If they call you a racist for voting for McCain/Palin...

Try the following one-sentence responses.

(1) "I am following Martin Luther King's instructions to focus on the content of a person's character as opposed to the color of his skin."

(2) "If you offer me a sack of week-old garbage, the last thing on my mind is the color of the sack."

Hillary Clinton Says Barack Obama Perpetrated "Systematic Voter Suppression, Intimidation and Harassment"

Even though Hillary Clinton is now campaigning for Barack Obama--perhaps due to pressure from party leaders, or because she wants Obama to help retire her campaign debt--all of her supporters need to know that she accused Obama--that's Obama, not ACORN--of voter suppression, intimidation, and harassment during the Nevada caucuses. The bottom line is that Barack Obama stole the Democratic nomination, and he is not even the party's legitimate nominee.

There is no place in the American electoral process for the types of voter suppression, intimidation and harassment systematically engaged in by the Obama campaign, its allies and supporters.
Sincerely, Lyn Utrecht
Counsel Hillary Clinton for President

Here is the letter from campaign counsel Lyn Utrecht that accuses the Obama campaign of voter suppression, intimidation, and harassment during the Nevada caucuses. This letter is online as of November 2 2008 (backup here). An optical character recognition transcript appears below.

RYAN, PHILLIPS, UTRECHT 5. MACKINNON
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
’ Nonlawyer Partner
1133 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 293-1177 Facsimile (202) 293-3411

January 23, 2008
Jill Derby, Chair Nevada State Democratic Party 1210 South Valley View Road Suite 114 Las Vegas, NV 89102

Dear Chair Derby:
I write on behalf of Hillary Clinton for President (”the Committee”) in regard to the January 19, 2008 Nevada Democ-ratic Caucus. The Committee is aware of a letter addressed to you today from the Obama for America campaign requesting an inquiry into the conduct of the caucuses. The Committee shares the Obama campaign’s concern that full participation in the democratic process may have been compromised by the substantial number of irregularities occurring at the caucuses, and we fully support a complete inquiry by the Nevada State Democratic Party (the ”Party”) into all caucus improprieties.

This letter is not intended as a response to the Obama campaign’s letter. However, in the interest of a complete record, and in contrast to the alleged minor procedural problems noted by the Obama campaign, the Committee wishes to bring to your attention information we have received evidencing a premeditated and predesigned plan by the Obama campaign to engage in systematic corruption of the Party’s caucus procedures. Compounding this blatant distortion of the caucus rules was an egregious effort by the Obama campaign to manipulate the voter registration process in its own favor, thereby disenfranchising countless voters. Finally, the Committee has received a vast number of reliable reports of voter suppression and intimidation by the Obama campaign or its allies.

The Committee had 30 phone lines on Saturday to receive calls in its Las Vegas offices. These lines rang continuously from early morning until well after the caucuses concluded with reports from people who were victimized and who observed irregularities. The phone lines were so over-whelmed that many callers resorted to calling individual Committee staff cell phones to report that they could not get through. The Committee also received many similar calls at its national headquarters.

The Committee is confident that any investigation into the conduct of the caucuses will be thorough, fair and in the interest of insuring that future Party caucuses will be as open and democratic as possible.

Systematic Corruption of the Party’s Caucus Procedures
The Committee received substantially similar reports of improprieties of such a number as to leave no conclusion but that the Obama campaign and its allies and supporters engaged in a planned effort to subvert the Party’s caucus procedures to its advantage. For example:

þ Preference cards were premarked for Obama.

þ Clinton supporters were denied preference cards on the basis that none were left, while Obama supporters at the same caucus sites were given preference cards.

þ Caucus chairs obviously supporting Obama:
o Deliberately miscounted votes to favor Senator Obama.
o Deliberately counted unregistered persons as Obama votes.
o Deliberately counted young children as Obama votes.
o Refused to accept preference cards from Clinton supporters who were at the caucus site by noon on the ground that the cards were not filled out fast enough.
o Told Clinton supporters to leave prior to electing delegates.

þ Clinton supporters who arrived late were turned away from the caucus, while late Obama supporters were admitted to the caucus.

Manipulation of the Voter Registration Process
Numerous reports received by the Committee demonstrate a concerted effort on the part of the Obama campaign and its supporters to prevent eligible voters supporting a candidate other than Senator Obama from caucusing. The Obama supporters complained of were acting in positions of authority at the caucus sites. Some of these reports are as follows:

þ Obama supporters wrongly informed Clinton supporters that they were not allowed to participate in the caucus if their names were not on the voter rolls. However, Obama supporters whose names did not appear on the voter rolls were permitted to register at the caucus site.

þ Obama supporters falsely informed Clinton supporters that no registration forms were available for them to register to vote at the caucus site.

þ Obama supporters wrongly told Clinton supporters who were attempting to caucus at the wrong precinct that they could not caucus at that site, while simultaneously permitting Obama supporters at the wrong precinct to participate.

þ Obama supporters were allowed to move to the front of the registration and sign-in line.

Voter Suppression and Intimidation
The Committee received a substantial number of disturbing reports from voters that they had been subject to harassment, intimidation or efforts to prevent them from voting. Some of the most egregious of these complaints are described below:

þ Voters at at-large caucus sites were informed that those sites were for Obama supporters only.

þ Clinton supporters at at-large caucus sites were told that their managers would be watching them while they caucused.

þ Workers were informed that their supervisors kept lists of Clinton and Obama supporters, and were told that they could not caucus unless their name was on the list of Obama supporters.

þ Many Clinton supporters were threatened with employment termination or other discipline if they caucused for Senator Clinton.

þ Workers were required to sign a pledge card to support Obama if they wanted time off to participate in the caucus.
þ Workers at one casino were offered a lavish lunch and permitted to attend and register to vote only if they agree to support Obama.

The complaints summarized above represent only a small sample of the complaints received by the Committee. With respect to each of these complaints and many more, the Committee has the names and phone numbers of those reporting these incidents and the specific precinct numbers where the incidents occurred. Upon request the Committee will share these with the Party with appropriate safeguards to protect these individuals from reprisal. On the whole, these reports show a troubling effort by the Obama campaign and its allies and supporters to advance their own campaign at the expense of the right of all Nevada Democrats to participate in the democratic process in a free, fair and open manner.

Senator Clinton and the Committee are wholly committed to ensuring that every eligible voter has his or her vote cast and counted. There is no place in the American electoral process for the types of voter suppression, intimidation and harassment systematically engaged in by the Obama campaign, its allies and supporters.
Sincerely,


Lyn Utrecht Counsel Hillary Clinton for President

EXPLOSIVE: Hillary Clinton Accuses Obama of Voter Suppression and Intimidation

by Bill Levinson
COPY AND CIRCULATE THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN'S LETTER TO STOP OBAMA

On October 17, Barack Obama's campaign counsel, Robert Baeur, sent the U.S. Justice Department a letter that accused "Justice Department and White House officials in supporting the McCain-Palin campaign and the Republican National Committee (”RNC”)’s systematic development and dissemination of unsupported, spurious allegations of vote fraud." First, it is not merely an allegation, but a fact (as shown by guilty pleas) that ACORN registered voters ranging from a seven year old girl to notables such as Mickey Mouse, Dick Tracy, Jive Turkey, and Mary Poppins. The Obama campaign argues that this proven voter registration fraud is not the same thing as actual vote fraud. We find this reasoning ludicrous, and an insult to the intelligence of the American people. Once ACORN creates a nonexistent voter, it is easy to envision how someone might show up under that identity on Election Day--maybe not as Mickey Mouse, but perhaps as "Richard Tracy" or hundreds of thousands of even more realistic names.

The Obama campaign's far bigger problem is, however, that Hillary Clinton has joined the "Justice Department and (Republican) White House officials, the McCain/Palin campaign, and the RNC" in accusing not merely ACORN but the Obama campaign itself of Tammany Hall-style election tactics: "voter suppression, intimidation, and harassment systematically engaged in by the Obama campaign, its allies and supporters." Senator Clinton is at least nominally supporting Obama today, but she left Obama the electoral equivalent of a ticking time bomb in January: a letter from campaign counsel Lyn Utrecht that accuses the Obama campaign of voter suppression, intimidation, and harassment during the Nevada caucuses. The letter is online as of October 27 2008 (backup here). Now comes the October surprise that will bring Obama crashing down; it is time for PUMAs, Republicans, Joe the Plumbers, and all other patriotic Americans to circulate the following optical character recognition transcript as widely as possible. (We also sent it to McCain/Palin, but we cannot count on that campaign's bureaucracy to act on it with a nationally televised advertisement.)

RYAN, PHILLIPS, UTRECHT 5. MACKINNON
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
’ Nonlawyer Partner
1133 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 293-1177 Facsimile (202) 293-3411

January 23, 2008
Jill Derby, Chair Nevada State Democratic Party 1210 South Valley View Road Suite 114 Las Vegas, NV 89102

Dear Chair Derby:
I write on behalf of Hillary Clinton for President (”the Committee”) in regard to the January 19, 2008 Nevada Democ-ratic Caucus. The Committee is aware of a letter addressed to you today from the Obama for America campaign requesting an inquiry into the conduct of the caucuses. The Committee shares the Obama campaign’s concern that full participation in the democratic process may have been compromised by the substantial number of irregularities occurring at the caucuses, and we fully support a complete inquiry by the Nevada State Democratic Party (the ”Party”) into all caucus improprieties.

This letter is not intended as a response to the Obama campaign’s letter. However, in the interest of a complete record, and in contrast to the alleged minor procedural problems noted by the Obama campaign, the Committee wishes to bring to your attention information we have received evidencing a premeditated and predesigned plan by the Obama campaign to engage in systematic corruption of the Party’s caucus procedures. Compounding this blatant distortion of the caucus rules was an egregious effort by the Obama campaign to manipulate the voter registration process in its own favor, thereby disenfranchising countless voters. Finally, the Committee has received a vast number of reliable reports of voter suppression and intimidation by the Obama campaign or its allies.

The Committee had 30 phone lines on Saturday to receive calls in its Las Vegas offices. These lines rang continuously from early morning until well after the caucuses concluded with reports from people who were victimized and who observed irregularities. The phone lines were so over-whelmed that many callers resorted to calling individual Committee staff cell phones to report that they could not get through. The Committee also received many similar calls at its national headquarters.

The Committee is confident that any investigation into the conduct of the caucuses will be thorough, fair and in the interest of insuring that future Party caucuses will be as open and democratic as possible.

Systematic Corruption of the Party’s Caucus Procedures
The Committee received substantially similar reports of improprieties of such a number as to leave no conclusion but that the Obama campaign and its allies and supporters engaged in a planned effort to subvert the Party’s caucus procedures to its advantage. For example:

þ Preference cards were premarked for Obama.

þ Clinton supporters were denied preference cards on the basis that none were left, while Obama supporters at the same caucus sites were given preference cards.

þ Caucus chairs obviously supporting Obama:
o Deliberately miscounted votes to favor Senator Obama.
o Deliberately counted unregistered persons as Obama votes.
o Deliberately counted young children as Obama votes.
o Refused to accept preference cards from Clinton supporters who were at the caucus site by noon on the ground that the cards were not filled out fast enough.
o Told Clinton supporters to leave prior to electing delegates.

þ Clinton supporters who arrived late were turned away from the caucus, while late Obama supporters were admitted to the caucus.

Manipulation of the Voter Registration Process
Numerous reports received by the Committee demonstrate a concerted effort on the part of the Obama campaign and its supporters to prevent eligible voters supporting a candidate other than Senator Obama from caucusing. The Obama supporters complained of were acting in positions of authority at the caucus sites. Some of these reports are as follows:

þ Obama supporters wrongly informed Clinton supporters that they were not allowed to participate in the caucus if their names were not on the voter rolls. However, Obama supporters whose names did not appear on the voter rolls were permitted to register at the caucus site.

þ Obama supporters falsely informed Clinton supporters that no registration forms were available for them to register to vote at the caucus site.

þ Obama supporters wrongly told Clinton supporters who were attempting to caucus at the wrong precinct that they could not caucus at that site, while simultaneously permitting Obama supporters at the wrong precinct to participate.

þ Obama supporters were allowed to move to the front of the registration and sign-in line.

Voter Suppression and Intimidation
The Committee received a substantial number of disturbing reports from voters that they had been subject to harassment, intimidation or efforts to prevent them from voting. Some of the most egregious of these complaints are described below:

þ Voters at at-large caucus sites were informed that those sites were for Obama supporters only.

þ Clinton supporters at at-large caucus sites were told that their managers would be watching them while they caucused.

þ Workers were informed that their supervisors kept lists of Clinton and Obama supporters, and were told that they could not caucus unless their name was on the list of Obama supporters.

þ Many Clinton supporters were threatened with employment termination or other discipline if they caucused for Senator Clinton.

þ Workers were required to sign a pledge card to support Obama if they wanted time off to participate in the caucus.
þ Workers at one casino were offered a lavish lunch and permitted to attend and register to vote only if they agree to support Obama.

The complaints summarized above represent only a small sample of the complaints received by the Committee. With respect to each of these complaints and many more, the Committee has the names and phone numbers of those reporting these incidents and the specific precinct numbers where the incidents occurred. Upon request the Committee will share these with the Party with appropriate safeguards to protect these individuals from reprisal. On the whole, these reports show a troubling effort by the Obama campaign and its allies and supporters to advance their own campaign at the expense of the right of all Nevada Democrats to participate in the democratic process in a free, fair and open manner.

Senator Clinton and the Committee are wholly committed to ensuring that every eligible voter has his or her vote cast and counted. There is no place in the American electoral process for the types of voter suppression, intimidation and harassment systematically engaged in by the Obama campaign, its allies and supporters.
Sincerely,
/v
Lyn Utrecht Counsel Hillary Clinton for President

Clinton Campaign's Allegations of Obama Election Misconduct Sent to Department of Justice

On October 17, Barack Obama's campaign counsel, Robert Baeur, sent the U.S. Justice Department a letter that says in part re: "Bogus Claims of Vote Fraud and the McCain-Palin Campaign's Attempts to Involve U.S. Attorneys and the Department of Justice."

I request that Special Prosecutor Dannehy’s inquiry include a review of any involvement by Justice Department and White House officials in supporting the McCain-Palin campaign and the Republican National Committee (”RNC”)’s systematic development and dissemination of unsupported, spurious allegations of vote fraud.

We sent the following in response by certified mail with electronic tracking. The one to Special Prosecutor Nora R. Dannehy was delivered as of October 23, and the one to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey is still enroute. It includes a printout of a letter from Hillary Clinton's campaign counsel, Lyn Utrecht, that concludes,

There is no place in the American electoral process for the types of voter suppression, intimidation, and harassment systematically engaged in by the Obama campaign, its allies and supporters.

Perhaps this is something Barry should have thought about before asking the Department of Justice to investigate McCain/Palin and "White House officials" for "systematic development and dissemination of unsupported, spurious allegations of vote fraud." The allegations in the Clinton campaign's letter seem to have quite a bit of support, and we think that the Justice Department needs to know about them if it does honor Obama's wishes for an inquiry.

From: (Name, address, telephone, and E-mail given)

To: The Honorable Michael B. Mukasey
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-001

To: Special Prosecutor Nora R. Dannehy
Acting United States Attorney
District of Connecticut Office of the US Attorney
450 Main Street, Room 328
Hartford, CT 06103

cc: John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118
Arlington, VA 22215
[and subsequently sent by fax]

19 October 2008

Subject: Clinton Campaign's Allegations of Voter Intimidation by the Obama Campaign

The following letter was included in its entirety (the original .pdf copy from http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2008/images/01/23/nv.state.letter.1.23.08.pdf, not the following optical character recognition transcription).

RYAN, PHILLIPS, UTRECHT 5. MACKINNON
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
’ Nonlawyer Partner
1133 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 293-1177 Facsimile (202) 293-3411

January 23, 2008
Jill Derby, Chair Nevada State Democratic Party 1210 South Valley View Road Suite 114 Las Vegas, NV 89102

Dear Chair Derby:
I write on behalf of Hillary Clinton for President (”the Committee”) in regard to the January 19, 2008 Nevada Democ-ratic Caucus. The Committee is aware of a letter addressed to you today from the Obama for America campaign requesting an inquiry into the conduct of the caucuses. The Committee shares the Obama campaign’s concern that full participation in the democratic process may have been compromised by the substantial number of irregularities occurring at the caucuses, and we fully support a complete inquiry by the Nevada State Democratic Party (the ”Party”) into all caucus improprieties.

This letter is not intended as a response to the Obama campaign’s letter. However, in the interest of a complete record, and in contrast to the alleged minor procedural problems noted by the Obama campaign, the Committee wishes to bring to your attention information we have received evidencing a premeditated and predesigned plan by the Obama campaign to engage in systematic corruption of the Party’s caucus procedures. Compounding this blatant distortion of the caucus rules was an egregious effort by the Obama campaign to manipulate the voter registration process in its own favor, thereby disenfranchising countless voters. Finally, the Committee has received a vast number of reliable reports of voter suppression and intimidation by the Obama campaign or its allies.

The Committee had 30 phone lines on Saturday to receive calls in its Las Vegas offices. These lines rang continuously from early morning until well after the caucuses concluded with reports from people who were victimized and who observed irregularities. The phone lines were so over-whelmed that many callers resorted to calling individual Committee staff cell phones to report that they could not get through. The Committee also received many similar calls at its national headquarters.

The Committee is confident that any investigation into the conduct of the caucuses will be thorough, fair and in the interest of insuring that future Party caucuses will be as open and democratic as possible.

Systematic Corruption of the Party’s Caucus Procedures
The Committee received substantially similar reports of improprieties of such a number as to leave no conclusion but that the Obama campaign and its allies and supporters engaged in a planned effort to subvert the Party’s caucus procedures to its advantage. For example:

þ Preference cards were premarked for Obama.

þ Clinton supporters were denied preference cards on the basis that none were left, while Obama supporters at the same caucus sites were given preference cards.

þ Caucus chairs obviously supporting Obama:
o Deliberately miscounted votes to favor Senator Obama.
o Deliberately counted unregistered persons as Obama votes.
o Deliberately counted young children as Obama votes.
o Refused to accept preference cards from Clinton supporters who were at the caucus site by noon on the ground that the cards were not filled out fast enough.
o Told Clinton supporters to leave prior to electing delegates.

þ Clinton supporters who arrived late were turned away from the caucus, while late Obama supporters were admitted to the caucus.

Manipulation of the Voter Registration Process
Numerous reports received by the Committee demonstrate a concerted effort on the part of the Obama campaign and its supporters to prevent eligible voters supporting a candidate other than Senator Obama from caucusing. The Obama supporters complained of were acting in positions of authority at the caucus sites. Some of these reports are as follows:

þ Obama supporters wrongly informed Clinton supporters that they were not allowed to participate in the caucus if their names were not on the voter rolls. However, Obama supporters whose names did not appear on the voter rolls were permitted to register at the caucus site.

þ Obama supporters falsely informed Clinton supporters that no registration forms were available for them to register to vote at the caucus site.

þ Obama supporters wrongly told Clinton supporters who were attempting to caucus at the wrong precinct that they could not caucus at that site, while simultaneously permitting Obama supporters at the wrong precinct to participate.

þ Obama supporters were allowed to move to the front of the registration and sign-in line.

Voter Suppression and Intimidation
The Committee received a substantial number of disturbing reports from voters that they had been subject to harassment, intimidation or efforts to prevent them from voting. Some of the most egregious of these complaints are described below:

þ Voters at at-large caucus sites were informed that those sites were for Obama supporters only.

þ Clinton supporters at at-large caucus sites were told that their managers would be watching them while they caucused.

þ Workers were informed that their supervisors kept lists of Clinton and Obama supporters, and were told that they could not caucus unless their name was on the list of Obama supporters.

þ Many Clinton supporters were threatened with employment termination or other discipline if they caucused for Senator Clinton.

þ Workers were required to sign a pledge card to support Obama if they wanted time off to participate in the caucus.
þ Workers at one casino were offered a lavish lunch and permitted to attend and register to vote only if they agree to support Obama.

The complaints summarized above represent only a small sample of the complaints received by the Committee. With respect to each of these complaints and many more, the Committee has the names and phone numbers of those reporting these incidents and the specific precinct numbers where the incidents occurred. Upon request the Committee will share these with the Party with appropriate safeguards to protect these individuals from reprisal. On the whole, these reports show a troubling effort by the Obama campaign and its allies and supporters to advance their own campaign at the expense of the right of all Nevada Democrats to participate in the democratic process in a free, fair and open manner.

Senator Clinton and the Committee are wholly committed to ensuring that every eligible voter has his or her vote cast and counted. There is no place in the American electoral process for the types of voter suppression, intimidation and harassment systematically engaged in by the Obama campaign, its allies and supporters.
Sincerely,
/v

October Surprise: Clinton Campaign Drops a Dime on Barack Obama

Clinton campaign alleges "voter suppression, intimidation and harassment systematically engaged in by the Obama campaign." It's not just about ACORN any more.

When Hillary Clinton conceded the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama--possibly under duress from Obama's cohorts and party leaders--she was probably supposed to have removed from the Internet all damning statements that she and her campaign had made about Barack Obama. Unfortunately for Barry, a letter from her campaign counsel, which is still online at http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2008/images/01/23/nv.state.letter.1.23.08.pdf, is about to become the dreaded October Surprise. (A backup copy is now at http://www.stentorian.com/Obama/clinton_complaint.pdf). This extremely damning letter not only reinforces what is being said about ACORN, but extends allegations of election irregularities to Barack Obama's own campaign.

There is no place in the American electoral process for the types of voter suppression, intimidation, and harassment systematically engaged in by the Obama campaign, its allies and supporters.

RYAN, PHILLIPS, UTRECHT 5. MACKINNON
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
’ Nonlawyer Partner
1133 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 293-1177 Facsimile (202) 293-3411

January 23, 2008
Jill Derby, Chair Nevada State Democratic Party 1210 South Valley View Road Suite 114 Las Vegas, NV 89102

Dear Chair Derby:
I write on behalf of Hillary Clinton for President (”the Committee”) in regard to the January 19, 2008 Nevada Democ-ratic Caucus. The Committee is aware of a letter addressed to you today from the Obama for America campaign requesting an inquiry into the conduct of the caucuses. The Committee shares the Obama campaign’s concern that full participation in the democratic process may have been compromised by the substantial number of irregularities occurring at the caucuses, and we fully support a complete inquiry by the Nevada State Democratic Party (the ”Party”) into all caucus improprieties.

This letter is not intended as a response to the Obama campaign’s letter. However, in the interest of a complete record, and in contrast to the alleged minor procedural problems noted by the Obama campaign, the Committee wishes to bring to your attention information we have received evidencing a premeditated and predesigned plan by the Obama campaign to engage in systematic corruption of the Party’s caucus procedures. Compounding this blatant distortion of the caucus rules was an egregious effort by the Obama campaign to manipulate the voter registration process in its own favor, thereby disenfranchising countless voters. Finally, the Committee has received a vast number of reliable reports of voter suppression and intimidation by the Obama campaign or its allies.

The Committee had 30 phone lines on Saturday to receive calls in its Las Vegas offices. These lines rang continuously from early morning until well after the caucuses concluded with reports from people who were victimized and who observed irregularities. The phone lines were so over-whelmed that many callers resorted to calling individual Committee staff cell phones to report that they could not get through. The Committee also received many similar calls at its national headquarters.

The Committee is confident that any investigation into the conduct of the caucuses will be thorough, fair and in the interest of insuring that future Party caucuses will be as open and democratic as possible.

Systematic Corruption of the Party’s Caucus Procedures
The Committee received substantially similar reports of improprieties of such a number as to leave no conclusion but that the Obama campaign and its allies and supporters engaged in a planned effort to subvert the Party’s caucus procedures to its advantage. For example:

þ Preference cards were premarked for Obama.

þ Clinton supporters were denied preference cards on the basis that none were left, while Obama supporters at the same caucus sites were given preference cards.

þ Caucus chairs obviously supporting Obama:
o Deliberately miscounted votes to favor Senator Obama.
o Deliberately counted unregistered persons as Obama votes.
o Deliberately counted young children as Obama votes.
o Refused to accept preference cards from Clinton supporters who were at the caucus site by noon on the ground that the cards were not filled out fast enough.
o Told Clinton supporters to leave prior to electing delegates.

þ Clinton supporters who arrived late were turned away from the caucus, while late Obama supporters were admitted to the caucus.

Manipulation of the Voter Registration Process
Numerous reports received by the Committee demonstrate a concerted effort on the part of the Obama campaign and its supporters to prevent eligible voters supporting a candidate other than Senator Obama from caucusing. The Obama supporters complained of were acting in positions of authority at the caucus sites. Some of these reports are as follows:

þ Obama supporters wrongly informed Clinton supporters that they were not allowed to participate in the caucus if their names were not on the voter rolls. However, Obama supporters whose names did not appear on the voter rolls were permitted to register at the caucus site.

þ Obama supporters falsely informed Clinton supporters that no registration forms were available for them to register to vote at the caucus site.

þ Obama supporters wrongly told Clinton supporters who were attempting to caucus at the wrong precinct that they could not caucus at that site, while simultaneously permitting Obama supporters at the wrong precinct to participate.

þ Obama supporters were allowed to move to the front of the registration and sign-in line.

Voter Suppression and Intimidation
The Committee received a substantial number of disturbing reports from voters that they had been subject to harassment, intimidation or efforts to prevent them from voting. Some of the most egregious of these complaints are described below:

þ Voters at at-large caucus sites were informed that those sites were for Obama supporters only.

þ Clinton supporters at at-large caucus sites were told that their managers would be watching them while they caucused.

þ Workers were informed that their supervisors kept lists of Clinton and Obama supporters, and were told that they could not caucus unless their name was on the list of Obama supporters.

þ Many Clinton supporters were threatened with employment termination or other discipline if they caucused for Senator Clinton.

þ Workers were required to sign a pledge card to support Obama if they wanted time off to participate in the caucus.
þ Workers at one casino were offered a lavish lunch and permitted to attend and register to vote only if they agree to support Obama.

The complaints summarized above represent only a small sample of the complaints received by the Committee. With respect to each of these complaints and many more, the Committee has the names and phone numbers of those reporting these incidents and the specific precinct numbers where the incidents occurred. Upon request the Committee will share these with the Party with appropriate safeguards to protect these individuals from reprisal. On the whole, these reports show a troubling effort by the Obama campaign and its allies and supporters to advance their own campaign at the expense of the right of all Nevada Democrats to participate in the democratic process in a free, fair and open manner.

Senator Clinton and the Committee are wholly committed to ensuring that every eligible voter has his or her vote cast and counted. There is no place in the American electoral process for the types of voter suppression, intimidation and harassment systematically engaged in by the Obama campaign, its allies and supporters.
Sincerely,
/v
Lyn Utrecht Counsel Hillary Clinton for President

ACORN: Obama Worked With Us

Obama spoke of his history with ACORN

It is significant that we got a "page load error" for the original but, thanks to Google's cache, we can post the page's content.

ACORN’s Political Action Committee Endorses Obama

On Wed., Feb. 20, ACORN Votes endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. ACORN Votes is the national political action committee convened by ACORN leadership.

The endorsement followed an extensive process of interviewing each of the major Democratic candidates.

“We have worked with all the leading candidates in the past,” said Maude Hurd, ACORN National President. “ACORN’s members have deep appreciation and respect for Senators Clinton and Edwards and their work on behalf of our communities. What it came down to was that Senator Obama is the candidate who best understands and can effect change on the issues ACORN cares about like stopping foreclosures, enacting fair and comprehensive immigration reform, and building stronger and safer communities across America.”

When Sen. Obama met with ACORN Votes leaders in November, he spoke of his history with ACORN and his beginnings in Illinois as an organizer with Project Vote, a nonprofit organization focused on voter rights and education.

“I come out of a grassroots organizing background,” Obama told members. “That's what I did for three and half years before I went to law school. The reason I moved to Chicago was to organize. So this is something that I know personally, the work you do and the importance of it.”

Obama continued to work with ACORN after he was elected to state office in Illinois and then to the U.S. Senate.

Alicia Russell of Arizona, ACORN’s western regional representative, said Obama relates to the issues facing low- and moderate-income people. “I think he will commit himself to providing us the necessary path for low-income and moderate-income families to improve their lives,” Russell said. “He’s on the same level as we are, and sees our issues as we do.”

Texas ACORN Joins Obama to Fight Foreclosures

Texas ACORN members Teresa and Edward Molina and Rebecca DeZavala, all victims of the subprime crisis, and Texas ACORN Policy Director Michelle McClelen participated in an economic roundtable in San Antonio on Tues., Feb. 19, with Sen. Barack Obama to discuss predatory lending and the foreclosure crisis.

ACORN members told their personal stories with subprime mortgages and discussed the larger impact of foreclosures on San Antonio and Texas. Obama credited ACORN for the organization’s work on housing counseling and spoke of the importance of organizing to get people involved in pushing for legislation to regulate the lending industry.

Obama highlighted his work on the bankruptcy bill and his proposal for a homeowner bailout fund and funds for housing counseling.

"Texas ACORN applauds Senator Obama’s co-sponsorship of S. 2452, the Home Ownership Preservation and Protection Act, which will crack down on abusive lenders and brokers that profit from exploiting vulnerable borrowers,” said Toni McElroy, president of Texas ACORN. “Had such basic protections, including a requirement that mortgage brokers act in the best interests of the borrower, been in place for the last five years, many of the foreclosures that we are seeing today would never have come to pass."

HELP Line Takes in More Than 1,000 Calls in First Week

One week after announcing an agreement with Countrywide which could save thousands of homeowners from foreclosure, ACORN has received more than 1,000 calls from homeowners seeking assistance.

If you are a Countrywide customer facing difficulties making your mortgage payments, or if you anticipate difficulty in the future, call ACORN at 866-67-ACORN or go to http://acorn.org/savemyhome, or call Countrywide’s Home Retention Division at 800-669-6650.

The best practices agreement between ACORN and Countrywide provides a variety of approaches to helping homeowners stay in their houses, to be determined on a case by case basis.

Obama: "I've been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career"

Contradicts Fight the Smears' claim, "Barack Obama never organized with ACORN"

Obama's two-faced statements on his involvement with ACORN reminds us of a scene in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" in which Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, must perform an execution to avoid the abolition of his office. The Mikado's incognito son, Nanki-Poo, volunteers to be "executed" to avoid an unwanted marriage, and goes into hiding afterward. The official Poo-Bah is initially quite pleased with his role in the purported execution.

Mikado: And this is the certificate of his death. "At Titipu, in the presence of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice, Attorney-General, Secretary of State for the Home Department, Lord Mayor, and Groom of the Second Floor Front----"
Pooh-Bah: They were all present, your Majesty. I counted them myself. [Pooh-Bah holds all the named offices.]

Then, however, the Mikado discovers that the executee was in fact his long-lost son.

Mikado: I forget the punishment for compassing the death of the Heir Apparent. ...Something lingering, with boiling oil in it, I fancy. ...I know it's something humorous, but lingering, with either boiling oil or melted lead. Come, come, don't fret--I'm not a bit angry.
Pooh-Bah: I wasn't there.

Like Pooh-Bah, Barack Obama was quite proud of his deep involvement and close association with ACORN.

Meanwhile, Obama was right there by ACORN's side all along.

"I've been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career," he told the group last November.

Indeed, in the early '90s, Obama was recruited by Talbott herself to run training sessions for ACORN activists.

Now that ACORN is up to its neck in indictments and actual guilty pleas for voter registration fraud, however, Barry tells a very different story.

Barack Obama Never Organized with ACORN

Discredited Republican voter-suppression guru Ken Blackwell is attacking Barack Obama with naked lies about his supposed connection to ACORN.

• Fact: Barack was never an ACORN community organizer.
• Fact: ACORN never hired Obama as a trainer, organizer, or any type of employee.
• Fact: ACORN was not part of Project Vote, the successful voter registration drive Barack ran in 1992.

Just like Pooh-Bah, Barry now wants us to believe "I wasn't there." Note also the doublespeak in his efforts to distance himself from ACORN. It is admittedly true that ACORN never hired Barry as a trainer; he trained its personnel for free. Let's go back to see how the Emperor of Japan reacts to Poo-Bah's excuse.

Mikado: That's the pathetic part of it. Unfortunately, the fool of an Act says "compassing the death of the Heir Apparent." There's not a word about a mistake... Or not knowing... Or having no notion... or not being there. There should be, of course, but there isn't. That's the slovenly way in which these Acts are always drawn. However, cheer up, it'll be all right. I'll have it altered next session. Now, let's see about your execution--will after luncheon suit you? Can you wait till then?

Now Barry, let's see about your landslide defeat--will November 4 suit you? Can you wait till then?