It’s turns out that Republican Florida state Rep. Dennis Baxley is far more odious than we realized when, last December, we described him as, among other things, “reprehensible”, “anti-American” and “democracy-hating”.
It appears we were way too kind.
Baxley, it seems, was the chief, NRA-funded sponsor behind Florida’s 2005 “Stand Your Ground” law — better described as a “Right to Kill” law — the first of many similar ALEC-templated bills to be passed by Republicans in states across the country, allowing for what opponents had warned at the time, would result in “racially motivated killings.”
It was just such a racially motivated killing that appears to have resulted in the shooting death of unarmed 17-year old African-American Trayvon Martin, by George Zimmerman in a gated community in Sanford, FL late last month. Zimmerman, who has admitted to shooting Martin — just minutes after he is heard on a 911 call whispering “fucking coons” and being told by the dispatcher to not follow Martin — is still a free man today, and still in possession of his gun and [see CORRECTION note below] concealed weapon permit, thanks in no small part to Baxley’s law.
What follows is brief coverage of Baxley from MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show last night, including clips of his advocacy for the bill back in 2005, when he argued that “this is gonna be a safer state” and “this bill will stop crime in its tracks”. Then, after that, we’ll remind you why, and what, we had written about this despicable creep last December…
In addition to being the chief sponsor of the “Stand Your Ground” law, according to Think Progress “Baxley is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and has advocated for the production of a Florida license plate honoring ‘Confederate Heritage.’ He also argued against removing a racial slur from the Florida state song.”
When arguing against doing away with Florida’s state song about a slave pining for the good old days on “de old plantation” with the “darkeys,” Baxley argued: “I don’t pretend that the past was all beautiful and wonderful. I’m sure it was painful for some people, but we’re in a multicultural area and everyone’s culture is celebrated but mine.”
Yes, that’s what he actually said.
With such a history of respect and caring for his fellow Americans, especially the white ones, it comes as little wonder that Baxley was making the media rounds last year [see below] conceding, when pushed, that though his state had no “voter fraud” problem, it was, nonetheless, important to shorten early voting periods and level serious criminal fines against folks who dared to register voters to exercise their franchise — such as the Florida high school teachers who were arrested and charged for registering their students to vote in violation of Baxley’s new anti-voting law last year.
Oh, yes, and the non-partisan Florida League of Women Voters — who have been legally registering voters in the Sunshine State for the past 72 years, until Baxley’s voter suppression law forced them, for the first time in their history, to call off their program for fear of putting their registration workers at risk of criminal felonies, fines, and prison time — is actually a partisan Democratic organization, according to this insidious putz.
Thankfully, the U.S. Dept. of Justice announced earlier this month that they are now challenging the new statutes that Baxley fought so hard for, after finding that the state of Florida failed to meet it’s Voting Rights Act obligation of demonstrating that the new laws are not racially discriminatory.
As we noted last December, when first seeing Baxley at work, in what turns out to be have been a far too generous moment of restraint…
Fortunately, most readers of The BRAD BLOG will be able to smell the bullshit of the smirking, democracy-hating Baxley a mile away even without my point-by-point rebuttal. So I’ll just run the video here for now without much comment, as it needs to be seen to be believed.
Near the front of the interview, Baxley admits that there’s been no voter fraud problem in FL, and by the end he’s charging (without a stitch of evidence, naturally) that the non-partisan League of Women Voters, who have been registering voters in the Sunshine State for some 72 years — but who have now canceled their registration program for 2012 thanks to the onerous new GOP restrictions and fines on registration workers — is actually a partisan Democratic organization! Who knew?
My loathing towards those who knowingly undermine American democracy is difficult to contain. So consider my restraint today an undeserved favor to you this afternoon, Mr. Baxley.
Our apologies to readers of The BRAD BLOG for that unwarranted restraint last December. We deeply regret the error.
CORRECTION 3/27/12: I had originally reported that Trayvon Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman, was “still in possession of his gun and concealed weapon permit.” However, according to the initial police report from Sandford, FL’s Officer Timothy Smith [PDF], upon arriving at the scene, he “removed a black Kel Tek 9mm PF9 semi auto handgun and holster” from Zimmerman. That handgun, the report says, “was placed in to evidence.” Though many media outlets have similarly misreported that Zimmerman was allowed to keep his gun after the killing, the Orlando Sentinel describes the point as “misinformation”, and says “The gun is now in the possession of authorities, officially part of the evidence in the case.” The paper goes on to note: “Zimmerman, though, still has a valid concealed-weapons permit.” The Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence, in issuing a similar correction themselves, notes that, in addition to Zimmerman still retaining his concealed carry license, “he still has the ability to buy a gun and carry it into public spaces.” The article above has been corrected to reflect that information. Thanks to BRAD BLOG commenter Pokey Anderson for pointing out my error.
It’s Trayvon Martin, isn’t it?
“racially motivated killings.”
from: http://www.census.gov/compendia...abortions.html
Abortion rate per 1000 women…
[IMG]http://i42.tinypic.com/j90igi.jpg[/IMG]
Better?
DonM @ 1:
Yup. Duh. Don’t know how I made that mistake! Fixed. Thanks.
Davey Crocket whiffed:
Not in the least. But nice work in serving up the dumbest comment I’ve seen around here in a while!
What is an “ALEC-templated bill” as referred to in the 3rd paragraph of the article?
Randy D @6 writes:
ALEC, which was founded in 1973, is a right-wing organization that is funded by corporations like Koch Industries, Exxon Mobil, Wall Mart & AT&T. Its purpose is to undermine the legislative process by bringing together corporate lobbyists and the politicians that only corporate money buy in order to advance the right-wing legislative agenda. The ultimate aim of that anti-democratic agenda is a plutocratic, corporate security state.
As Media Matters reports, quoting from ALEC’s own website:
Thus, for example, when a Republican state assemblyman or senator introduces photo ID legislation, it’s not something that originates with the individual politician. He or she is simply following the ALEC-template.
Brad, if anyone ever questions the racial animus behind polling place photo ID legislation, the short answer is Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-FL).
RandyD @ 6 asked:
Sorry about that. Had meant to link that phrase before I published the article. Have done so now. So, in addition to Ernie’s thoughts above, see this for more.
The dynamics of racism that Brad brings out in this post show the facet of denialism that is bound to that racism.
Most people know that racism is a hated malady by most Americans.
Those racists likewise know that they don’t know how to shake their malady, so they use denialism to try to cover it up within, and the rhetoric of propaganda to gloss over the whole mess without.
So, global warming / climate change deniers take note, this is what you look like to the rest of us.
John Kerry said it best in 2004 and I quote They are a bunch of crooks. I think that sums up most of the GOP but I will say they are are a bunch of liars. They keep spitting out lie after lie and most of the media doesn’t hold them accountable. That is the reason they hate media matters so much. I have watched Fox news make so many misinformation. Last night Bill O said the reason oil prices went down in 2008 was Bush threatened to release oil from our reserve. Varney agreed with him. What a crock.
Newman Tomes @ 11:
Haha…Yes, it nothing at all to do with the unprecedented worldwide global recession that just happened to cripple the global economy in 2008 and gut the demand for oil at the very same time. Nothing at all. 🙂
In 2007-08 there were also a lot of very very desperate financial institutions and traders speculating wildly in oil markets to churn cash returns that would shore up balance sheets filled with rotten junk.
Bernanke’s bailout, following the collapse of Bear Stearns and then Lehman, tracks nicely with the slide of gas prices into the Great Recession.
Of course, as long as the CFTC is in charge the world will never know.
Re: Newman Tomes @11 & Brad @12:
It’s great that we still have a public record of what the right-wing media was saying in 2008 when it was shielding the Bush administration as a comparison as to what it is now saying as part of its partisan attack on Obama — lest we be reduced to the level of mind control exercised in George Orwell’s Oceania.
Thus, Media Matters reports:
In 2008, Fox’s coverage occasionally even mirrored the facts: expanding domestic oil drilling will not significantly lower prices, and the only way to reduce our vulnerability to gas price spikes is to use less oil.
Of course, Pres. Obama has engaged in his own level of Orwellian “doublespeak” in his indefensible statements made in accepting the Southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline — a pipeline that is merely intended as a transit for Canadian tar sands oil that is destined for China via oil tankers which will be loaded with the environmentally destructive black gold in Houston, TX.
I wish I had the audio of my radio debate with Baxley from about 2005. He is no intellectual giant – I can assure you.
What concerns me most, however, is that the BIGGEST and MOST SIGNIFICANT issue of this story is being lost in the “red-herrings” (although each of those is important in general in itself): the stand-your ground law and racism.
There is no doubt in my mind that central to the attack and the mindset of the attacker was an element of racism. But this does not account for the reasons the “authorities” took no appropriate action – and that no one is currently being held “to account.”
The Stand Your Ground Law, while in itself offensive and a bad law, was also not central to the decisions and actions pertaining to the official non-response response to Zimmerman’s actions.
The problem is much deeper and more pervasive. It is likely a story that can be told throughout the U.S. but which is probably best documented and exemplified (and in extremes) in the State of Florida.
The heart of this story is “authority” and the systematic insulation of all such authorities from being held “accountable” under the law.
This includes, in particular, police authority – and the idea that it should be relatively unquestioned (and that officers should be insulated from the consequences of their “official” actions). This extends, in this case, to the wanna-be cops and their “authoritarian” relationship with and extension of the police community and culture.
Think about this: if Zimmerman were an officer in uniform at the time (rather than a wanna-be) this story would never have gone anywhere (and is repeated daily throughout Florida).
It was PREDICTABLE that the police would not charge him. It was almost official policy that the State Attorney would turn a blind eye. And in fact it is “official” that the Attorney General would do nothing. The exception to the rule in this case is that the Governor actually (finally) DID “something” (the appointment of a special prosecutor). And that came only because it became a scandal of national proportion and Rick Scott is trying to insulate himself from that story.
Rick Scott’s company fined million for bilking Medicare and he is elected Gov of Fl. Romney should have been charged with voter fraud and he is running for President, A republican S of State charged with voter fraud. It seems like most of the voter fraud is commited by the same people that want to make it harder for people to vote.
Fox News continue to give out false information and people think they are the only news. They are a cult. When you are told over and over that they are right and everyone else is wrong that creats a cult.
According to the police chief of Sanford they only have one person’s word and how can thay prove different. According to that if you have someone you don’t like call and have them meet you at an isolated place, shoot them and call Sanford police and tell them you felt threthen and you are free and clear. This law is a farce.
One small correction. The Kel-Tek handgun that was taken from George Zimmerman by Sanford Police the night of the shooting was placed into evidence. This is according to the Sanford Police report which can be viewed here: http://www.sanfordfl.gov/invest...l%20Report.pdf
I don’t know whether the gun is still in evidence though. Or, whether Zimmerman went out and bought another.
Good catch, Pokey! Thanks! Have corrected the error, along with a note at bottom of article explaining the correction. Much appreciated!
Does it matter to anyone that Dennis Baxley is a mortician?