Flavors of Racism

I do want to make something clear. I don't think that the Republicans are trying to surpress the Black vote because they hate Black people. If the Blacks were sure to vote Republican, I suspect they'd be doing many of the things that Democrats are doing to help them get to the polls. The racism isn't that they hate Blacks; it's that they think it's ok to try to deny them the vote.

Bob Herbert, who's been covering this story for some time, has the following tales from the trail.

A flier circulating extensively in black neighborhoods in Wisconsin carries the heading "Milwaukee Black Voters League." It asserts that people are not eligible to vote if they have voted in any previous election this year; if they have ever been found guilty of anything, even a traffic violation; or if anyone in their family has ever been found guilty of anything.

"If you violate any of these laws," the flier says, "you can get ten years in prison and your children will get taken away from you."

In Philadelphia, where a large black vote is essential to a Kerry victory in the crucial state of Pennsylvania, the Republican speaker of the Pennsylvania House, John Perzel, is hard at work challenging Democratic voters. He makes no bones about his intent, telling U.S. News & World Report:

"The Kerry campaign needs to come out with humongous numbers here in Philadelphia. It's important for me to keep that number down."

Not very promising, but of course the other side of this story is how determined many are to vote and to make their voices heard.