Today's updates on the King Street Thugs

US DOJ is investigating:

(T)he Justice Department has interviewed witnesses about the alleged intimidation and is gathering information about the so-called anti-voter fraud effort.

"We are currently gathering information regarding this matter," Justice Department spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said in a statement confirming the Civil Rights Division's involvement. ...

(First Assistant District Attorney Terry) O'Rourke said (former DOJ Voting Section Chief John) Tanner made a request on Tuesday to have federal election monitors sent to the county. County Attorney Vince Ryan met on Tuesday with the Democratic and Republican chairmen in the county after he received complaints of possible voter intimidation on the first day of early voting as well, the same day the Houston Chronicle printed a story detailing the allegations.

County Attorney Vince Ryan meets with party heads, instructs them to cool off the hotheads:

Responding to complaints that poll watchers were intimidating voters in predominantly minority polling locations, County Attorney Vince Ryan summoned the county chairmen of both major parties to his office Tuesday and reminded them of their responsibility to make sure the observers were obeying the law.

Ryan also announced in the meeting that he has requested a monitor from the Justice Department to observe the voting process in Harris County through Nov. 2.

In a follow-up letter to the county chairmen, Ryan pointed out that poll watchers are entitled to be at a polling location, but cannot be present at the actual polling station when the voter is preparing his ballot and cannot converse with an election officer about the election, except to call attention to an irregularity or violation of the law.

Houston Votes receives threatening e-mails with racist language:

A group trying to register voters in Houston received threats and emails containing racist slurs after being targeted by a local tea party group accusing it of "voter fraud."

In emails obtained by TPM, the group Houston Votes was accused of being "a bunch of white guilt ridden assholes, NIGGERS and greasy mexican spics," "fraudulent Marxist pigs," and "American hating A-holes."

"We received a couple of threats and several harassing e-mails," Maureen Haver of Houston Voters told TPMMuckraker. "There have been several efforts, I think, just trying to race-bait and stir racial tension and part of that I think is just based on what we've received in messaging from them."

"It's really had a chilling effect on our office," said Haver, adding that one of the e-mails was reported to the FBI.

More of the racist e-mails at this link.

Mediaite and this Kos diary have more on how this development -- the inflaming of racial hatred from the Right in this matter -- might shake out in the coming days.

Here's Miya Shay's report from the scene of one of the EV locations. She interviewed a voter who was turned away as well as a True the Vote poll watcher:



Off the Kuff, Dos Centavos, and Bay Area Houston have more.

"Jerry Patterson Shot Me!"

No, that was ...

a) the dog whacking me on the leg with his tail as he went by

b) a mosquito bite

c) me cutting myself shaving

d) a can of peas falling off the top shelf of the pantry that hit me on the head

e) just Jerry Patterson shooting his mouth off again

Your teevee is still lying to you

The Democratic caucus in the 2011 Senate moves up to 54, with this news about Jack Conway surging to a lead over Rand Paul in Kentucky and this news about Joe Sestak easing ahead of Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania. Chris Bowers, in his post this morning, still showed both trailing ...

Electoral-vote.com, which uses only the most recent poll, today has Sestak losing by ten points and Conway behind by 7. And to be both fair and accurate, Bowers uses a composite of several polls, so tomorrow's version of the chart above will still show Sestak and Conway behind. But the trend is unmistakable:

The odds of Democrats keeping 55 or more seats in the Senate are twice that of Republicans winning the chamber.

I'm guessing you might hear something about this on your teevee machine by next week, perhaps.

More evidence that Republicans can't win on their merits

Merits?! We don't need no steenkin' merits!

-- There's a billboard that went up yesterday here in Houston that says "GOP is the new black." Seriously.

Mary Benton speaks for me:

Someone please show me proof of an African-American stampede toward the Republican Party.

-- In Nevada, a group named Latinos for Reform bought teevee airtime to run an ad on Spanish language stations telling Latinos not to vote.

The ad opens with an attack on the Washington Democrat (sic) powerhouses and tells its viewers failed to deliver immigration reform.

Its (sic) the ending that has Hispanic community leaders outraged:

"Don't vote this November. This is the only way to send them a clear message, you can no longer take us for granted, don't vote."

Anybody of any race who isn't voting is just giving away their power. "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."

Update: you can view the ad here. From Sen. Harry Reid's campaign:

The group, led by a George Bush "Pioneer" fundraiser named Robert Desposada, has one goal - to suppress the Hispanic vote in Nevada.

-- And the King Street Thugs continue their intimidation tactics at EV locations around Harris County.

The complaints, he said, came from Kashmere Gardens, Moody Park, Sunnyside and other predominantly minority neighborhoods. The complaints included poll watchers "hovering over" voters, "getting into election workers' faces" and blocking or disrupting lines of voters waiting to cast their ballots. ...

(Spokesperson Hector) DeLeon said the county clerk's office received 14 complaints of alleged voter intimidation at 11 voting locations on Monday, the first day of early voting for the Nov. 2 general election. (Harris County Democratic Party chair Gerry) Birnberg said his office forwarded about two dozen complaints to the county attorney's office.

We already knew that the Party of NO isn't interested in offering solutions, because we know they made the mess we're in today. Why would any right-thinking individual reward failure with more authority?

Because they just aren't thinking right, that's why.

Gubernatorial debate tonight (again, without the goober)

Three candidates for governor will take part in a live debate at 7 p.m. tonight sponsored by the Houston Chronicle, the state's other large newspapers and Austin television station KLRU.

The debate will be webcast live on chron.com, and you'll be able to discuss the debate with other voters across the state.

Democrat Bill White, Libertarian Kathie Glass and Green Party nominee Deb Shafto will participate in the debate at the TV station's studios. Republican Rick Perry has declined to take part.

Christy Hoppe of the Dallas Morning News will moderate; panelists will be Dave Montgomery of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram, Peggy Fikac of the San Antonio Express-News and Houston Chronicle; and Alberta Phillips of the Austin American-Statesman.

He's ignored every newspaper in the state. He's blown off the taxpayers by renting a $10,000-a-month mansion while our schools go without. He bemoaned Washington for bailouts at the same time he took stimulus money to patch the hole in last year's budget deficit, now estimated to be over $20 billion.

Rick Perry is as sorry as they come, but there are a lot of morons in Texas who just don't care about any of that. The only question left to answer is: can we find enough people willing to vote between now and November 2nd who do?