Late last week I had the “pleasure” of appearing on Tavis Smiley’s public radio show, along with GOP “voter fraud” zealot and propagandist Hans von Spakovsky, about whom we’ve written quite a bit here over the years. The show was pre-taped last Thursday, ran over the weekend, and will continue to be available at Smiley’s website throughout the week.
The audio discussion, which became rather heated at times, is posted at the end of this article.
In his introduction, Smiley credits von Spakovsky as being “from the Heritage Foundation.” But in addition to being funded by those unapologetic Republicanists, it goes unnoted that vS, a former chair of the FEC, recess-appointed by Bush, then blocked by the Democrats in the Senate when his appointment came up again, was formerly embedded in the Bush DoJ’s wholly-politicized Civil Rights Division voting section.
At the DoJ, he helped to deconstruct the beloved Voting Rights Act of 1965 by, among other things, pushing through polling place Photo ID restrictions in places such as Georgia, against the advice of just about every career employee in the division. (The law was later found to be an “unconstitutional day poll tax” by the courts, but ultimately allowed by a higher court, and still under challenge by Democrats in the state.) He was also instrumental in bringing phony “voter fraud” charges, such as those against ACORN workers in Missouri, filed just days before the razor-thin 2006 Senate election, in violation of the DoJ’s own written rules against bringing such indictments just prior to elections where they are likely to affect the race.
Perhaps even more noteworthy, but unmentioned by Smiley, is that even with all of that, the disgraced von Spakovsky has been secretly hired, at tax-payer expense, as a consultant for Bush’s similarly compromised, and now ironically-named, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, to help monitor the job that the DoJ will (or won’t) be doing to monitor the 2008 general election.
In any case, vS remains an unapologetic democracy hater, hell-bent on keeping Democratic-leaning voters away from the polls and, as you’ll note during the interview, a liar.
Normally, however, he’s not faced with anybody who can actually call him on his bullshit. That wasn’t the case this time, as I was there, and was able to do exactly that…
Just one of the lies he was called on during the interview was his claim that a recent Michigan Messenger article, detailing the Macomb County, MI, GOP party chair’s claim that they plan to use home foreclosure lists to challenge voters at the polls, was retracted by the paper.
“Michigan Messenger, who made that claim, has now issued a retraction,” and said that “apparently they got the story wrong,” von Spakovsky baldly prevaricated during the show.
Fortunately, both I and Barbara Arnwine of the National Lawyers Committee (sponsors of the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline), were there to call him on that lie. That usually doesn’t happen on public radio.
For the record, the story was most definitely not retracted. And just to make certain I hadn’t missed something, I checked yesterday with Michigan Messenger’s national editor Jefferson Morley who confirmed via email: “No, we did not retract anything in the article. We stand by the reporting in the published story 100 percent.”
vS goes on to try and offer more BS, and the 25-minute conversation continues to get more and more heated as it moves forward, particularly in the second segment. Enjoy…
Tavis Smiley Show, recorded 10/2/08, featuring Brad Friedman, Hans von Spakovsky & Barbara Arnwine. (Appx 26 mins) MP3 Download. Or listen online here…
The BRAD BLOG on the Air 10/7/2008AUDIO: Head-to-Head with the GOP’s Hans Von Spakovsky, Vote-Suppressor, Liar | Brad Takes on the Unapologetic Democracy-Hater on Tavis Smiley's Radio Show | PLUS: Taking on John Fund, Another GOP 'Voter Fraud' Scammer, on the Radio, the Following Day... · · · · · AUDIO: Head-to-Head with the GOP’s Hans Von Spakovsky, Vote-Suppressor, Liar | Brad Takes on the Unapologetic Democracy-Hater on Tavis Smiley's Radio Show | PLUS: Taking on John Fund, Another GOP 'Voter Fraud' Scammer, on the Radio, the Following Day...0:00 0:00
P.S…. The BRAD BLOG’s tireless comment hostess, “Agent 99” even approved of my appearance with vS, for a change, noting at her own blog: “Brad Friedman blew him off the airwaves. It was beautiful! I stood up and cheered and ran around my living room pumping my fist!”
P.P.S….On Friday, by the way, the day after my recorded appearance with vS, I took on yet another unapologetic GOP “voter fraud” scammer/liar — the Wall Street Journal’s John Fund — on the radio. I’ll try to write a bit more about that later, but if you’d like to listen to that aborted adventure (he hung up after the first commercial break, also apparently unused to facing anybody able to call him on his bullshit, and too cowardly to stick around to continue to try and make his phony case), from last week’s Peter B. Collins Show, it follows below…
Peter B. Collins Show, broadcast live 10/3/08, featuring Brad Friedman & John Fund. (Appx 40 mins, Fund hangs up after about 15) MP3 Download. Or listen online here…
The BRAD BLOG on the Air 10/7/2008AUDIO: Head-to-Head with the GOP’s Hans Von Spakovsky, Vote-Suppressor, Liar | Brad Takes on the Unapologetic Democracy-Hater on Tavis Smiley's Radio Show | PLUS: Taking on John Fund, Another GOP 'Voter Fraud' Scammer, on the Radio, the Following Day... · · · · · AUDIO: Head-to-Head with the GOP’s Hans Von Spakovsky, Vote-Suppressor, Liar | Brad Takes on the Unapologetic Democracy-Hater on Tavis Smiley's Radio Show | PLUS: Taking on John Fund, Another GOP 'Voter Fraud' Scammer, on the Radio, the Following Day...0:00 0:00
It was a great interview. I was pleased that he wasn’t able to twist everything around–you were able to put him in his place.
A particularly disgusting piece of disinformation that they push a lot is the idea that it would require a huge bunch of people working in coordination and in secret to change the outcome of elections. In fact, it just requires anyone who knows practically anything about the machines, and access to them, so their whole army of technicians–each of them is a potential isolated cell of “change”, able to bias outcome on the machines they work on.
Another thing that makes steam come out of my ears, is the idea that anyone who raises the idea of _election_ fraud is automatically targeting the poor and patriotic election workers as being to blame, either wittingly or unwittingly. That’s hardly the case.
An off-topic observation. There’s a fabulous interview with Stephen Spoonamore over on VelvetRevolution (can’t comment over there…Damn!)
There’s just one problem with it. Spoonamore makes the case that the best case for fraud is from Ohio in 2004, in the “Connelly Anomaly”, but I believe that vote switching incident took place with cards, where they were counted using the wrong templates. I’m sure I read that somewhere written by Bob Fitrakis. ???? Anyone else see this as a problem? he should at least be saying it’s not election machine fraud, or someone could do a Dan Rather job on him…seems to me.
Well, you realize, of course, the real headline, here, should be:
Your headlines are so soporific, so ordinary, so, well, dull. 😛
Spakovsky tries an old trick, lying and hoping he either doesn’t called on it or that if he does, he muddies the waters. Fund is just crazy. He gets really, really defensive from the get-go. His supposed confused about von Spakovsky is just childish. How many “von Spakovskys” are there in voter fraud stories?
Thank you Brad! Way to smack the fascists down. Keep up the great work!
Brad, your best line to Von Spakovsky: “A fish rots from the head down.”
I bet that ferments in his p-brain.
The stench of it all, these Heritage scholars.
You really put him straight. Ha ha. One for the people.
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Great job, Brad. Too bad you can’t just follow Von Spittoon around the country, calling him on his BS. Thanks for all the hard work; It’s appreciated!
Where is the URL to get into some Tavis Talks discussion on this thread? I don’t see it. I wanted to inject the possibility of cracking the vote at the doping level of chip creation.
Dear John Fund,
I don’t need to read your fucking book. I have worked in the electronics industry, and programming enough languages, and even long enough to know that your spreading propaganda. Voter Fraud is not the problem you make it out to be. Electronic Vote Tabulation Devices on the other hand are what is fucking the United States Of America. And you do a dis-service to ever American by spreading your crap. God Does Not Bless You! The Day you want to fucking talk about electronics, or electronic tabulation devices I await you like a drooling jackal.
Since I was removed from the polling books in Ohio during the 2004 elections,I have nothing less than contempt for the GOP and their campaign to deprive voters of our rights.
So Brad you get major kudos from me for slapping down Von Spakovsky in public. He definitely is on my list of folks who has and will continue to attempt to do whatever to keep people from exercising our legal rights.
I see so all the FBI and Law enforcement that busted in doors recently and found proof of voter registration by ACORN (Democrates aka socialist aka NAZIS) are wrong or maybe it was planted by the GOP. God help us “WE THE PEOPLE” from dumb asses like you and people who beleive you,, GO GO GO Mcain
I’m so happy that they found evidence of voter registrations. That is great news for us all.
The registration forms filled out by mickey mouse and others mean nothing. Well, other than some low life was trying to cheat the system for his 8 bucks an hour. Nothing more. Dummy.
Look into the mirror in your bathroom and say that again, to yourself. Don’t change a word. Look straight into your own eyes and say it again.
Cracks you up too, huh?
Dumbass.