If my first post was as “equally alarming” as Beth Chapman’s Press Release, it was because all I knew at the time of the post was the info from the Secretary of State’s office.

Although, actually, I thought my posts were a bit understated. I didn’t speculate or lay blame as to who was responsible. I asked readers for more info from their own experiences about how the info was being circulated that Chapman said was being circulated. I asked for a copy of what was being circulated. I simply passed along the info that I knew as I knew it.

BTW, and while you say that Jackson labeled the release on his website as a joke, multiple people tell me that he did not label it as a joke initially but added that later.

I will be sure to check back with you next time I have any questions about definitions of multi-syllabic words in newspaper articles.

Do you see the difference?

As to ALGOP leaders etc defending the prank, where do you get THAT from?

Breaking news on ALGOP last night around 5:15 PM yields this quote:

“State Republican Party spokesman Phillip Bryan decried the said the radio show stunt, which he said could send the election results to court if Sanford wins. ‘We take this kind of stuff very seriously,’ Bryan said. ‘This is no laughing matter for anybody’.”

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/06/secretary_of_state_weighs_in_o.html

The word “decried”, in case you didn’t know, is the past tense of decry, and means: “To condemn openly.”

And one story from this morning even starts: “WVNN host’s phonynews release even upsets Republicans.”
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/124462531383850.xml&coll=1

“I don’t condone that kind of practical joke,” Sanford said during his victory celebration Tuesday night at the Heritage Club. “It’s pretty serious when you’re talking about the public trust and getting people elected.”

If I cared to look, I could probably find more such examples… but then, you could have searched for them, as well. And found them. You might want to keep that in mind before wondering “when will somebody…” in the future.

You want to know when they will “denounce this shameful conduct?” The answer to your question is… about 18 hours before you asked your question in post #36.

But I think we’ll find that South Huntsville turned out in much greater numbers – Sanford beat Givhan in the primary because of the Housing Authority issue. The issue hasn’t gone away and the area has recently been ‘politicized’.

Hall didn’t make her views known on the issue and the press refused to cover it.

BTW, I defend Jackson’s joke as a joke because his post at his website labeled it as a ‘joke’. To be clear – the ‘flyer’ was posted on his website described as a ‘joke’. That’s pretty easy to defend.

Jackson’s on air comments are less defensible, but he tried to undo whatever harm he caused by explaining on air that it wasn’t true.

Jackson admits that his use of the State Seal was a mistake – he called the SoS office and they asked him to stop using it – which he says he was told was the usual remedy for his mistake – so he stopped by taking it down.

At this point, the issue seems more like an attempt by the Dems to take a talk show host’s scalp – but Jackson shaves his head so that won’t be easy.

I think it disingenuous to say that simply because some did not find the “joke” funny does not mean it was any less of a joke. Folks are kidding themselves if they insist that this was a “joke.” Calling it a joke is pretextual. And, parroting the line about it being a joke only excuses DJ’s conduct. Excusing the action amounts to complicity in my book, which again begs the question: if no one from Sanford’s camp or the ALGOP was even tagentially involved in this, why are they all defending it as a “joke”? When will they denounce this shameful conduct?

And do people honestly believe this was an attempt to “take away the vote” from Democrats? If so, it was the most high-profile, inept attempt I’ve ever seen. It was a joke, people, intended to amuse. It obviously didn’t amuse many people, but I’ve heard a lot of jokes and comedy routines that I didn’t think were funny. That doesn’t mean they weren’t funny, they just weren’t funny TO ME.

So take a deep breath, calm down, and see if you can’t find something better to complain about.

Oh, and as to your statement:

“And, if you are right, Matthew, that our government is not a democracy, but a representative republic…”

What do you mean, IF I am right? Don’t you know? You should. Let me give you two examples…

“And to the Republic for which it stands…” – Pledge of Allegiance

“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government…” – US Constitution, Article IV, Section 4.

And here are some sites that may, or may not, help you. I pulled them from a search engine, so take them for what they are.

http://www.thisnation.com/question/011.html

http://www.tax-freedom.com/ta19007.htm

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1710/is-the-u-s-a-democracy-or-a-republic-whats-the-difference

And, if you are right, Matthew, that our government is not a democracy, but a representative republic, what is the consequence for people in the majority (such as Dale Jackson) who continue to oppress the minority? A representative republic protects the liberties of the minority, and the right to vote certainly falls under those protected liberties. An effort to take away the right to vote, whether you personally believe that minority should have that right or not, is contrary to a true representative republic. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Matthew.

By the way, has anyone seen a statement from Sanford conddemning Jackson’s actions?

And some people should just NOT vote. We don’t need everyone casting a vote, we need as many INFORMED voters as possible. Anybody who would be fooled by such a trasparent stunt doesn’t have the intellectual capacity that we need in voters. I’m sorry you disagree, but the one thing we DON’T need is uninformed voters casting their votes as somebody else told them to, or voting for the name they recognize, or even blindly pulling the “party line” lever.

Had I heard such a rumor prior to an election, even on the day of, I would have probably ignored it and just gone to my polling place. Had I been sufficiently concerned, I would have called and checked on it… but under NO circumstances would I have just decided not to vote. The story doesn’t even sound remotely real, as I am not aware of such a thing EVER happening. To believe it unquestioningly is… not reasonable.