The essentially undemocratic intent of affirmative action/diversity supporters is on full display in Nebraska.
“The key to defeating the initiative is to keep it off the ballot in the first place. That’s the only way we’re going to win,” said Donna Stern, Midwest director for the Detroit-based By Any Means Necessary.
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Ward Connerly has proved himself the political equivalent of Superman over the past decade, flying through states and passing constitutional amendments that ban most forms of affirmative action.
Now, as the California businessman tries to pass such a ban in Nebraska, it appears that his opponents may have found something resembling kryptonite.
Defenders of current affirmative action policies are trying to disrupt Connerly’s group at the outset at it tries to collect enough petition signatures to place the issue on the November ballot.
Affirmative action dispute The Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative seeks to ban public agencies, including the University of Nebraska and state and local governments, from considering race, ethnicity or gender when hiring, selecting contractors or enrolling students. Such policies are commonly known as affirmative action.
Proponents say current state law encourages reverse discrimination against whites. The state and country have reached a point, they say, where minorities and women should be judged solely on merit and no longer need the assistance of affirmative action programs.
Opponents say the amendment would harm NU’s efforts to recruit minority students. Affirmative action programs are necessary, they say, to combat deep-seated biases and historical inequality faced by racial and ethnic minorities and women.
They send “blockers” who videotape petition circulators, document any alleged wrongdoing and discourage people from signing the petitions.
They accuse Connerly’s group of deception and publicize cases in which minorities have signed the petition believing it would strengthen, not erode, affirmative action.
They employ aggressive legal strategies, challenge petition signatures and force the issue into court.
The new game plan is simple, says a leader of one national group that opposes Connerly.
“The key to defeating the initiative is to keep it off the ballot in the first place. That’s the only way we’re going to win,” said Donna Stern, Midwest director for the Detroit-based By Any Means Necessary.
The full article basically tells the tale of attempts by the Left to intimidate petition gatherers and petition signers. The name of the out-of-state agitators, “By Any Means Necessary“, pretty much says it all. As is usual with the Left, when it can’t manage to get its way legislatively or by referendum, it’s only too happy to block the intent of voters in the courts, or stop voters from even getting an opportunity to state their opinion. After all, the Left knows what’s good for us, and we should just shut up and sit down.
It’s the two step doo-wop.
1) Do you best to block the vote.
2) If the vote happens anyway, do your best have a judge cancel it out.
Lest you think this is just the democratic process in action, and everybody has to play by the rules, exactly what would the Left have to say if this level of video-taped scrutiny was placed on every entrant into the voting booths in contested elections, in areas known to harbor voter fraud, illegal voters, etc.? What if we had private citizens with video cameras taping the entrance of each polling place, snapping photos, etc.? That wouldn’t bother honest citizens… but would tend to discourage illegal or fraudulent voting.
But you know the Left would cry “foul”, whine about discouraging voting, etc. Yet that is exactly the tactic they’re using in Nebraska.
We wouldn’t want the voters to have a chance to actually state their opinion.
UPDATE: They’re doing it in Arizona, too.
It’s time for these people to explore their fear of voting.
July 2nd, 2008 1:38 am
This is shameful. The new spin the left has on these thug tactics is that these blockers are really “voter educators”. Unfortunely they really don’t educate. I saw a lady today sitting in a car eating and only got out when she saw a petitioner at the DMV. When the petitioner was getting signatures she was passing out a flyer and saying “don’t sign this! It will stop domestic violence programs and hurt the disabled.” (this is false info and I find it interesting that a petitioner is held to a standard of truth, imtim but a “voter educator” can say anything.” They even show their true colors….when the petitioner left….they did to. Voter educator???? Naaa just a blocker. There were still plenty of people to educate….but they are really just there to scare and lie to the public.