Obama Volunteer On Scene Disputes Fox News' Suggestions That Black Panthers Are Intimidating Voters
Fox News and other conservatives on the Web are pushing hard on the story that two black panthers may be intimidating voters at a polling place in north Philadelphia.
But an Obama campaign volunteer who's been on the scene since 6:30 AM this morning tells me in a phone interview that there's been absolutely no intimidation of voters at all today. And a Pennsylvania spokesperson for Obama said the two men aren't in any way affiliated with the campaign.
Fox News' story is right here. It says one of two black panthers on the scene was "allegedly blocking the door," says another was "holding a nightstick." and adds that "the concern was that they were intimidating people who were trying to go inside to vote."
But Jacqueline Dischell, the Obama volunteer, tells me by phone that that's false.
Dischell confirms that there were in fact two black panthers guarding the polling place, a nursing home on Fairmont Avenue in north Philadelphia, earlier this morning.
But she says one was an officially designated poll watcher (it was not immediately clear which municipal office had designated him in that role), and the second was his friend. The second panther, who left two or three hours ago, was the one with the nightstick, she says.
Dischell says that earlier this morning a few men who identified themselves as being from the McCain campaign came and started taking pictures of the two panthers on their cell phones. She suggested that they seemed to be baiting the panthers, and that the designated watcher may have given one of them the finger in response to the picture taking.
The police came roughly an hour and a half later. She says she talked to the cops and told them there had been no incident. The police drove away without getting out of the car, she adds.
Some time later, a second, larger group of men whose affiliation couldn't be determined came with real cameras and started taking more pictures. Maybe 15 minutes later the cops returned. This time, they spoke to people on both sides, and told the panther not designated to watch the polls to leave, which he did without an argument.
"There was no fight, nothing," she says.
Fox News arrived on the scene at around that time and started interviewing people near the entrance. The building manager asked the Fox reporter to leave, she says, and he moved further from the entrance.
That's where things now stand. "There has been no fighting, no voter intimidation at all," she said.
Hmm, Black Panthers. All twelve of them?
Talk about stuck in the sixties!
November 4, 2008 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Come on, people. Do we really think that a random dude in paramilitary gear and carrying a nightstick is a good thing?
November 4, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I had a hard time figuring out if it was people or panthers causing the problems, because instead of "Black Panthers" in the article, it says "black panthers." Hey, exotic animals escape from zoos all the time, it coulda been.
November 4, 2008 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Black Panthers are quite active here in the Philly area, but I knew this story was bullshit from the jump. They bother Black folks more than anyone else; I can't tell you how many meetings I've been invited to. But I don't know one White Philly resident who's ever come in contact with them. The idea that they would stand outside a polling station in THE BLACKEST NEIGHBORHOOD YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE is laughable at best.
November 4, 2008 4:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
You might want to see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party
And, everyone else might want to see this video:
http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?v=e46UZuSUSU
Exit question: is Greg Sargent trustworthy, or not?
November 4, 2008 5:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Voters intimidated by Focks News camera crew!
November 4, 2008 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for the SF phone number this morning. I really appreciate it. Wasn't going to let them continue the day in that manner :)
November 4, 2008 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're more than welcome, Amelie. And thanks for getting on their case!
November 4, 2008 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
But there were two big scary black men standing outside.
November 4, 2008 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.tmz.com/2008/11/04/tim-robbins-couldnt-vote-cops-called/
Go Tim Robbins!!!
November 4, 2008 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Given that Mr. Robbins votes in NYC where Obama will probably get 80% of the vote, his complaining of voter intimidation is a bit over the top.
November 4, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
NO, I disagree. He was asserting his rights, and this is the type of crap that should not be allowed. He might have made it better for others that follow him today. Everyone knows you should in NO way accept a provisional ballot. Robert Kennedy emphasized that just the other night.
November 4, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Agreed. Doesn't matter what precinct. Fight for your right, mofos.
November 4, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
States are winnner-take-all (well, most of them), precincts are not. It doesn't matter that his precinct will go 80% (or more) towards Obama.
November 4, 2008 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Also, if you watch the video, Mr. Robbins point was that he was not the only one, there were several within the hour. That was why he made the stink.
November 4, 2008 4:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, I dunno.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU
The guy with the camera sounds like a weenie trying to incite something... but a guy standing in front of the polling place with a billy club is intimidating, period. Whether it's a Panther or a cop. And I'm speaking as someone who would pay good money to watch a Panther take a billy club to a cop. :P
November 4, 2008 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now it's just a matter of how long it takes Fox News to use this as an example of Obama rule. You know, where we're all forced to give our money to Farrakahn, worship in mosques and allow our white women to be subjugated.
November 4, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sadly, yes. They already are. Which is why it's unfathomably stupid to do something like this without real provocation.
November 4, 2008 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
The fact that there is a guy standing there with a billy club is intimidation in and of itself. That, and his entire posture- not as a passive observer, but as a "security" officer who questions people who come to the door- reeks of intimidation.
November 4, 2008 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Faux gives all together new meaning to what we call the Freedom of the Press.
November 4, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
In the Fox News coverage you'll notice they interview someone but don't ask him his name or mention that he is obviously with the McCain campaign. Journalism 101 is to announce the name of the person being interviewed.
November 4, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently the one with the night stick was escorted away by police. He did not just "leave".
It absolutely was meant to be intimidating and to me encapsulates the tone of the race-based Obama supporters. Do what we say or: 1. You're a racist, 2. There will be violence if we don't win.
November 4, 2008 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's Drudge and it's Fox therefore it is a lie.
Just like the big black attacker of the McCain worker.
Just another lie.
November 4, 2008 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
There's video. They were there, armed and in "uniform". Unfortunately. Really damn stupid to give the douchebag GOP that kind of ammunition.
November 4, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't tell me there is video = give me a link to a video.
I don't fucking believe you - are you kidding? LOL!
November 4, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Um, posted at the top of the thread.
I'm on our side, for the record. Look up my post history.
November 4, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here you go. Eat shit asshole:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU
November 4, 2008 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Eat shit asshole"
There's no need to go into you and your fathers sexual habits behind closed doors.
November 4, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
LOL! Zing!!!
More than I wanted to know about tellmemore...
November 4, 2008 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
That kind of personal attack deserves an account ban.
November 4, 2008 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
This isn't Romper Room.
November 4, 2008 4:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
maybard,
which personal attack, the "eat shit asshole" or the comeback?
November 4, 2008 5:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
You have to love how two white women are leaving the polling place at the end of the video. Those Black Panthers are really bad at blocking the white folks!!!!! You fucking sperm receptacle.
November 4, 2008 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ah yes. The old "Eat Shit Asshole" argument.
Neither your reply, nor the gent with the nightstick, is a shining example of the smartest behavior right now. Did you also know, however, that police with full riot gear are patrolling polling places in Toledo today? How intimidating is that?
At least the gentleman in your video left when he was asked. Did the Toledo police? Oh. Didn't think so.
November 4, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
nice
November 4, 2008 3:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
The link was above your comment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU
I'm a lifelong Dem and an Obama supporter, but I'm sorry, this is intimidating, obviously not a lie, though is clearly a response to the Frank Rizzo-esque past behavior toward African-Americans. Nevertheless, this kind of thing doesn't help anybody. Of course, I'm sure there are plenty of beefy white fellows with sticks at polling places around the country as well. Take your cameras to the polls.
November 4, 2008 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
People mean well, I think. My read was that these guys have seen reports of voter intimidation at the polls, and wanted to do something about it.
Hell, I've had the thought that if I was challenged by a pug at the poll I might just go ahead and kick his fucking ass on general principle, and go ahead and call that my vote as it were.
I know that this is my own juvenile impulse, but still I read it that way.
November 4, 2008 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
So they're not there to intimidate anyone, they're there to beat down anyone who tries to intimidate anyone else?
November 4, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I think so.
November 4, 2008 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Scary Scary Black people, & leftists, & Jews taking over! Deal with it, you backward ignorant zenophobes.
November 4, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Tellmemore: I confess you're a lil' less sicker than the MoFo "John" just above you.
November 4, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Horatio Troll-jizz
November 4, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
And how the fuck do we know this wasn't a stinking hail mary ploy by the McCain campaign or one of its supporters (ala Ashley Todd) just to throw tonite's massive win into question?
November 4, 2008 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
For the love of god - why in the world would the Black Panthers do that?
It's absurd.
November 4, 2008 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU
November 4, 2008 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Black Panthers?
Is there still even an official Black Panther party?
Talk about so forty years ago. Looks like the GOP needs to find a new boogeymen. The old 'uns ain't scarecrow'n like they used to.
November 4, 2008 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
You stole that right from my typing hands.
November 4, 2008 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good point.
I haven't seen any evidence of one since about 1970 or so when I lived around the corner from a Black Panther HQ in Oakland.
They had a very successful hot breakfast program for school children then.
November 4, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, perhaps these Black Panthers were too busy signing a GOP confidentiality agreement to hand out breakfast for kids before that polling station opened.
doioioioioioi
(in all seriousness, I'd guess it was just some dude who wanted to dress up to look all Black Panther. And Fox News, well they were more than happy to take advantage of that imagery.)
November 4, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Of course they were, are Black Panthers! Obama's a Black Panther, and a Marxist, Nation of Islam, terrist, an Arab, . . . Ah, I think I'm forgetting some.
November 4, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
You forgot plumber-hater.
November 4, 2008 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Especially plumber hater. And America, too.
November 4, 2008 4:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
That would be THE Black Panther HQ in Oakland. It's still on Oakland historical walks today. And yes, we have historical walks in our fair city :)
November 4, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
You mean around the time when Ed Meese was Alameda county DA?
November 4, 2008 3:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
There's a few here in Philly. There was a group that used to run a nice vegetarian deli down in South Philly.
November 4, 2008 4:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I remember that breakfast program! When I was at Boston College in '69 my roommate sponsored a program whereby students could forego a meal on our meal plan and it would get credited to the Black Panther breakfast program.
Yeah, Fox, that's how "radical" - and currently relevant - discussion of the Black Panthers is! There was support of their breakfast program at freaking BOSTON COLLEGE!! You know...Eagles? Flutie? Party animals? We're not talking Bard or Berkeley...and it was in 1969!! Get into your time machine and set it for 1/20/09!!
November 4, 2008 4:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
In the late 90s, after Minister Khalid Muhammad was expelled from the Nation of Islam, he formed some outfit called The New Black Panthers. It wasn't even effective for the purposes of nostalgia.
If I didn't know any better (considering that Fox can get Panther reps on their air seemingly at the drop of a name), I'd say the Panthers were given . . . incentive (in what form and currency, I dare not speculate) . . . to make it look good.
Not saying by whom, but I'm sure you can guess.
November 4, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
So, if there're two white guys on either side of the polling station door, one with a nightstick in...I don't know... Meridian Mississippi...y'all won't cry "intimidation"...?
November 4, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Today you have to play nice or go away. We are celebrating here.
November 4, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
I always play nice...off topic, I saw you talking about SF earlier. I grew up in Sonoma...was out there this summer.
November 4, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fair enough. I love CA, you were very close to where I live. Grew up in MN, couldn't wait to head to the crazy CA Bay Area :)
November 4, 2008 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I do too, every time I go back I swear I'm staying...then I pick up a real estate guide and get right back on the plane.
November 4, 2008 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, it is really a deal these days!!
November 4, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
lol... you're breaking my heart. We moved to Illinois precisely because we could buy a house outright. It's a cool place, but I miss Roseville where I bought my first house, and Alameda where I was born and raised.
November 4, 2008 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is funny no matter who you are...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzyT9-9lUyE&feature=related
November 4, 2008 3:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I never thought I'd say this to an SFCWallace post, but…
I agree completely!
November 4, 2008 4:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow. SFC, that rocked.
November 4, 2008 4:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd tap that my friend...
November 4, 2008 4:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
lol! It's gone viral in my dept.
November 4, 2008 5:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
lol... catching up late, but that was very cool.
November 4, 2008 4:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
I love the Bay Area too and always want to stay when I'm there...until my plane lands back in NYC, and then I'm home and happy again!
November 4, 2008 4:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh no, of course not. Not in Mississippi.
November 4, 2008 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Seriously? None of you can see how a "pollwatcher" and his "friend" with a nightstick might be intimidating? After story upon story of voting irregularities on both sides? What did they think would happen?
In this hypertense atmosphere, friends with nightsticks have no business anywhere near a polling place no matter what race they are or where it is.
November 4, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
What did YOU think would would happen after 2000 and 2004? Really? You didn't ever consider that people on our side might respond in kind after that shit?
November 4, 2008 3:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
oh... uhm..whoops. what you said... sorry.
November 4, 2008 4:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Intimidation"? lol I just call that "Mississippi".
November 4, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Look, SFCWallace has a point here. Holding a nightstick in your hand, regardless of one's race, can be seen as intimidation. It was definitely not cool. That said, we're looking at an isolated incident with someone unaffiliated with the campaign, and where nothing serious actually happened.
November 4, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have to agree with you. What if was numchucks? Or a sword?
This will probably be hyperboled by the press to no end, but carrying a weapon to a polling place seems like a bad idea to me.
November 4, 2008 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
This just makes me laugh. Wow, they are going down, and hard. God forbid they be decent and try to unite instead of divide.
November 4, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Really? They expect us to buy this? Like the Ayers nonsense and the Robbery Hoas...
Gossipgate '08: http://tinyurl.com/6jb7l6
November 4, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
LMAO! These guys will stoop to no lows. Oh I will watch LOVE the oncoming landslide for these people.
November 4, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
AGGGHH!!! Me so scared of scary black men!!!
November 4, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
These people (Drudge, etc.) have gone fucking insane. How many votes do they think they're going to switch in the next three-to-six hours with this nonsense?
November 4, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't think most of them are trying to switch votes. I think that, like a lot of people on both sides, they're watching out for what they perceive as "irregularities". And like it or not, two guys standing there in Panther 'uniform' with a billy club are an irregularity.
Look, if the GOP were to steal this election I'd be the first one manning the barricades with a molotov cocktail. Literally. But this happened, and it's bullshit, and just because a bunch of weasels are the ones yelling about it doesn't change that.
November 4, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's see. Intimidation of minority voters, OK. Alleged intimidation by Black Panthers? ZOMG!!!!!!!!!! The election is tainted!. Assholes.
November 4, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's the oldie but goldie - PROJECTION! The Repugs are actively trying to keep people from voting all over the country - and they always do.
Why isn't it a huge scandal in a participatory democracy that one of the major parties actively works against democracy?
November 4, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't doubt there was no fighting...or even intimidation. But why are they there in the first place? Why hire a Black Panther as a poll watcher? And if you're going to hire him because, say, he's good at security and knows the area, does he have to dress up like, well, a Black Panther? And what was up with the billy club? As coleridge said, anybody hanging out with a billy club is intimidating, doesn't matter how they are dressed or what race they are.
Not helpful. Won't make a difference in the election itself but this is the crap that FoxNews will latch on to for years after Obama wins this thing - ie, "He only won because of fraud and intimidation and he had scary black guys help him with that." It's the ACORN story with billy clubs and black combat boots.
The Obama camapaign obviously has zero control over what is going on at this polling location, but whoever does made a stupid decision.
November 4, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
And I am the first person to call out Fox and Drudge on their lies and race baiting. But that video just didn't look good. There are other options for poll security, ones that don't involve military like uniforms and billy clubs.
November 4, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. Those guys shouldn't have been there in uniform with a club. It has nothing to do with Obama. At the same time, FOX shouldn't be hyping it into something more than it really is. These are two guys at one polling place out of 10's or 100's of thousands of polling places throughout the country.
November 4, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't worry about Fox coverage of President Obama. If anyone, other than the wingnut whackos believed Faux, Obama would not be winning. There influence is overestimated.
But the post halloween scary black man version does tell me, there internals show bad news for McCain atleast in PA.
November 4, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't really either. But FoxNews viewers have kids. And while I'm sure they'll try to raise those kids to grow up to be the xenophobic, racist assholes they are themselves, the less evidence available for them to push this story, the better, because kids growing up today live in a world that isn't as racist as the one their parents grew up in. What I don't want is for these parents to convince their kids that their nation's president is illegitimate because he stole an election. Having a video of these scary guys will help them promote that story to their kids, with an assist from FoxNews.
November 4, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe the second Panther works as a security guard somewhere. Billyclubs are standard equipment for 'unarmed' guards. If he wasn't waving it around at people, it probably wasn't noticeable to them.
Faux News, on the other hand, is looking for excuses to make trouble.
November 4, 2008 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why, in god's name, would a poll site allow Black Panthers - in uniform - to work or volunteer today? It makes no sense whatsoever and, as has been pointed out, just gives FOX something to point to to say "SEE! We told you so!"
STUPID.
November 4, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
"The police came roughly an hour and a half later. She says she talked to the cops and told them there had been no incident. The police drove away without getting out of the car, she adds."
THIS is a bold face LIE! Here is VIDEO of police coming, and talking to these gentleman, GETTING OUT OF THE POLICE CAR.
http://www.breitbart.tv/html/213313.html
Why must democrats feel the need to lie and manipulate everything if they have the election in the bag as they say?
Please, someone explain the volunteer's lie about the police not even getting out of the car....
November 4, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
See what I mean? Stupid.
All it needed was the Drudge/Breitbart tango.
Guess we can call off the election now.
November 4, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Had you read the article you would have noticed that there were two instances when police showed. The first time, an officer drove by and asked about the poll worker. Then the officer drove away. The next time a bunch of reporters showed up, whereupon the officer found it desirable to get out of the car and present his face to the camera.
In neither case was anyone arrested nor was a complaint filed.
November 4, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Reading comprehension issues?
November 4, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please read all of the text:
"The police came roughly an hour and a half later. She says she talked to the cops and told them there had been no incident. The police drove away without getting out of the car, she adds.
Some time later, a second, larger group of men whose affiliation couldn't be determined came with real cameras and started taking more pictures. Maybe 15 minutes LATER THE COPS RETURNED. This time, they spoke to people on both sides, and told the panther not designated to watch the polls to leave, which he did without an argument."
Like I said, democrats don't have to lie. :)
November 4, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
My bad for reading the whole article except the last couple paragraphs. I stand corrected.
However, this "Republican planting them there" thing is complete nonsense. You aging and new age hippies really need to lay off the reefer, it's making you paranoid. If it was a planted story, NBC and CNN would be all over it, and are they?
So were there really men who called themselves black panthers in front of a polling place with nightsticks in Philly?
YOU BETCHA!
November 4, 2008 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe you need to "stand corrected" again. There was ONE guy with ONE nightstick (not unusual for a Black Panther since many of them patrol dangerous neighborhoods). The cops asked him to leave, he did, no charges were filed and the only person apparently suggesting "intimidation" is the white (Republican) doofus that called Fox (which is reporting the story again as I type).
November 4, 2008 3:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Idiots-on both sides; the "panthers" and the wingnuts.
November 4, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
And apparently the "new age hippies" (see comment before yours).
November 4, 2008 3:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Honestly, I don't even believe those guys were Black Panthers. Republicans are notorious for their dirty tricks, and I suspect they enticed a couple of young Republicans (the two or three black ones they could find) to stage this nonsense.
November 4, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
That has to be the stupidest remark about this yet...
November 4, 2008 4:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently, they were trying to have sex with the white women. It was horrible. They were eating fried chicken and scrawling "B"s on everyone's cheeks.
November 4, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
I stand corrected...
November 4, 2008 4:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Anybody there from the Weather Underground? How about those guys that kidnapped Patty Hearst? The SLA? Were they there?
This is like greatest hits of the 1970's. Call Dirty Harry, he'll take care of them. And speaking of the 1970's, to the best of my recollection, congressman, the Black Panthers ceased to exist in 1977.
November 4, 2008 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
No - we're all right here working on subverting the government online these day - we 60s radicals aren't getting any younger.
I'm so terribly sorry to say...lol
November 4, 2008 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hehe, I was born in '68, so I was able to just eke into 60's radicaldom.
November 4, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, but Megyn whatever her last name is breathlessly informed me that BILL AYERS VOTED IN THE SAME PLACE OBAMA DID, JUST BEFORE OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 4, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
I really want to bitch slap her.
November 4, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was literally screaming at the TV this morning.
And realized just how nutty that was, so I turned it off, and went for a walk with my dog.
November 4, 2008 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd pay money to see that.
November 4, 2008 4:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
ROFLMAO!!!!
Such Outrage! Such Concern!
Such a Bore at this point!
November 4, 2008 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Were they planted there by the repubs? It gels too neatly with ACORN, terrorism, and all the other junk that they've been peddling.
November 4, 2008 3:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I doubt they are plants. They look "normal"-ish, and I imagine the only black men that the GOP could convince to do this at this point in history would be the most sadly out-of-touch of derelicts who really need a ten spot.
I imagine they're well-meaning guys who fancy themselves protecters of their neighborhood and didn't think through their plan. I mean, if they meant to cause trouble they would have--and they didn't. But it's still intimidating to see guys in matching psuedo-paramilitary getups with a billy club. :P
November 4, 2008 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
just so. this is no good.
November 4, 2008 3:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nice Desi, nice!
November 4, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
It was be nice if somebody at TPM (or any media outlet) would contact the Black Panthers to confirm this b.s. (as I said, I suspect more Republican dirty tricks).
November 4, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ohio cops heart Joe the Plumber!
http://news.aol.com/elections/article/joe-the-plumber-stopped-for-speeding/236849
November 4, 2008 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
They should have cleaned his pipes!
November 4, 2008 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Isn't there an outstanding warrant for Joe in Arizona for driving on a suspended license? I thought the police used the Internet(s) to check for that sort of thing?
November 4, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I want to know how many of the Black Panthers had backwards Bs carved in their cheeks.
November 4, 2008 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Biggest fish so far is an Ulua (giant trevally) 14 and a half pounds...2400 collected and prize pool is at 1200 with the remainder to the Hawaii Dem Party!
November 4, 2008 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have to say, I think the security guard should not have had his night stick out. That is intimidating and just unprofessional. But how the leap to Black Panther's I cannot figure out, vivid imaginations.
November 4, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did you check the video? I doubt they are actually Panthers, if there even are any "officially" anymore, but they were wearing outfits inspired by... they were themselves trying to give that impression.
November 4, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
They are just poorly paid security guards.
November 4, 2008 3:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wouldn't doubt it, but that's not a security guard getup. Never seen a guard coat with the green patches, or a paramilitary beret. I like the fact that there's guys carrying on that tradition. But they don't belong in front of a polling place unless some Bull Connor bastard is already there causing trouble. :P
November 4, 2008 3:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
I did backstage security at Jones Beach theater on Long Island, NY, when I was in college. My buddy headed up the team. There were about 8 of us. Except for one guy who only worked part time, we were a bunch of white guys - Italian, Irish, Jewish, etc. Our uniforms where black high-tops, black baseball caps, and black hooded pullovers with a big Public Enemy logo on the back. We were just goofy college kids, not PE members, not black radicals, not militants.
That said, even if these guys were just hired security help, they should have dressed less intimidating and kept the billy clubs - if they even needed them - holstered. Nobody who supports Obama should be giving the wingnuts anything to feed on.
November 4, 2008 3:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
This thread is a perfect precursor to an Obama administration. An administration that encourages intimidation and threats by "his people" and when shit goes wrong just say it's the Republican's fault.
Obama is a lie and deceit. If he should win there will be a new race war ignited by his presence. This is going to be 4 years that will make people nostalgic for the Bush years.
November 4, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Apparently there is a race war in your head. Why don't you get to work on bringing it to an end?
November 4, 2008 3:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
If the price that we have to pay for having an Obama administration is idiots like you and your completely ridiculous conspiracy theories, I'll take it. Bill Clinton put guys like Rush Limbaugh in business, all while growing the economy and generally doing a good job as president.
I thought for a while people like you would just disappear once the benefits of an Obama presidency were clear, but now I know that you will just get louder in your baseless protestations.
So keep at it! The more you spew your bile, the more I know we're on the right track.
November 4, 2008 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please. You know that's not true. While these guys certainly shouldn't have been there, you do yourself no favors by exaggerating the situation.
November 4, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
A race war?
Nope. Because this whitey, and millions more, are gonna be fighting with and for the good guys.
Oh, and tellmemore? You would be on the OTHER side.
November 4, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
All that Ayers crap, and now Black Panthers?
Evidently the Sixties are still alive inside the asses of Republicans. Because they sure can't seem to get their heads out of them.
November 4, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
URGENT!!!! VA is VERY CLOSE! Obama campaign is not meeting GOTV phone call targets! please Call!
Grassroots phonebankers have been making calls to voters in key battleground states since 9:00 AM, but currently we are still shy of our initial 500,000 midday call goal. Based on current call volume, we need at least 2,000 more people to help with calls for the next hour in order to reach 500,000 calls by 3:00 PM Central. If you can help, we need you now.
November 4, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where do I call to get phone numbers?
November 4, 2008 3:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/phonebankmap You need to have a mybarackobama.com acct
November 4, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
These guys think they're freaking now?
Just wait til Obama appoints Kanye West his press secretary and creates a new cabinet post just for Luda - Secretary of Big Pimpin.
And that's just the start -the entire federal law enforcement apparatus is going to be turned over to the Black Panthers. Who will instantly be engaged by the Black Muslims, who thought it should be theirs.
And that's all before he lets all the prisoners in the country go.
And officially declares that our new national anthem is Swagga.
November 4, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't forget Tupac heading the Department of Justice and Biggie as Treasury Secretary.
;)
November 4, 2008 4:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Idiots on both sides - However these guys were not acting on the behalf of the Obama Campaign. The Republicans will disenfranchise a helluva lot more voters than any Dem shenanigans will today.
November 4, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Google has an interactive voter-experience rating map up and on-line.
If you click zoom-in link in state's pop-up bubble, it takes you to a map of that state with a county-by-county breakdown. Clicking on a county push-pin gives you snippets from voters about their experiences.
November 4, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe it's just me but these guys look as if they wish to intimidate people. This is in Fairmount in Philly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU&eurl=http://www.environmentalrepublican.blogspot.com/
November 4, 2008 3:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yawn. Pretty thin gruel from fox et al. It's just a visceral reaction to see black men near a place of power, in this case, the polling station.
November 4, 2008 3:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is completely unacceptable for a person, any person, to stand in front of a polling station equipped with anything that may be considered to be a weapon.
I am embarrassed for all of you.
Since it appears that there were no real disturbances caused by this, and that the fellow left peacefully even though baited, I would surmise that he was there in good faith. Despite this, it is not something that should in any way be encouraged or tolerated.
Perhaps it would be wiser of everyone to ensure that such incidents do not happen anywhere else than to try make it another they-said-they-said.
November 4, 2008 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
But it was OK for the white cops to do that, in years gone by?
November 4, 2008 3:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
No. Which part of what I wrote was unclear to you?
November 4, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
So now we'll enforce the rules?
November 4, 2008 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes.
Let me know when you invent a time machine and I will be first in line to go back with you to enforce the rules in the 20th century.
Until then, yes.
November 4, 2008 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
OK, then come to NY. Because cops with guns are in all the polling places.
November 4, 2008 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is it against the rules?
November 4, 2008 4:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
O my god - the self -righteousness drips -
If you want to embarrass yourself, fine. Don't drag me into it.
November 4, 2008 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you prefer the cynical view, the example response I gave above is far more likely to let the story die off than starting up a shouting match about it.
I cannot imagine that you would support voter intimidation in any form, under any circumstances, so I am somewhat baffled you would do anything but decry this event.
Take responsibility.
November 4, 2008 4:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Remember, you can't take a nail file on an airplane now. It could be a weapon. So, just about anything (including really long fingernails) could be construed as a weapon.
I have a feeling there were voters who brought firearms INTO the polling station. Those who oppose gun control law often pack heat as a self-defense mechanism
November 4, 2008 5:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
One precinct in the entire nation has one guy with one nightstick and everybody goes apeshit?
Puleeze. Do we really want to revisit the history of voting in this country? Do we?
I think one black man hardly scratches the surface of the years of voter intimidation and vote suppression the GOP has actively been engaged in minority precincts.
I could not care fucking less what Drudge or Fox news thinks about anything.
November 4, 2008 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is another event in the equation that adds up to the disaster and fakery that is Obama and his cult.
At this point Obama himself must have some fear as to what he has unleashed.
November 4, 2008 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Translation:
It sucks to be me right now.
LOL
November 4, 2008 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
The feeling that it sucks would include the realization that attempts to troll progressive blog sites and sway public opinion against Obama have utterly and completed failed. Epic Fail.
November 4, 2008 3:57 PM | Reply | Permalink