Lois Lerner Formerly FEC’s Chief Of Enforcement, Harassed Christian Coalition For Years

Breaking: Lois Lerner Sued Christian Coalition In Largest FEC Action in History… Then Was Promoted To IRS Where She Targeted Conservatives (Video) – Gateway Pundit

Under the direction of Lois Lerner, the Federal Election Commission sued the Christian Coalition in the 1990s. She harassed the Christian Coalition for three election cycles. She lost her case. Lerner even asked one conservative during the case if Pat Robertson prayed over him. (Sound familiar?)

.

These actions landed her at the IRS where she used the same tactics against conservatives and Christians – only on a much larger scale. 500 conservative and Christian groups were illegally targeted by the Obama IRS during her tenure. For twenty-seven months the Obama IRS refused to approve any Tea Party applications for tax-exempt status. At the same time the Obama IRS approved dozens of progressive applications.

Doug McKelway at FOX News reported:

.

.
Click HERE For Rest Of Story

.

Obama’s Birth Certificate To Be Questioned By Alabama Supreme Court Thanks To Relentless Sheriff

Obama’s Birth Certificate To Be Questioned By Supreme Court Thanks To Relentless Sheriff – Mr. Conservative

Despite being elected for a second term, the questions about President Obama’s place of birth – and his eligibility to be president – just won’t go away. The Alabama Supreme Court is now set to hear an appeal from a case filed last fall, alleging that Obama wasn’t properly on the Alabama ballot because he never produced an original copy of his birth certificate.

.

What makes this legal action different from all previous suits challenging Obama’s eligibility is that the plaintiffs are offering the gold standard in evidence: Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s “cold case posse.” In March, Sheriff Joe announced the results of his posse’s investigation into the mysteries of the PDF, or electronic, long-form birth certificate Obama finally released in response to myriad challenges about whether he met the constitutional requirement that he be a “natural born citizen.”

Sheriff Joe and his Posse concluded that the birth certificate is a forgery:

.

On close examination of the evidence, we are prepared to say we believe probable cause exists indicating that forgery and fraud may have been committed. Not only in President Obama’s long form birth certificate, but more disturbing evidence suggests that another fraud may have been committed regarding his selective service registration card.

At the very least, I can tell you this. Based on all of the evidence presented and investigated, I cannot in good faith report to you that these documents are authentic. My investigators believe that the long firm birth certificate was manufactured electronically and it did not originated in a paper format as claimed by the White House.

If Sheriff Joe is correct that the PDF is a forgery, that does not automatically prove that Obama is not eligible to hold the office of president. It just means that, to date, he has not provided any credible proof that he is eligible to hold that office.

In Alabama, plaintiffs who already had their suspicion that the birth certificate was a forgery filed suit to force the Alabama Secretary of State to verify that all candidates on the presidential 2012 ballot were eligible to serve. The Alabama trial court immediately joined a long line of courts that have refused to hear the case on the merits and dismissed the suit. Plaintiffs appealed.

The case is now before the Alabama Supreme Court, which is currently headed by Roy Moore, a strict constitutionalist. Even better from the plaintiffs’ point of view is the fact that Justice Moore has gone on record questioning whether Obama was indeed a “natural born citizen,” citing Obama’s refusal to provide had not provided any evidence proving that he is:

This is the strangest thing indeed. The president has never produced [evidence] in the face of substantial evidence he was not born in our country. People are accepting it blindly based on their feelings, not on the law.

Several blogs are reporting that Sheriff Joe and his cold case posse will be part of the team providing evidence to support the plaintiffs’ argument. On the defense side, the attorneys are doing a lot of name-calling – “birthers,” “tiny cabal of zealots” – but insults are neither facts nor law.

The proof that Obama was not born in Hawaii and is not eligible to hold the highest office in the land is all circumstantial, which is why those who defend Obama’s citizenship have such fun engaging in all sorts of name-calling. What they don’t realize is that the proof that Obama was born in Hawaii and is therefore eligible to be President is equally circumstantial.

Obama has never produced an original document proving his Hawaiian birth. Moreover, he has spent millions of dollars to make sure that he is never called upon to produce that kind of document. His efforts to hide the circumstances of his birth (Foreign? Illegitimate? A father other than the one claimed?) all indicate that there’s something funny going on.

.
Click HERE For Rest Of Story

.
——————————————————————————————————————————–
.

Related video:

.

.

Colorado’s New Gun Law Drives Four Recall Efforts

Colorado’s New Gun Law Drives Four Recall Efforts – Daily Caller

As Colorado lawmakers entered the last frenzied 72 hours of the legislative session – 90 bills were still on the docket when the legislature was called to order Monday morning – four state politicians are facing efforts to recall them from office.

.

Recall drives are in full swing against Senate Democrats John Morse, Evie Hudak and Angela Giron as well as Democratic Rep. Mike McLachlan.

Citizens groups angry about these lawmakers’ stances on gun control are collecting signatures to try and force a special election. To make the ballot, they must collect a number of signatures equal to 25 percent of the total vote in their districts.

Colorado has passed tough gun laws from its Democratic-controlled legislature in recent months, resulting in heated debate, numerous protests and even death threats against some lawmakers.

In March, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law measures that ban magazines that hold more than 15 rounds, mandate universal background checks for all firearms transfers and require gun buyers to pay for those checks.

Two other bills – one which prohibits gun ownership by people who have committed domestic violence and one requiring face-to-face instruction for concealed carry permits – are expected to be signed into law.

Morse, the state Senate president, introduced what was arguably the most controversial gun control proposal of the session, one that would have held owners, sellers and manufacturers of assault-style weapons liable for any damage resulting from their use. Opponents said it amounted to a de facto ban on such weapons.

During a heated, late-night debate on a slate of gun proposals, Morse killed the bill when it became clear it didn’t have enough votes to get out of the Senate.

Democrats in Morse’s El Paso County district formed an issue committee – called “A Whole Lot of People for John Morse” – to fight the recall effort, which needs only 7,178 signatures to qualify.

The most recent filing available on the Colorado secretary of state’s website shows that A Whole Lot of People has collected contributions from six people.

The committee paid for a “public awareness alert” warning voters to beware of giving personal information to petitioners, who, they warned, may be criminals or sex offenders.

In fact, recall petitions only ask for people to give their name, address and signatures, and the information is given to the secretary of state.

The group behind the recall, the El Paso Freedom Defense Committee, called the alert “misleading.”

“Their antics are really about trying to scare people into being afraid of their fellow citizens who are demonstrating democracy in action,” the group wrote on its website.

Organizers behind the drive to recall Giron said it’s a bipartisan effort, with the president of the pro-gun Pueblo Freedom and Rights group telling the Colorado Observer that the person designing their material has Obama stickers on his car.

Giron is being targeted for supporting the laws Hickenlooper has signed.

The same is true for Hudak, who further angered critics when she made a flippant comment to a rape survivor testifying against a bill that would have banned concealed weapons on campus.

“[C]hances are that if you would have had a gun, then he would have been able to get that from you and possibly use it against you,” Hudak told the woman, after saying “statistics are not on your side even if you had a gun.”

Its sponsor killed the bill and Hudak later apologized for the comment, saying she didn’t mean to be insensitive.

The effort to recall McLachlan seems to have the biggest hurdles to clear. A message on the Recall Mike McLachlan website notes that petitioners have only collected about half the 10,587 signatures needed to force a special election. The deadline for that petition is May 21.

Not all gun-rights advocates think the recall efforts are wise. Dudley Brown, the director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and the executive vice president of the National Association for Gun Rights, told the Denver Post last month that the money and effort would be better spent targeting Democrats in the 2014 election.

.
Click HERE For Rest Of Story

.

Venezuelan Lawmakers Brawl Amid Electoral Disputes (Video)

Venezuelan Lawmakers Brawl Amid Electoral Disputes – The Commentator

.

Reports have emerged with accompanying footage of Venezuelan lawmakers brawling in the country’s National Assembly following the disputed election of President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro, who recently succeeded the late Hugo Chavez, won the recent general election by a tiny margin, causing oppositionists to call for a recount. Venezuelans took to the streets to demonstrate against the election, with many injured and several killed as a result.

Members of Venezuela’s National Assembly yesterday ‘brawled’, as seen below, with one opposition assembly member badly bruised and bleeding.

Opposition assembly member Ismael Garcia told The Associated Press that pro-government legislators threw punches on Tuesday night after members of his coalition tried to protest a proposal barring them from legislative activities.

Assembly member Julio Borges appeared on an independent television station soon after with blood running down one side of his swollen face. Pro-government legislators appeared on state TV accusing opposition members of attacking them.

Borges insisted the Speaker of parliament to be held to account, stating that he, “embodies hatred, repression, Fascism of which he wants to accuse the rest of the country.” Borges accused the speaker of parliament to allow “people armed inside the Chamber, with bodyguards.”
The opposition lawmaker said that the attack was carried out by “several people” who pounced “without a word and from behind like cowards” against several MPs showed a banner that read “Beat the Parliament”.

.

.
Click HERE For Rest Of Story

.

Trial Begins For Officials Accused In Obama, Clinton Ballot Petition Fraud

Trial Begins For Officials Accused In Obama, Clinton Ballot Petition Fraud – Fox News

The trial is underway for a former Democratic official and a Board of Elections worker who are accused of being part of a plot that has raised questions over whether President Obama’s campaign – when he was a candidate in 2008 – submitted enough legitimate signatures to have legally qualified for the presidential primary ballot.

.

The two face charges of orchestrating an illegal scheme to fake the petitions that enabled then-candidates Obama, and Hillary Clinton, to qualify for the race in Indiana.

Former longtime St. Joseph County Democratic Party Chairman Butch Morgan Jr. faces multiple felony conspiracy counts to commit petition fraud, and former county Board of Elections worker Dustin Blythe is charged with nine felony forgery counts and one felony count of falsely making a petition of nomination. The proceedings began Monday in South Bend.

Morgan is accused of being the mastermind behind the plot, by allegedly ordering Democratic officials and workers to fake the names and signatures that Obama and Clinton needed to qualify for the presidential race. Blythe, then a Board of Elections employee and Democratic Party volunteer, has been accused of carrying out those orders by forging signatures on Obama’s petitions.

Two former Board of Elections officials have already pleaded guilty to charges related to the scheme and could testify against Morgan and Blythe.

Former board worker Beverly Shelton, who allegedly was assigned the task of forging the petitions for Hillary Clinton, pleaded guilty in March to charges of forgery and falsely making a petition. The board’s former Democratic head of voter registration, Pam Brunette, pleaded guilty in April to felony forgery, official misconduct, and falsifying a petition.

The alleged scheme was hatched in January of 2008, according to affidavits from investigators who cite former Board of Registration worker Lucas Burkett, who told them he was in on the plan at first, but then became uneasy and quit. He waited three years before telling authorities about it, but if revelations about any forgeries were raised during the election, the petitions could have been challenged during the contest. Any candidate who did not qualify with enough legitimate signatures at the time could have been bounced from the ballot.

The Indiana trial has raised questions about whether in 2008, candidate Obama actually submitted enough legitimate signatures to have legally qualified.

Under state law, presidential candidates need to qualify for the primary ballots with 500 signatures from each of the state’s nine congressional districts. Indiana election officials say that in St. Joseph County, which is the 2nd Congressional District, the Obama campaign qualified with 534 signatures; Clinton’s camp had 704.

Prosecutors say that in Obama’s case, nine of the petition pages were apparently forged. Each petition contains up to 10 names, making a possible total of 90 names, which, if faked, could have brought the Obama total below the legal limit required to qualify. Prosecutors say 13 Clinton petitions were apparently forged, meaning up to 130 possibly fake signatures. Even if 130 signatures had been challenged, it would have still left Clinton with enough signatures to meet the 500-person threshold.

An Indiana State Police investigator said in court papers that the agency examined the suspect Obama petitions and “selected names at random from each of the petition pages and contacted those people directly. We found at least one person (and often multiple people) from each page who confirmed that they had not signed” petitions “or given consent for their name and/or signature to appear.” The case was charged citing 20 forgeries – not the total number of possible fake entries – because that was considered a sufficient amount to prosecute.

Numerous voters told Fox News that they never signed the petitions.

“That’s not my signature,” Charity Rorie, a mother of four, told Fox News when showed the Obama petition with her name and signature. She said it “absolutely” was a fake.

Charity told Fox News that her husband’s entry was also a forgery, and that they have not been contacted by investigators or any authorities looking into the scandal.

“It’s scary, it’s shocking. It definitely is illegal. A lot of people have already lost faith in politics and the whole realm of politics, so that just solidifies our worries and concerns.”

Robert Hunter, Jr. said his name was faked, too.

“I did not sign for Barack Obama,” he told us. As he examined the Obama petition in his hands, Hunter pointed out that “I always put ‘Junior’ after my name, every time… there’s no ‘Junior’ there.”

Even a former Democratic Governor of Indiana, Joe Kernan, told Fox News that his name was forged.

The allegations were first uncovered by Indiana native and Yale University senior Ryan Nees, who wrote about the revelations for the political newsletter, Howey Politics Indiana.

“What’s worrisome about this scheme is that it wasn’t a single bad actor going rogue. Rather, four people were charged as co-conspirators, and two of the four have already pleaded guilty,” Nees told Fox News.

Nees believes that had the petitions been challenged during the presidential election, “it’s unlikely either candidate would have qualified for the ballot.”

He said the fraud was clearly evident, “because page after page of signatures are all in the same handwriting.” He noted that no one raised any red flags “because election workers in charge of verifying their validity were the same people faking the signatures.”

Both Morgan and Blythe have pleaded not guilty, and when approached by Fox News in 2011, Blythe refused to talk about the case.

Morgan’s attorney declined our request for an interview, and Blythe’s attorney has not responded to our efforts for comment.

The petition process is vital to candidates’ campaigns.

In the 2012 presidential race, Republican candidate Newt Gingrich was tripped up by that process in Virginia. He failed to qualify for the GOP primary ballot in that state, because authorities said hundreds of signatures on his campaign’s petitions were faked. A Gingrich campaign worker has pleaded guilty, and another still faces charges.

Petition fraud also cost Michigan Republican Rep. Thaddeus McCotter his public office. McCotter, who also ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, has accused former campaign workers of intentionally faking his congressional primary race petition signatures. The result was that McCotter did not submit the legal number of signatures needed to qualify for the ballot, and that failure forced him to resign his congressional seat last July. While McCotter was not implicated in any wrongdoing, two former campaign aides pleaded no contest to criminal charges, and one pleaded guilty.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

.

Opposition Candidate Demands Recount After Chavez’s Heir Nicolas Maduro Wins Venezuela Presidency

Opposition Candidate Demands Recount After Chavez’s Heir Nicolas Maduro Wins Venezuela Presidency – Fox News

Hugo Chavez’s hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, has officially won Venezuela’s presidential election by a stunningly narrow margin that highlights rising discontent over problems ranging from crime to power blackouts. His rival demanded a recount, portending more headaches for a country shaken by the death of its dominating leader.

.

One key Chavista leader expressed dismay over the outcome of Sunday’s election, which was supposed to cement the self-styled “Bolivarian Revolution” of their beloved president as Venezuela’s destiny. National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, who many consider Maduro’s main rival within their movement, tweeted: “The results oblige us to make a profound self-criticism.”

Maduro’s victory followed an often ugly, mudslinging campaign in which the winner promised to carry on Chavez’s legacy, while challenger Henrique Capriles’ main message was that Chavez put this country with the world’s largest oil reserves on the road to ruin.

Despite the ill feelings, both men sent their supporters home and urged them to refrain from violence. Capriles insisted on a recount and Maduro said he was open to one, though it was not immediately clear if election officials might permit it.

“We are not going to recognize a result until each vote of Venezuelans is counted,” Capriles said. “This struggle has not ended.”

Maduro, meanwhile, said, “Let 100 percent of the ballot boxes be opened. … We’re going to do it; we have no fear.”

Maduro, acting president since Chavez’s March 5 death, held a double-digit advantage in opinion polls just two weeks ago, but electoral officials said he got just 50.7 percent of the votes compared to 49.1 percent for Capriles, with nearly all ballots counted.

The margin was about 234,935 votes out of 14.8 million cast. Turnout was 78 percent, down from just over 80 percent in the October election that Chavez won by a nearly 11-point margin over Capriles.

Chavistas set off fireworks and raced through downtown Caracas blasting horns in jubilation. In a victory speech, Maduro told a crowd outside the presidential palace that his victory was further proof that Chavez “continues to be invincible.”

But analysts called the slim margin a disaster for Maduro, a former union leader and bus driver in the radical wing of Chavismo who is believed to have close ties to Cuba.

At Capriles’ campaign headquarters, people hung their heads quietly as the results were announced by an electoral council stacked with government loyalists. Many started crying; others just stared at TV screens in disbelief.

Later, Capriles emerged to angrily reject the official totals: “It is the government that has been defeated.”

He said his campaign reported “a result that is different from the results announced today.”

“The biggest loser today is you,” Capriles said, directly addressing Maduro through the camera. “The people don’t love you.”

Venezuela’s electronic voting system is completely digital, but also generates a paper receipt for each vote, making a vote-by-vote recount possible.

Capriles, an athletic 40-year-old state governor, had mocked and belittled Maduro as a poor, bland imitation of Chavez.

Maduro said during his victory speech that Capriles had called him before the results were announced to suggest a “pact” and that Maduro refused. Capriles’ camp did not comment on Maduro’s claim, though Capriles began his speech by declaring he doesn’t “make pacts with lies or corruption.”

Maduro, a longtime foreign minister to Chavez, rode a wave of sympathy for the charismatic leader to victory, pinning his hopes on the immense loyalty for his boss among millions of poor beneficiaries of government largesse and the powerful state apparatus that Chavez skillfully consolidated.

Capriles’ main campaign weapon was to simply emphasize “the incompetence of the state.” At rallies, Capriles would read out a list of unfinished road, bridge and rail projects. Then he asked people what goods were scarce on store shelves.

Millions of Venezuelans were lifted out of poverty under Chavez, but many also believe his government not only squandered, but plundered, much of the $1 trillion in oil revenues during his 14-year rule.

Venezuelans are afflicted by chronic power outages, crumbling infrastructure, unfinished public works projects, double-digit inflation, food and medicine shortages, and rampant crime – one of the world’s highest homicide and kidnapping rates – that the opposition said worsened after Chavez disappeared to Cuba in December for what would be his final surgery.

Analyst David Smilde at the Washington Office on Latin America think tank predicted the victory would prove pyrrhic and make Maduro extremely vulnerable.

“It will make people in his coalition think that perhaps he is not the one to lead the revolution forward,” Smilde said.

“This is a result in which the `official winner’ appears as the biggest loser,” said Amherst College political scientist Javier Corrales. “The `official loser’ – the opposition – emerges even stronger than it did six months ago. These are very delicate situations in any political system, especially when there is so much mistrust of institutions.”

Many across the nation put little stock in Maduro’s claims that sabotage by the far right was to blame for worsening power outages and food shortages in the weeks before the vote.

“We can’t continue to believe in messiahs,” said Jose Romero, a 48-year-old industrial engineer who voted for Capriles in the central city of Valencia. “This country has learned a lot and today we know that one person can’t fix everything.”

In a Chavista stronghold in Petare outside Caracas, Maria Velasquez, 48, who works in a government soup kitchen that feeds 200 people, said she voted for Chavez’s man “because that is what my comandante ordered.”

Reynaldo Ramos, a 60-year-old construction worker, said he “voted for Chavez” before correcting himself and saying he chose Maduro.

“We must always vote for Chavez because he always does what’s best for the people and we’re going to continue on this path,” Ramos said.

The governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela deployed a well-worn, get-out-the-vote machine spearheaded by loyal state employees. It also enjoyed the backing of state media as part of its near-monopoly on institutional power.

Capriles’ camp also complained that Chavista loyalists in the judiciary put them at glaring disadvantage by slapping the campaign and broadcast media with fines and prosecutions that they called unwarranted. Only one opposition TV station remains and it was being sold to a new owner Monday.

Maduro will face no end of hard choices for which Corrales, of Amherst, said he has shown no skills for tackling.

Maduro has “a penchant for blaming everything on his `adversaries’ – capitalism, imperialism, the bourgeoisie, the oligarchs – so it is hard to figure how exactly he would address any policy challenge other than taking a tough line against his adversaries.”

Venezuela’s $30 billion fiscal deficit is equal to about 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Many factories operate at half capacity because strict currency controls make it hard for them to pay for imported parts and materials. Business leaders say some companies verge on bankruptcy because they cannot extend lines of credit with foreign suppliers.

Chavez imposed currency controls a decade ago trying to stem capital flight as his government expropriated large land parcels and dozens of businesses.

Now, dollars sell on the black market at three times the official exchange rate and Maduro has had to devalue Venezuela’s currency, the bolivar, twice this year.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

.

Another Democrat Election Official Pleads Guilty To Multiple Felonies In Obama Nomination Petition Scandal

Another St. Joseph County Election Official Pleads Guilty In Obama Petition-Forging Scandal – Advance Indiana

It’s the big story that the media outside of South Bend, Indiana don’t want to report. It’s the story of how Democratic election officials in the St. Joseph Co. Board of Registration Office conspired to forge signatures on the nominating petitions of Barack Obama in 2008 so that he would have enough signatures to make the 2008 Indiana Democratic primary ballot. Without those forged signatures, Barack Obama’s name would not have appeared on the 2008 Indiana primary ballot, and in all likelihood, that blunder would have cost him the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

The South Bend Tribune, which broke the original story, reports on yet a second official charged in the petition-forging scandal pleading guilty to her role. This time it is Pam Brunette, the former head of voter registration in St. Joseph County.

Pam Brunette pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of Class C felony forgery, one count of Class D felony official misconduct and one count of Class D felony falsifying a petition.

.
……….

Three additional counts were dismissed. The former head of Democratic Voter Registration faces between two and eight years for the Class C felony and six months to three years for each Class D felony.

A sentencing hearing has been set for 10 a.m. May 9 before Superior Court Judge John Marnocha.

Brunette is the second person in the past two weeks to admit guilt in the case, which also involves former longtime county Democratic Party Chair Butch Morgan and former party member Dustin Blythe.

Bev Shelton pleaded guilty to one count of forgery and one count of falsifying a petition on March 28 as part of a plea agreement under which she has agreed to testify in the upcoming case against Morgan and Blythe.

Shelton, who worked under Brunette in Voter Registration, will be sentenced at the same time as her former boss.

According to the Tribune, Brunette didn’t actually forge the signatures but knew the petitions contained forged signatures that had been forged by party officials and certified the petitions knowing they contained forgeries.

.

.
Click HERE For Rest Of Story

.

Gerrymanders Gone Wild: Top Democrats Caught Conspiring To Break Florida Redistricting Law

Gerrymanders Gone Wild – Washington Free Beacon

Florida Democrats coordinated with national party organizations and consultants in early 2012 to gerrymander congressional districts despite a state ban on such activities, emails obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show.

.
……….

The top state and national party leaders, including Florida congressmen Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Ted Deutsch, and Alecee Hastings, signed off on the gerrymandered maps, according to the emails released during court discovery in Romo v. Scott, a legal challenge to redistricting maps that the GOP-controlled state legislature approved in 2012.

“For several months the Florida Democratic Party has engaged in a legal fight over redistricting in Florida,” Florida Democratic chair Rod Smith wrote to a representative of the Teamsters Union in March 2012. “We believe that Florida can be turned from red to blue if we are successful in our efforts.”

Democratic consultant Brad Wieneke described the gerrymander in one email chain on Florida’s 23rd Congressional District, which Slate has called the 23rd one of “the most gerrymandered congressional districts” in the country and which Wasserman Schultz represents in Congress.

“They want to scoop as many Jews out of Tamarac and Sunrise as they can,” Wieneke wrote.

Redistricting maps produced by Democratic consulting firm NCEC Services were shared with attorneys at Perkins Coie, general counsel for the DNC, the emails show.

Those maps were then vetted by Smith, the DCCC, and Reps. Wasserman Schultz, Hastings, and Deutsch.

“Will speak with DWS tomorrow morning to clear it with her,” Charles Kelly, the DCCC’s southern regional political director, wrote in a March 2012 email. “Will make necessary calls tomorrow AM and DWS sign-off and we should be good!”

The maps were drawn up by party strategists to maximize Democratic performance in the state while hewing to recently passed amendments in Florida that prohibit gerrymandering.

“The attached includes statistics for a congressional map that creates twelve 50 percent + Democratic districts while limiting the number of times counties are split between multiple districts,” says a January 2012 email from NCEC Services’ Eric Hawkins to Florida Democratic Party executive director Scott Arcenaux.

“The plan is an attempt to strike a balance between a clean map and one that is far more favorable to Democrats. A more Democratic map is possible but will require more splitting of counties and towns.”

Democrats also attempted to fundraise off the maps. Florida Democratic Party chairman Smith solicited six-figure donations from allied groups, asking them to support the party’s lawsuit against the state GOP’s redistricting map.

“At stake is the potential balance of power in the third most populous state,” Smith wrote in his email to the Teamsters. “If we remain successful we will pick up 2-5 state Senate seats and 3-6 congressional seats.”

“The problem is we need the funds to compete with the Republicans enormous advantage in funding this litigation,” Smith continued. “I have asked the Teamsters for $100,000 to help the FDP win a map that creates the fair districts that Floridians favor.”

The boundaries of congressional districts are redrawn every 10 years based on census data. Parties have long used redistricting to gain demographic advantages over rivals, a practice known as gerrymandering.

Florida voters passed Amendments 5 and 6 in 2010 banning lawmakers from drawing legislative and congressional districts with “intent” to gerrymander.

Legal battles have embroiled the redistricting process since the amendments passed in 2010. The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that lawmakers violated the amendments, sending them back to the drawing board.

Both parties have gotten more than they bargained for in the lawsuits.

Court documents revealed similar emails between Republican strategists. The Miami Herald reported in February that state GOP leaders authorized staff to engage in “brainstorming meetings” with consultants to draw favorable political districts.

Peter Butzin, the state chair of Common Cause Florida, one of several groups that sponsored amendments 5 and 6 and are litigating redistricting proposals, said he was not surprised by either party’s less-than-strict adherence to the new laws.

“What else is new?” Butzin said. “I’ve been involved in reapportionments in Florida since the 70s. Back when the Democrats had a majority we charged that they improperly drew the lines, and of course now the Republicans have a majority they’re doing the same thing.”

Butzin said he fears his group will have to go to court every time redistricting rolls around.

“We’re trying to be a nonpartisan voice of the average Florida citizen who’s saying districts should be drawn in order so the citizens select their representatives,” Butzin said.

Florida Democrats have hammered Republicans, who control both chambers of the state legislature, for allegedly defying the will of voters who passed the amendments.

“The Republicans are doing their darndest to try to basically ignore what the voters said and so they haven’t drawn any maps,” Schultz said in 2011. “All they’re doing is allowing people to speak at these bogus hearings that they’re having. They’re not answering any questions or making any comments and they’re not showing any voters any maps at all.”

The DNC declined to comment.

The DCCC, Nan Rich, as well as Reps. Hastings, Deutsch, and Wasserman Schultz, did not return requests for comment.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell Approves Photo ID Requirement For Voters

Virginia Governor Approves Photo ID Requirement For Voters – Reuters

Virginia voters must have photo identification starting next year under a measure Republican Governor Bob McDonnell signed into law on Tuesday.

Virginia Republicans have said the law will prevent voter fraud, while Democrats have called it a maneuver to suppress the votes of older people, minorities and the poor.

McDonnell signed the measure “with the recognition that almost all citizens already have acceptable forms of photo ID that would allow them to vote and a majority of voters support this policy,” he said in a statement.

The legislation provides for free identification with the bearer’s photo to any registered voter who does not have one.

McDonnell also ordered the State Board of Elections to start a public information program to tell voters about the new requirement before the 2014 elections.

A similar bill in Arkansas was vetoed on Monday by Democratic Governor Mike Beebe, who said it might disenfranchise voters.

Nearly three dozen states that have similar voter ID measures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Legal challenges to voter ID laws are pending in several states.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

Democrat Politician Scolds Child With Special Needs In Restaurant, Skips Out On Bill

Everett Politician Accused Of Berating Child With Special Needs In Public – WFXT

An elected official for the City of Everett is accused of berating a child with special needs while dining at the Texas Roadhouse located in Everett on March 6.

The incident involving Wayne Matewsky, who is running for state representative, was discussed during Monday night’s meeting at city hall. The common council voted unanimously 16 to zero to have the city’s ethics committee look into the allegations.

…………………

Dozens of Everett residents attended the meeting; however, not all the residents were displeased with Matewsky or his alleged actions. Many said they would stand by Matewsky, his reputation, his commitment to the city, and his lengthy public service career.

“He is hard working very ethical and caring person. He represents this city with great dignity and honesty,” one such resident said.

Witnesses told FOX 25 that Matewsky got into a heated verbal argument with the child’s father because the child was being noisy; however, Matewsky denies that the incident ever happened and that the allegations are politically motivated.

A spokesperson for Texas Roadhouse painted a different story telling the city councilors in a letter that Matewsky used “foul language” and berated employees. The spokesman claims Matewsky left without paying his bill and even threatened to have the health department shut the restaurant down.

Revere resident and father Michael Toto says he was at the restaurant that night, and witnessed Matewsky yelling at the family because Matewsky felt the family couldn’t control the child, so Toto brought it to the attention of the common council.

Matewsky has since reportedly apologized to the restaurant’s staff.

“We are pleased that Mr. Matewsky has since apologized to our staff for this unfortunate incident. We are willing to forgive and forget, and consider this matter closed,” Texas Roadhouse said in a statement.

Matewsky, a 30-year veteran of Everett politics, topped four other Democrats, including former Mayor John Hanlon, in special election primary to replace Democrat Stephen “Stat” Smith, who resigned from the House after agreeing to plead guilty to casting invalid absentee ballots. He will face two un-enrolled candidates in the April 2 special election.

The ethics committee will begin their investigation and depending on what they find, they could expel Matewsky from the council. They are hoping to complete their investigation by April 4, but then again the special election for state representative is slated for April 2.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

*VIDEOS* CPAC 2013 Highlights: Day 3 – Saturday (03/16/13)

…TEA PARTY PATRIOTS CO-FOUNDER JENNY BETH MARTIN

.
…CONGRESSMAN STEVE KING

.
…WISCONSIN GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER

.
…FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER NEWT GINGRICH

.
…CONGRESSWOMAN MICHELE BACHMANN

.
…AUTHOR ERIC METAXAS AND NEUROSURGEON BEN CARSON

.
…FORMER CONGRESSMAN ARTUR DAVIS

.
…FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN

.
…EAGLE FORUM FOUNDER PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY

.
…’10 CONSERVATIVES UNDER 40′ PANEL

.
…MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER PRESIDENT BRENT BOZELL

.
…SARATOGA SPRINGS, UTAH MAYOR MIA LOVE

.
…NRA PRESIDENT DAVID KEENE

.
…AUTHOR ANN COULTER

.
…SENATOR TED CRUZ

.
…………Note: more videos to be posted as they become available.

…………………..Click HERE to watch highlights from Day 1.

…………………..Click HERE to watch highlights from Day 2.

.

*VIDEOS* CPAC 2013 Highlights: Day 2 – Friday (03/15/13)

…CONGRESSMAN PAUL RYAN

.
…NRA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT WAYNE LAPIERRE

.
…FORMER SENATOR RICK SANTORUM

.
…CONGRESSMAN STEVE SCALISE

.
…LOUISIANNA GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL

.
…CITIZENS UNITED PRESIDENT DAVID BOSSIE

.
…………Note: more videos to be posted as they become available.

…………………..Click HERE to watch highlights from Day 1.

…………………..Click HERE to watch highlights from Day 3.

.

*VIDEOS* CPAC 2013 Highlights: Day 1 – Thursday (03/14/13)

…LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALLEN WEST

.
…CONGRESSMAN LOUIE GOHMERT

.
…SENATOR MARCO RUBIO

.
…SENATOR RAND PAUL

.
…GOVERNOR RICK PERRY

.
…JUDICIAL WATCH PRESIDENT TOM FITTON

.
…………Note: more videos to be posted as they become available.

…………………..Click HERE to watch highlights from Day 2.

…………………..Click HERE to watch highlights from Day 3.

.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio Of Argentina Elected As Pope Francis I

Cardinal Bergoglio Elected As Pope Francis I – RNS

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as Pope Francis I on Wednesday (March 13), after only two days of voting in the conclave tasked with choosing the Benedict XVI’s successor.

French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran announced the name of the new pope from the balcony of St. Peter’s facade, known as the Loggia of the Blessings.

“Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam,” he said using the traditional Latin formula.

White smoke billowed from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel at 7.06pm, as the bells of St. Peter’s basilica started ringing and thousands of people cheered in St. Peter’s square.

Cardinals reached the two thirds majority needed for the election of a new pope after only two days of voting.

On Tuesday afternoon, the conclave started with a solemn ceremony in the Sistine Chapel, before the secret balloting began.

The timing of the white smoke suggests that the new pope was elected after five ballots.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

Obamabot Who Admitted Voting Twice In Last Election Is Indicted, Charged With Voting At Least Six Times Under Various Names

Cincinnati Poll Worker Charged With Voting Half Dozen Times In November – Fox News

She admitted voting twice in the presidential election last November, and now, Obama supporter Melowese Richardson has been indicted for allegedly voting at least six times. She also is charged with illegal voting in 2008 and 2011.

The 58-year-old veteran Cincinnati poll worker, indicted Monday, faces eight counts of voter fraud. Two others, one of whom is a nun, have been charged separately.

Richardson had admitted on camera to a local TV station, “Yes, I voted twice,” claiming she was concerned that her vote would not count. She also said there “was no intent on my part to commit any voter fraud.”

“I’ll fight it for Mr. Obama and Mr. Obama’s right to sit as president of the United States,” she proclaimed in the interview.

Officials charged that she voted in her own name by absentee ballot and also in person at the polls, but Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Deters said she also is charged with voting in the name of five other people in various elections.

“This is not North Korea,” Deters said in a statement announcing the indictments. “Elections are a serious business and the foundation of our democracy. In the scheme of things, individual votes may not seem important, but this could not be further from the truth. Every vote is important and every voter and candidate needs to have faith in our system. The charges today should let people know that we take this seriously.”

Richardson made national headlines when the Hamilton County Board of Elections announced that it was investigating whether she voted up to half a dozen times, including on behalf of her granddaughter, India Richardson.

India told Fox News that her grandmother did indeed vote in her name, telling us that “it wasn’t a big deal.”

But voting twice or in another person’s name is illegal.

Prosecutors say the five other people for whom Richardson cast ballots are all relatives.

Sister Marguerite Kloos also faces one count of illegal voting, for allegedly submitting an absentee ballot in the name of a fellow nun, Sister Rose Marie Hewitt, who had died before absentee ballots were sent out. She is accused of opening Sister Hewitt’s ballot, forging her signature and mailing it to the Board of Elections as a vote.

The 54-year-old Kloos has resigned as the dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, where she still serves as an associate professor of religious and pastoral studies.

Kloos was not indicted but faces what is known as an information, because her lawyer contacted prosecutors and she agreed to cooperate and plead guilty.

“As a valued member of the Mount community, our thoughts are with her during this difficult time,” the college said in a written statement. “We respect her privacy and will not comment further on this matter at this time.”

Russell Glassop, 75, also is charged with illegal voting. He is accused of voting on behalf of his wife, who died before election day.

But it was Richardson’s case, and the possibility of repeated votes, that shocked many. She faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted. Efforts to contact her and her lawyer have been unsuccessful.

The Hamilton County Board of Elections recently held hearings on cases of possible double voting and voter fraud, part of a statewide review ordered by Secretary of State John Husted. He called on all 88 counties to review complaints of fraud, as well as voter disenfranchisement.

“Every voter must play by the rules, and if they don’t they will be held accountable,” Husted, a Republican, said in a written statement. “For voters to have confidence in our elections, we must prosecute every case of voter fraud in Ohio.”

Last month, Husted told Fox News that Richardson’s case was especially troubling, because “it appears she not only attempted to vote more than once, but was actually successful at it and having those additional votes counted.”

“Most attempts are caught by the system. But there are cases that do slip through, as this one does, and we need to make sure that we really send a strong message, that if you do this, you are going to be held accountable,” Husted said. “It might mean fines, it might mean jail time.”

Hamilton County prosecutors are investigating three additional cases of possible voter fraud.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

*VIDEOS* Senators Paul And Rubio Respond To President Obama’s Horrific SOTU Address

.

.

*VIDEOS* Paul McKinley: Republican Congressional Candidate For Illinois’ 2nd District

.

.

*VIDEO* Bad Lip Reading: Obama Inauguration 2013

.

Your Daley Gator Anti-Leftist Picture O’ The Day

.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wins 3rd Term, Exit Polls Show

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wins 3rd Term, Exit Polls Show – New York Daily News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party emerged as the largest faction in a hotly contested parliamentary election on Tuesday, positioning the hard-liner to serve a new term as prime minister, according to exit polls.

But a lackluster performance by Likud, along with surprising gains by a centrist newcomer, raised the strong possibility that he will be forced to form a broad coalition.

The exit polls aired on Israel’s three major TV stations all forecast Likud along with its traditional hardline and religious allies, capturing a shaky majority of just 61 or 62 seats in the 120-member parliament. With official results trickling in throughout the night, it was possible that the two sides could end in deadlock.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Netanyahu said he would reach across the aisle and try to form a broad-based coalition.

“According to the exit polls, it is clear that Israel citizens decided that they want me to continue to serve as prime minister of Israel, and that I form the widest possible majority (coalition),” he said. “Already this evening I will begin working toward the widest possible government.”

Such a scenario would have deep implications for Mideast peace prospects. Netanyahu’s centrist opponents have said they would not join his government if he does not make a serious push for peace with the Palestinians.

Peace talks have been deadlocked throughout Netanyahu’s four-year term.

According to the exit polls, Netanyahu’s Likud-Yisrael Beitenu bloc captured just 31 seats, far below forecasts of recent opinion polls.

The two parties, running separately, had 42 seats in the outgoing house. In the biggest surprise, the centrist “Yesh Atid,” party headed by political newcomer Yair Lapid, captured as many as 19 seats, well above the forecasts. That would position Lapid to become either opposition leader or seek a major Cabinet post if he decides to join Netanyahu’s governing coalition.

Lapid campaigned on a platform calling for an end to the generous subsidies and draft exemptions given to ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities.

He also has said he would not serve as a “fig leaf” for a hard-line government. Lapid would likely seek deep concessions for Netanyahu in exchange for joining the government.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story