Ruling on Georgia's 'Exact Match' voting law a setback for GOP governor candidate

Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp

Of course it's a set back for the GOP because of who Stacey Abrams was endorsed by :-)

Georgia must make changes to its procedures to make it easier for people flagged under a state law to vote, a federal judge ruled Friday.
Civil rights groups raised concerns about the "Exact Match" law, accusing Republican gubernatorial candidate and Secretary of State Brian Kemp of engaging in voter suppression of minorities amid a tight race against Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams.
GEORGIA UNDER SCRUTINY FOR ALLEGED VOTER SUPPRESSION: WHAT'S GOING ON?
U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross said Kemp’s restrictions raised  “grave concerns for the Court about the differential treatment inflicted on a group of individuals who are predominantly minorities,” the Washington Post reported.
Civil rights groups sued Kemp for purging thousands of inactive voters from the rolls and enforcing the law, which placed more than 50,000 voter registrations in limbo because information on their applications appeared different from government records.
The law flags voter registrations found to have discrepancies, such as a dropped hyphen. Voters can settle the discrepancies by providing proof of identity.
Under Kemp, who oversees state elections, state procedures require that those flagged as potential noncitizens be cleared first by a deputy registrar.
Ross’ injunction requires the state to change its procedures to allow more than 3,100 people prove their citizenship more easily, such as by showing a U.S. passport or other documentation -- and only to a poll manager.
“With respect to Tuesday’s election, we deem this a total victory in our fight against Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s exact match scheme,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Our goal in filing this lawsuit was to ensure that no eligible voter was unfairly denied the right to vote because of this discriminatory voter suppression effort."
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Kemp was also ordered to issue a news release explaining how potential voters who are flagged could still vote by proving their citizenship, as well as a phone number for them to call with questions.
Kemp’s spokeswoman, Candice L. Broce, called the ruling “a minor change to the current system.”
Kemp's involvement in the election procedures while a candidate has also drawn scrutiny. During a debate against Abrams he said he would not recuse himself in other election-related issues.
The race has drawn national attention, with Abrams receiving endorsements from Oprah Winfrey and former President Barack Obama.
Vice President Mike Pence has campaigned for Kemp at rallies in Augusta and Dalton, while President Trump is expected to support the candidate in Macon on Sunday.
A spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office declined to comment on whether it would appeal the ruling.

Kavanaugh accuser referred to DOJ for false statements, Grassley’s office announces

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Friday referred a woman who'd accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of raping her “several times” in the backseat of a car to the Justice Department for “materially false statements” and “obstruction.”
Kavanaugh, confirmed to the high court on Oct. 6, was infamously accused by multiple women of sexual assault and misconduct before the confirmation.
Judy Munro-Leighton, according to Grassley’s office, “alleged that Justice Kavanaugh and a friend had raped her ‘several times each’ in the backseat of a car.”
Those accusations were made via a "Jane Doe" letter provided to Sen. Kamala Harris, a California Democrat and committee member, Grassley’s office wrote.
Upon further investigation, however, inconsistencies in the story emerged.
“Given her relatively unique name, Committee investigators were able to use open-source research to locate Ms. Munro-Leighton and determine that she: (1) is a left-wing activist; (2) is decades older than Judge Kavanaugh; and (3) lives in neither the Washington DC area nor California, but in Kentucky,” Grassley’s office wrote.
“Under questioning by Committee investigators, Ms. Munro-Leighton admitted, contrary to her prior claims, that she had not been sexually assaulted by ... Kavanaugh and was not the author of the original 'Jane Doe’ letter,” Grassley’s office wrote in a Friday referral to the DOJ.
“When directly asked by Committee investigators if she was, as she had claimed, the ‘Jane Doe’ from Oceanside California who had sent the letter to Senator Harris, she admitted: ‘No, no, no. I did that as a way to grab attention. I am not Jane Doe . . . but I did read Jane Doe’s letter. I read the transcript of the call to your Committee. . . . I saw it online. It was news.”
“In short, during the Committee’s time-sensitive investigation of allegations against Judge Kavanaugh, Ms. Munro-Leighton submitted a fabricated allegation, which diverted Committee resources. When questioned by Committee investigators she admitted it was false, a ‘ploy,’ and a ‘tactic,’” Grassley’s office wrote. “She was opposed to Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation.”
Friday’s referral to the DOJ was not the first time Grassley has asked for an investigation into Kavanaugh’s accusers.
Last week, Grassley referred attorney Michael Avenatti and client Julie Swetnick -- who'd accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct -- for criminal investigation regarding a potential “conspiracy” to provide false statements to Congress and obstruct its investigation.
Avenatti is also a potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and works as the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels, who maintains she had a sexual encounter with President Trump years before his election. Avenatti represented Swetnick, who accused Kavanaugh during confirmation proceedings of being involved in or present at “gang” and “train” rapes at high school parties in the 1980s.
Kavanaugh denied all the claims against him.

Heitkamp endorses state Dems' false claim that ND's hunters could lose licenses if they vote

Who does this look a lot like ? :-)

 U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp Democrat

In the latest gaffe in her bid for re-election, U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., endorsed false claims made in a Facebook ad paid for by her state's Democratic Party that say the state’s hunters could lose their hunting licenses in nearby states if they vote Tuesday.
Heitkamp, who’s trailing Republican challenger Kevin Cramer on average by 11 points, hasn't backpedaled from the endorsement, telling reporters that it is “really important that people understand the consequences of voting.”
She also said the ad is true. “Voting means you are a resident, it means you pay taxes here, it means that if you want a residential hunting license in Minnesota, it means you’re not going to get that, if you vote here,” Heitkamp said.
The Facebook ad, paid by the North Dakota Democratic-NPL, warns North Dakota hunters that they may have to forfeit their out-of-state licenses if they vote in this election.
NORTH DAKOTA DEMOCRATIC PARTY DISCOURAGES HUNTERS FROM VOTING, CLAIMS THEY COULD LOSE OUT-OF-STATE LICENSES
“If you want to keep your out-of-state hunting licenses, you may not want to vote in North Dakota,” the ad says, linking to a similar warning on the North Dakota Democratic-NPL website.
“By voting in North Dakota, you could forfeit your hunting licenses. You MUST be a resident of North Dakota to vote here. And if you are a resident of North Dakota, you may lose hunting licenses you have in other states,” the website said.

"If you want to keep your out-of-state hunting licenses, you may not want to vote in North Dakota."
— Statement in North Dakota Democratic Party ad

HEITKAMP APOLOGIZES FOR NAMING SEXUAL ASSAULT, ABUSE VICTIMS IN NEWSPAPER AD
But the warning pushed by Heitkamp and the state Democratic Party is false, according to left-leaning fact-checker PolitiFact, which rated the claim that hunters could lose their licenses as a result of voting as “Pants on Fire.”
“It’s hard to interpret this in any way except that it seeks to discourage people from voting. But voting will not cost anyone their hunting licenses,” the fact-checker’s verdict read.

"It’s hard to interpret this in any way except that it seeks to discourage people from voting. But voting will not cost anyone their hunting licenses."
— PolitiFact

The state Republican Party slammed the Democrats for pushing the falsehood.
“Heidi Heitkamp is using her anti-Kavanaugh campaign coffers to suppress voter turnout in North Dakota,” Jake Wilkins, the North Dakota GOP spokesman, told Fox News, adding she’s “made it clear that she only cares about winning re-election, not helping her constituents.”
The efforts to suppress the voters follow Heitkamp's decision to essentially throw in the towel in the race, giving away nearly $3 million of her campaign money to the state Democratic Party to support other races in the state.
This came after a series of gaffes and voting decisions that gave a significant boost to her Republican opponent.
Last month, she was forced to apologize after publicly naming victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse in an attack ad aimed at her Republican challenger without their consent.
“I deeply regret this mistake and we are in the process of issuing a retraction, personally apologizing to each of the people impacted by this and taking the necessary steps to ensure this never happens again,” she said in a statement.
Then she was called out for Facebook post that used a photo of a World War II veteran without his permission.
But the most damaging was Heitkamp’s decision to vote against the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. She voted against Kavanaugh even as all the polling showed North Dakotans were less likely to support her if she voted no.
“That spectacle proved to be perhaps the greatest political gift I’ve been given in a very long time,” Cramer told Fox News, referring to the Kavanaugh confirmation process.
Fox News' Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.

Ted Cruz or Obama's Anti-Texas Beto?

If you want more of Obama just vote for Beto Ketchup! Watch the two Videos to see how much he cares for Texas

Anti-America CNN Fake News Cartoons

Kobach accuses CNN's Jeffrey Toobin of advancing 'racist argument' in fight over voter-ID laws

Speaking to Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Thursday, Kansas Republican gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach accused CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin of advancing a "racist argument" -- just one day after Toobin charged that Kobach wanted to "stop black people and poor people from voting."
In a fiery on-air debate with Kobach on CNN, Toobin flatly claimed that Kobach, who currently serves as Kansas secretary of state, consistently has aimed to disenfranchise minorities.
"Kris has devoted his career to stopping black people and poor people from voting -- I mean, that's been your goal for decades," Toobin said.
The GOP gubernatorial nominee has been a staunch advocate of voter-ID laws. This summer, in a harshly worded ruling, a federal judge struck down a Kobach-backed proof-of-citizenship law that required voters to show proof of citizenship at the ballot box. The law was a violation of federal law and the Constitution, the judge ruled. (Recently enacted voter ID laws in other states, including Texas, have seen more success in the courts.)
FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS KANSAS' TOP PROSECUTOR TO UNDERGO LEGAL TRAINING AFTER TOSSING VOTER-ID LAW
"That is an outrageous accusation," Kobach responded to Toobin. "Oh, so if you like photo ID, you're trying to stop people of color from voting?"
"Absolutely," Toobin shot back.
On Thursday, Kobach tried to turn the tables on Toobin, alleging that he actually was advancing racist stereotypes.
"The argument itself is a racist one," Kobach told host Tucker Carlson. "The argument is that somehow because of your skin color, you are less likely to have in your wallet a photo ID, or you're less likely to be able to go to a government office and get a free photo ID -- it's a ridiculous argument, it's been disproven empirically in state after state, but the hard left, and increasingly the entire left, keeps making the argument."
A 2017 study conducted by three political science professors and published in The Journal of Politics found "that strict identification laws have a differentially negative impact on the turnout of racial and ethnic minorities in primaries and general elections."
The study, which was also promoted by The Washington Post, continued: "We also find that voter ID laws skew democracy toward those on the political right."
CLICK FOR COMPLETE FOX NEWS MIDTERMS COVERAGE
However, a follow-up study by top professors at Stanford, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania concluded that the 2017 study was unreliable and that voter ID laws didn't have nearly as much of an impact.
"Maybe it's not racist for your bank to insist on an ID when you cash a check," Kobach told Carlson. "It must be racist. Nevermind that it's an incoherent statement."
He added: "Now, even to suggest that voter fraud exists -- which it does, and we've prosecuted many cases in my office as secretary of state in Kansas -- is racist. ... If you want to enforce our laws, you must be a racist. If you want to stop the caravan, you must be a racist. It just cuts off the debate completely."
Kobach is locked in a tight race with Democrat Laura Kelly. Fox News currently rates the race a toss-up.

More blame a divided America on the media than on Trump

If there is one overriding theme to the coverage of Donald Trump's presidency, it's that he is dividing the country, tearing it apart, fueling the rage and possibly even political violence.
Strip away objections to his policies, to his personality, to his Twitter insults, to his spur-of-the-moment management style, and it comes down to the journalistic view that the president has done almost nothing to unite America.
A major problem with this mindset is that most of those in the media fail to consider that their business is also contributing to the deepening divisions.
That simply doesn't comport with their self-image. Most journalists believe they are neutral seekers of truth. Most commentators believe they are offering honest opinions (and, increasingly, that the other side is lying).
But in the hyperpolarized Trump era, with so much bitingly negative coverage of the president, the media are increasingly viewed by major chunks of the country as part of the problem.
Now I don't dispute for a second that Trump has largely chosen to play to his base. He has made only limited attempts to work with Democrats on issues like health care and tax cuts, and when he has, such as on the dreamers, it has usually come to naught. That approach has been even more pronounced in the final days of the midterms, especially on immigration.
And when there have been racially charged eruptions, such as Charlottesville, Trump's comments have managed to inflame rather than soothe much of the public.
But a new poll by Politico and Morning Consult contains some pretty troubling news for the press as well as the president.
Just 30 percent of voters surveyed say Trump has done more to unite the country, while 56 percent say he's done more to divide it.
But in a bigger vote of no-confidence, 64 percent say the national media have done more to divide the nation, and just 17 percent say they've done more to unite it.
Put another way, the media are 47 percent underwater on the question, compared to 26 percent underwater for Trump, who has a fiercely loyal base.
As you might expect, there's a huge partisan divide when it comes to the president. A sweeping 88 percent of Democrats say he's done more to divide the country, while 25 percent of Republicans say the same. (So do 54 percent of independents.)
But again, the numbers are even worse for the fourth estate. Some 80 percent of Republicans say the media have done more to divide America, and 46 percent of Democrats agree (as do 67 percent of independents).
This is sobering stuff. The entire national debate has been framed by the media around Trump stoking the flames of divisiveness, not the other way around.
The president, of course, has hit back hard, as in this tweet:
"The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country. Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!"
But the press has largely dismissed such accusations as mere deflection.
I do think some pundits really overreached in trying to blame Trump, directly or indirectly, for the serial pipe bomber and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. And perhaps that influenced the poll findings.
What would be best for an angry and divided country is if both sides would tone it down. But I see very little prospect of that happening.

Tammy Bruce: The Democrats' never-ending meltdown

Just when you think you’ve seen the ultimate meltdown of the Democratic Party, there’s always more.
The hearing for Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh was an utter debacle for the Democrats. But it also provided an opportunity for reassessing their view of the world and attitude about the American people. They clearly chose not to do so and are now doubling down on hate.
The obviously new narrative from the Democratic Party and their enablers is the insane insistence that President Donald Trump is responsible for the horrible Pittsburgh synagogue massacre and is a dangerous and horrific artifact of desperate people who seek to use every human crisis as a political opportunity.
Trump is a politician and has terrific people surrounding him. He has shown us for over two years now that he can handle the slings and arrows of the dying establishment machine. But the more troubling and sinister messaging has emerged against voters who chose freely in 2016 to not support the status quo.
In the aftermath of the synagogue massacre, two people fanatically opposed to the president have gone on national television and compared the president and his voters, in one case, to the Islamic State terrorist group (also known as ISIS) and, in the other, claimed the president and his supporters of having “blood on their hands.”
On Monday at CNN, just two days after the synagogue horror, GQ columnist Julia Ioffe made headlines. During a debate segment she said, “I think this president, one of the things that he really launched his presidential run on is talking about Islamic radicalization. And this president has radicalized so many more people than ISIS ever did.”
David Urban, a Trump supporter and another guest on the panel, confronted her on-air for the remark. After Jake Tapper declined to push back on the claim, Ms. Ioffe doubled-down on comparing supporters of the president to the blood-thirsty terrorists, “ISIS had like 10,000 members. I think the president has far more supporters who espouse an equally hateful ideology,” Ioffe retorted.
In the aftermath, outrage at the remark grew, and Ms. Ioffe apologized in the non-apology sort of way by explaining it was “hyperbole” fueled by the “emotional and painful time.”
Newsflash for Ioffe: That massacre was and is emotional and painful for all of us. This was not a poor choice of words, a mistake we all can make. This was an accusation, which she reinforced even after being confronted about it in real time.
Also within two days of the mass murder, Steve Schmidt, chairman of the John McCain 2008 campaign and hater of Mr. Trump, went on MSNBC to discuss the massacre, and instead used the horror to unleash a screed against those whom he despises. He declared the president and others “had blood on their hands.” Without any pushback from host Chris Hayes, he said Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and “the vile president that she serves, abetted by Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh and Breitbart and NewBusters and Judicial Watch and all the rest of them, have blood on their hands. For the incitements that they have made that have triggered and radicalized these crazy people. It is deliberate …”
This frenzy to cast fellow Americans as dangerous terrorists because you disagree with them politically is beyond any normal or acceptable political discourse. It’s one thing to target the direct political opponent with rhetoric that is unseemly. But here we have the failing establishment, both Democrats and in some cases Republicans, choosing to malign the actual voters in the week leading up to an election.
Hillary Clinton’s declaration that the president’s supporters were “deplorable” and “not American” was the moment the losers in 2016 decided a scorched earth campaign punishing those who did not comply would be their new strategy.
It is now apparent Rep. Maxine Waters of California was not a rogue congresswoman calling for the harassment of Republicans; she was simply carrying forward the official Democratic torch.
What would possess the Democrats to think that attacking the American people would be their salvation? We may have received a clue as to their expectations when Clinton said that the instability would stop when they regained the House of Representatives.
In 2016, the American public saw through the attempts to gaslight them into believing things that aren’t true. One of those false assertions is how the Democratic Party cares about the American people and are champions on the issues we care about.
Their latest accusations, attitude and lack of any coherent position on policy for this country, proves not just the chaotic incompetence now destroying that side of the aisle, but makes clear their actual malevolence toward the citizen. After all, we are the ones who fired them, and we are the ones they are determined to punish.
When the midterm comes along the Democrats are going to find that we are not ISIS, or Nazis, or racists, or terrorists. We are Americans. We are moms and dads, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, and best friends. We are voters and families who look to the future and want it to be the best it can be. Next week, we must trust and urge the American people to not reward those who condemn people for rejecting the status quo, and deciding to stand for freedom, fairness and a renewed American future.