ot REPUBLICAN VOTER FRAUD: RNC Chair Ken Mehlman Talks Out Of The Side Of His Neck

Mehlman's Get out of Jail Free Card:

Another Example of the RNC's "Say One Thing, Do Another" Strategy

Washington, DC - Only days after RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman claimed that
his party has a "zero-tolerance" policy against voter fraud,
intimidation, and suppression, it has been reported that the Republican
Party has spent more than $722,000 to defend a former Bush election
official accused of conspiring to keep Democrats from voting. [Boston
Globe, 8/11/05; Letter to the American Center for Voting Rights
Legislative Fund from RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, 8/9/05]

The RNC is paying the legal bills of James Tobin, a former RNC
official, who is charged with four felonies accusing him of conspiring
with a state Republican operative and a Virginia-based consultant to
jam Democratic and labor union get-out-the-vote phone banks in New
Hampshire in November 2002. [AP, 8/11/05]

As a result of the scheme, many voters were unable to receive critical
information and support on Election Day. Tobin's two other associates
have already plead guilty and federal prosecutors have secured
testimony from them directly implicating Tobin. [AP, 8/11/05]

After his role in the 2002 scandal, Tobin was hired by Mehlman to be
the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign chairman for New England.

Howard Dean:

"My counterpart has spent the past month apologizing for the Southern
Strategy, but it seems that the southern strategy is alive and well in
New England.

"Perhaps he should apologize to the voters of New England. This is just
another example of his 'say one thing, do another strategy.'

"Ken Mehlman tells crowds his party is against voter fraud and
intimidation, while in the backrooms he supports Republican officials
who engage in these dirty tricks," said Democratic National Committee
Chairman Howard Dean.

"The RNC is sending a disturbing message that the Republican Party will
do just about anything to win elections.

"You cannot claim to have a 'zero-tolerance' policy on voter
suppression and then pay the legal bills of a top campaign official who
is charged with these very same offenses."

(amen -- GO DEAN)