverse the Civil Rights Division's traditional role in protecting minority voters, particularly African-Americans, into one of aiding thinly disguised vote suppression measures (most infamously Georgia's voter ID law). It was an effort that some career DoJ attorneys later described as "institutional sabotage."

Who'll be taking over? We've got a question into DoJ to see.
-SNIP

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/mt35/mt-search.cgi?sort_order=descend&search=tanner&x=0&y=0

:woohoo:

[Botany]

1. Gotta get out before the subpoenas and indictments

Tanner is way dirty. Oh those black voters who were cut off from
voting .... and look the DoJ had people who had sent out caging lists.

[whistle]

2. Did Tanner fight for or against voting rights?

[mod mom]

3. AGAINST-unless you were a Republican. Great coverage @ Muck.

[LakeSamish706]

4. Are we witnessing a sinking ship? n/t

[robinlynne]

14. I wish. At the same time, two days ago Dean Logan was hired by unanimous vote by the

the Board of Supervisors in Los Angeles County to be our acting registrar of voters in spite of letters of protest from several election protection organizations, in spite of not even meeting the minimum criteria posted in the ad for a registrar's ASSISTANT. (In order to apply for the position of assisant registrar, applicants must have a masters degree. But the registrar of the largest county in the US does not have a bachelor's degree.)
And at the same time, republicans are again crying voter fraud, voter fraud, voter fraud...

[chaplainM]

5. "Institutional sabotage!"

During the Reagan reign we called it "deliberate mismangement," e.g., James Watt at Interior.

[BonnieJW]

9. What ever happened to him?

One of the craziest people!

[seafan]

6. Track him now, at the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices

John Tanner steps down as head of the Justice Department's voting section.


He will be up to no good over there, undoubtedly.

[mod mom]

7. I guess Tanner "blacks don't grow old" Tanner will shift his racism over to immigration.

[librechik]

11. another opportunity for a bigoted cretin to NOT do his job properly

on purpose.

VICTORY!

[Patsy Stone]

8. "Dear Friend,

My work here is done. I've successfully prevented Americans from voting, and now I'm off to the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices to keep immigrant workers underpaid and uninsured."

[blondeatlast]

13. He needed the rest. this way he can be openly bigoted without having the additional

complication of that bothersome "citizen" thing.

How conveeeenient...

[blondeatlast]

10. Yay--except look where he's going. Guess jobs for obvious bigots are pretty scarce:

Nearly 32 years after I joined the Voting Section, I will be moving on to the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices. To better assist in a smooth transition, I am stepping down from my position as Section Chief immediately while I pack and sort through three decades of work.

Edit: from the e-mail quoted at TPM: http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004910.php#more

[mod mom]

12. The good news is he is still under investigation for his travel.

[mod mom]

15. Here's some info on his travel:

He even managed to make taxpayer-funded trips to Hawaii in three consecutive years, two of them a week long. One Department lawyer who accompanied Tanner on his first trip took the earliest available flight back after having completed all necessary work in just two business days. But Tanner insisted on staying a full week, despite the lack of apparent Department business. It's a crime for government officials to use public funds for personal travel.

A review of Justice Department documents obtained by TPMmuckraker shows just how extensive Tanner's travel has been. From May of 2005 when Tanner became chief of the section through the end of 2006, he took 36 trips, traveling 97 days over those 19 months. By comparison, Tanner's predecessor Joe Rich took only two trips from 2003 through his retirement in April 2005, a total of six days of taxpayer funded travel over those 28 months.

-snip

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004779.php

[bleever]

16. Thank you very much.

K&R.

[mod mom]

17. Nadler: Tanner Resignation is Chance for "Fresh Start"

Nadler: Tanner Resignation is Chance for "Fresh Start"
By Paul Kiel - December 14, 2007, 2:54PM
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) responding to John Tanner's resignation:

“Mr. Tanner had a clear record of undermining the core mission of the section – protecting the right to vote. In October, my subcommittee held an investigation on the Section, where it became clear that Mr. Tanner was actively seeking to curtail that cornerstone of American democracy. The right to vote is the foundation of all our liberties and it must be protected.
“Indeed, under Mr. Tanner’s leadership, the Justice Department essentially took positions that disenfranchised minorities and the elderly. The departure of Mr. Tanner presents an opportunity for a fresh start of the Voting Section. I urge the Bush Administration to take this opportunity to take politics out of voting rights enforcement by appointing a new chief with a commitment to the letter and the spirit of the Voting Rights Act.”

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004914.php

[applegrove]

18. One by one the people hired to destroy government are resigning.