Thursday, June 25, 2009
Politics / Woods What Kind of Buffoons Are Running the Secretary of State's Office Now?
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 5:33 AM
In the latest news, Hargett sent the TBI to investigate his complaint that one of his terribly dangerous political opponents, the mellow marijuana lover Bernie Ellis, made a "terrorist threat" against the Secretary of State's office. Hargett was worried about the safety of his employees. At least that's his story. What so concerned Hargett? An innocuous comment that Ellis posted on Tom Humphrey's blog. Read the comment here. To keep us safe from people like Ellis, maybe we need Homeland Security to start monitoring all blog comments. There was one by this commenter named Monkey Butt that upset me greatly. But I digress.
"I'm a friend of paper ballots," he said, "But when you push your friends too far, sometime they bite back."
And, he added, "I'm this close to biting back."
Here's the moral of this little tale of jackassery: Don't mess with aging hippies. They're meaner than you think. Hargett sees them as a bunch of pansies. But the pansies kicked his ass on this legislation, so he was embarrassed and decided it was time for payback. Sending a couple of TBI agents to Ellis' house would screw with his mind. Right? Unfortunately for Hargett, Ellis, who's a really nice guy, has more than a few friends in the media. As soon as the TBI left his farm, he sat down at his computer and sent an email to these friends. When the first blog post hit the web, it must have been an oh-shit moment for the new secretary of state.
See Mary Mancini for more on this abuse of power and on the Republican full-court press against the integrity of elections in Tennessee. Also Jackson Baker reports: "Truth-Stranger-Than-Fiction Department: Citizen Activist Routs State Power in Battle of Ellis' Farm" Update: Nashville Is Talking sums it all up.
Comments (13)
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It's also worth noting that, to their great credit, the TBI handled this mess professionally, letting it be known that they are NOT HAPPY about being sent out like hired goons to pester fair-election activists. They quickly determined the truth about Hargett's complaint, closed the matter and said so publicly. Things may change when a new Republican-chosen TBI director is in place, but for now the message to Hargett & Goins is fairly clear - these are law officers, not your GOP Stasi.
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I must clarify one thing...during my discussion with Mr. Goins I never felt personally threatened. If I had, I would have pulled a Hargett and gotten the TBI involved.
That said, Mr. Goins did indeed threaten the implementation of the law (Tennessee Voter Confidence Act) that would bring paper ballots - and secure and viable elections - to Tennessee.
As I wrote in my post about the incident, it was nice to finally find out definitively that his decision on whether to allow implementation of the paper ballot bill for the 2010 election was based solely on how much push-back he received from people who disagreed with him rather than what was best for the voters of Tennessee.
That a public official would even contemplate harassing opponents with law enforcement officers speaks loudly about that public official. First, it says that official has no notion of his duties and obligations towards the people of Tennessee. Second, it says that official has gotten into politics for the sake of power, instead of ideals. Third, it says that official holds law officers in contempt and believes them to be capable of thuggery. Finally, it says that official feels comfortable taking an oath to uphold the Constitutions of the State of Tennessee and the United States, without the intention of living up to that oath.
Assuming the report is accurate. . .
Putting all the silliness by Hargett and Goins, we have had problems with ballot integrity in Tennessee. It is better, but still still pockets of resistance to the 20th century remain. Even a casual reading of The Secret of the Hopewell Box (polling place in Davidson), reveals a past of systemic voter fraud. Tennessee was the Carr in Baker v. Carr.
So, while these two newbies in charge overreacted, any effort to improve ballot integrity is welcome.
Glad you clarified that, Mary. If he'd actually threatened you, there'd be a posse to paddle his behind with a Buford stick. Nice to know, though, that you evidently man up in these "threat" situations a lot more than Hargett.
"...any effort to improve ballot integrity is welcome."
Amen to that, brother (or sister)!
The Secrets of the Hopewell Box is a must read for anyone interested in secure and verifiable elections in Tennessee. It is a whale of a cautionary tale.
As we all know, and some know it better than others, "It's not the voting that's democracy, it's the counting." - Tom Stoppard, Jumpers , 1972.
The scariest part about all this is that Hargett and Goins are now what pass for thugs in Tennessee. I'm guessing the International Brotherhood of Thugs & Strong-Arm Men is a little embarrassed. Hargett looks like Mr. Rogers' seamstress. Goins reminds you of that mean little prick you remember from high school who went on to be indicted for insurance fraud.
Something should be done. The good name of Tennessee will not be restored until we have reputable thugs, not two guys whose names should be legally changed to Skippy and Chad.
Officials like this Hargett punk make me thankful for my ability to exercise my Second Amendment rights.
Mr. Pink, now that you have threatened the Secretary of State with a Buford Pusser stick, you should get the lemonaid and cookies ready for the TBI detail.
I don't care what political party you associate with, you should want some sort of human-verifiable vote. Even if it's a white or black marble.
Some groups have really been obnoxiously partisan about "Don't let Party Y get away with anything" - which will automatically turn off about half of the population. Why not "True Counts" - so that you know you can always check what really happened in case of computer glitch, accidental or manufacutred. There doesn't even have to be a "bad guy" involved for this to be needed. Unless, of course, you're buddies with people who don't want you to buy other company's voting machines that actually comply with the law. Jerks.
