[Crossposted on Wonky Muse and The Blue Voice.]
Obama assembles the largest "law firm" in the country:
In Florida, Democratic lawyer Charles H. Lichtman has assembled almost 5,000 lawyers to monitor precincts, assist voters turned away at the polls and litigate any disputes that can't be resolved out of court.
"On Election Day, I will be managing the largest law firm in the country, albeit for one day," said Lichtman, 53, a Fort Lauderdale corporate lawyer and veteran of the five-week recount after the 2000 election when Florida eventually delivered the presidency to George W. Bush...
We all know that as the desperate GOP contends with the very real possibility of losing this election and losing it big, the dirtier and sleazier they'll play.
They will commit voter fraud. They will disenfranchise voters. They will create a boogeyman to incite anger in their wingnut lynch mob.
Which is why in addition to playing defense, Obama is playing offense:
With the election just over two weeks away, Bob Bauer, Obama's chief lawyer, said in a conference call with reporters this afternoon that he is asking U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to hand over to special prosecutor Nora Dannehy any probe into what Bauer called "bogus claims of vote fraud" that mirror concerns raised by Republicans two years ago.
According to a recent Justice Department report, those issues played a role in the controversy over the forced resignations of nine former federal prosecutors.
That report - performed by the inspector general overseeing the Justice Department and others - found that David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney in New Mexico, "was removed because of complaints to the Department of Justice and the White House Ö about Iglesias' handling of voter fraud" cases. He had been pushed to bring a case against ACORN - the Association of Community Activists for Reform Now, the group at the center of the current controversy.
"Are we seeing a repeat now?" said Bauer. "It would seem that we are."
His team and the DNC have also filed a lawsuit in Michigan against a particularly repugnant form of caging which is due to be heard by a judge later today.
The intent here is clear: Obama is warning the GOP, we know what you're up to and you're not getting away with it.
The best way to foil the GOP is for us to vote in such massive numbers all across the country, resulting in an overwhelming sweep for Obama that renders their dirty tactics obsolete.
For the meantime, the GOP will continue their unprecedented efforts to steal this election. Obama knows this and he's ready for it:
In a conference call with reporters, Bauer vowed to mount "ferocious response" to any effort to purge voter rolls...
This is a far cry from 2000 and 2004, Kossacks. Trust the Obama.
UPDATE: Wow, first time on the rec list. Thanks, everyone. I wrote this diary because some of us are starting to get worried in the face of the unprecedented shenanigans the GOP is already waging. I hope this allays those fears somewhat.
Obama's got our backs. He's arguably running the most brilliant and formidable campaign in our lifetime, and assembling a huge legal team at this early stage only shows that he's ready and prepared to fight for us with everything he's got. He won't let the GOP get away with stealing the election again. Not. this. time.
Incidentally, Johnny Gentle Famous Crooner in the comments below is one of those lawyers; he also pointed out that most of them are volunteers working pro bono because they believe in the cause. Thanks Johnny, for your efforts on behalf of all of us. You and your colleagues are true American patriots, every single one of you.
Of course, the rest of us have to do our part. We have to vote, volunteer and be on the lookout for possible voter suppression/fraud before, during and after the election. Obama can't do it alone, even if he has put together a legal army that will spring to action at a moment's notice. He needs our help. We can be his extra millions of sets of eyes and ears.
Let's do this, Kossacks. Let's make history.
UPDATE 2:
* Commenter
Nonie3234 provided links for lawyers and the rest of us who would like to volunteer in the Obama Voter Protection Program.
* Commenter
pol provided a link to Video Your Vote, a partnership between PBS and YouTube, as a way to help keep this election safe.
* Commenter
PJ Jefferson correctly noted that the 5,000 lawyers mentioned in the article are for the state of Florida
alone (I initially interpreted the statement differently). I've corrected the diary title to reflect this.
Update 3:
* Commenter
scamperdo astutely pointed out that Obama is a civil rights lawyer who handled election cases and therefore understands, perhaps more than Gore and Kerry before him, how to fight voter/election fraud. Like I said earlier, trust the Obama!