Caging

(...and why the GOP really has to get with this top level domain thing.)

All the cool kids are using it... be the first on your block to show off your political literacy with the term 'caging'...

Which, loosely translated, means 'being an asshole by using challenges against specific voters to cause mass disruptions at the polling booth'. From Palast's bit:

Two e-mails, prepared for the executive director of the Bush campaign in Florida and the campaign's national research director in Washington DC, contain a 15-page so-called "caging list."

It lists 1,886 names and addresses of voters in predominantly black and traditionally Democrat areas of Jacksonville, Florida.

An elections supervisor in Tallahassee, when shown the list, told Newsnight: "The only possible reason why they would keep such a thing is to challenge voters on election day."

Ion Sancho, a Democrat, noted that Florida law allows political party operatives inside polling stations to stop voters from obtaining a ballot.

They may then only vote "provisionally" after signing an affidavit attesting to their legal voting status.

Mass challenges have never occurred in Florida. Indeed, says Mr Sancho, not one challenge has been made to a voter "in the 16 years I've been supervisor of elections."

"Quite frankly, this process can be used to slow down the voting process and cause chaos on election day; and discourage voters from voting."

Sancho calls it "intimidation." And it may be illegal.

See the Palast's comments here. The BBC stuff is in a video stream available for 24 hours--you can get it via Palast's page.

'Caging' seems to come from the GOP people's own lexicon--which brings us to the fascinating story of how these lists came to light.

Seems the site www.georgewbush.org, a parody site run by the same delightful loons who do the Landover Baptist schtick, got a few emails sent by GOP operatives... probably, they were meant to go to georgewbush.com. See the .org folks' page of dead letters--stuff caught in the gears of their mail server--at this link.

Which leads me to two observations:

1. the GOP folks really have to get with this top level domain thing. Remember Cheney and factcheck.org during the veep debate?
2. hit and miss though it may be, never underestimate the power of parody--this seamy bit of business--which I'd think in sane world should do some pretty serious damage to what remains of the GOP's reputation in Florida--came to light because a coupla funny guys put up a lampoon site, and I hereby heartily salute them for it.

Betty Bowers, we luvs ya!