Swiftboating Latino Voters (Update)

Aping the Teabaggers, the Rethugs wrap themselves in the flag and promote their party as the defenders of the Constitution. And just when you thought they  couldn’t sink any lower, they roll out the above ad to Hispanic voters encouraging them to ignore their most primary constitutional responsibility– the right and duty to vote.  (For the Spanish version, see  here.)

Think Progress reported earlier today that: Univision Accepts $80,000 To Air GOP Group’s Ads That Tell Latinos Not To Vote:

Yesterday, Latinos for Reform — a Republican 527 group — announced that it purchased an $80,000 buy on Univision to air ads urging Nevada Latino voters not to vote. Robert Deposada, a conservative political consultant and political analyst for Univision, has described the ad as an expression of the Latino community’s frustration with the lack of immigration reform. Apparently, telling Latino voters not to vote will somehow empower them. “It’s the only way for Hispanics to stand up and demand some attention,” Deposada claims. ..In 2008, Latinos for Reform aired ads “alleging that Obama puts African Americans before Latinos and Africa before Latin America.”

After TP urged Univision not to run the ad, Univision saw the light and canceled it, citing their commitment to urging community involvement in our democracy. After which TP decided to do a little digging into Latinos for Reform. Just who, in this post Citizens United era of unlimited corporate special issue funding, were these masked banditos?

To begin with, the group’s 8872 form lists the same P.O. Box number as the one belonging to the Admiral Roy F. Hoffmann Foundation, an organization founded by the chairman of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), Roy F. Hoffmann. For those who don’t recall, SBVT was another 527 group formed during the 2004 elections aimed at opposing Sen. John Kerry’s (D-MA) presidential bid by distorting and misrepresenting his war record.

[…]

The connection doesn’t stop at a P.O. Box. Latinos for Reform, the Hoffmann Foundation, and SBVT have all employed the services of the same consulting firm, Political Compliance Services. Susan Arceneaux, a “long time aide of Dick Armey” heads the company. The firm markets itself as “an accounting services vendor specializing in FEC regulations. Our comprehensive approach to your individual accounting needs will deliver you from the headaches and legal ramifications of FEC non-compliance.” Latinos for Reform hasn’t filed anything with the IRS since April 2, 2009.

Latinos for Reform’s post-election 2008 report also lists an expenditure of $1,203 that went towards Paul Sullivan & Associates, a law firm recommended by the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA).

Finally, John T. Finn, who donated a total of $70,000 to Latinos for Reform, is listed as a “Producer & publisher” on the group’s contribution form. However, the address attached to his name also belongs to Pro-Life America and Lovematters.com.

How many patriotic Americans died during the Revolutionary War to insure the principle of one man one vote as the very cornerstone of the American republic? How many brave Americans died in subsequent wars to insure the same thing?

Just who do these hypocritical, un-American assholes think they are? Are they so obsessed with  power that they would destroy the Constitution in order to save it? I thought that buying and stealing votes was as low as they could go.   But to encourage others to share in their perfidy by effectively asking them to steal their own votes  is a trip straight into the abyss.

UPDATE: Via The Big Orange, NV-Sen: GOP attempts to suppress votes, this chart explains the panic behind the ad:

Kos explains:

Given that Democrats win Latinos 2-1 or even 3-1, it’s bad news for Republicans if they turn out. Pretty powerful motivation to keep them home, huh?

Incidentally, Univision refused to air the ad. It was so craven and stupid, they couldn’t bring themselves to take the cash. And quite ironically, this story is ALL the rage in Spanish-language circles. The GOP has just given Democratic GOTV efforts among Latinos a massive boost.

Heh.

The measure of the advance of society is directly determined by the degree to which public opinion can control personal behavior and state regulation through nonviolent expression. The really civilized government had arrived when public opinion was clothed with the powers of personal franchise. Popular elections may not always decide things rightly, but they represent the right way even to do a wrong thing. Evolution does not at once produce superlative perfection but rather comparative and advancing practical adjustment.
-The Urantia Book