Employees' Jobs Threatened if they Vote for Obama, Romney Encourages It

With encouragement from Mitt Romney, a number of employers have told their employees that, if they vote for President Obama on November 6th, it will cost them dearly.  They have been informed that if they vote for Obama, they may have their hours cut back . . . lose their insurance . . . or lose their jobs.

This is not a joke.  I wish it were.

As illegal as this tactic sounds, I was shocked to learn that the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling makes this sort of employee intimidation and coercion completely legal!

If there was any doubt in your mind that next week's election has far-reaching consequences -- well beyond who occupies the White House for the next 4 years -- this ought to put your doubt to rest.

This is all the more reason why we need to do everything we can to encourage everyone we know to vote on November 6th.

Because, if we don't -- they will.


Please share this information with your friends.  It's not just our country, but our entire Democracy that is at stake.


Here's a few quotes from the articles (links to articles follow below):

"Terry McTaggart, the president of a Michigan convenience store, liquor and home heating conglomerate, sent his employees a letter this month suggesting they vote for GOP nominee Mitt Romney and threatening to cut their hours in order to save money under President Barack Obama's health care reform law.

McTaggart joins a handful of CEOs who have urged their employees to oppose Obama, including Westgate Resorts founder David Siegel and the Koch Brothers. Corporations were banned from pressuring their employees on voting for decades, but the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision freed employers to campaign among their workers as a form of free speech.

Romney has encouraged employers to pass their views along to their employees. The National Federation of Independent Business, which almost exclusively backs GOP candidates, will host an event this week to educate bosses on how best to pressure their workers come Election Day."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/mitt-romney-employees-voting_n_1975636.html


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/28/terry-mctaggart-forward-corporation-obamacare_n_2034907.html?ref=topbar


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/us/politics/bosses-offering-timely-advice-how-to-vote.html?pagewanted=all


http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/10/can-your-boss-threaten-to-fire-you-if-you-dont-vote-for-romney/263709/
   
 

Intimidating Billboards Attempt to Suppress Black Voters in Ohio, Wisconsin

Tell me once again that the Republican-sponsored Voter ID Laws in numerous states are intended only to preserve American Democracy and not to suppress minority votes (which, typically lean heavily Democratic).

Just last week, intimidating billboards began appearing in predominantly black neighborhoods in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio (battleground state) and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin informing residents that "Voter Fraud is a Felony!" and is subject to "3 1/2 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine".  The sole image is one of a judge's gavel striking a block.

As if it's not bad enough that Republican legislators and Republican operatives have altered voting regulations in many states in order to remove legitimate Democratic voters from the voter rolls, NOW they have erected billboard signs in predominantly poor, lower-education, minority neighborhoods implying that simply casting a vote can land you in jail.

This is absolutely outrageous and the only way to fight this blatant attempt at voter intimidation is for every one of us to redouble our efforts to get out the vote on November 6th.

You can read the full article here on Bill Moyers web site:
http://billmoyers.com/2012/10/11/ohio-voter-fraud-billboards-target-minorities/

In 2010, the right attempted to suppress the Latino vote by creating a front group called "Latinos for Reform" and running an ad on Spanish language TV instructing viewers that the "only way to send a clear message to Washington is to NOT vote!"  You can read about that attempt here:

http://johnsvor.blogspot.com/2010_10_19_archive.html 

Republican TV ad instructs Spanish-speaking Americans NOT to vote

A new television ad created by Republican Political Consultant (Robert DePosada) under the banner of a group calling itself "Latinos for Reform" urges all Spanish-speaking Americans NOT to vote in the upcoming mid-term elections.


It informs viewers that the "only way to send a clear message to Washington is . . . DON'T VOTE"



http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/2010/10/gop_hispanic_front_group_tells.html


http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/10/19/dont-vote-ads-aimed-at-latinos-are-pulled-in-nevada/?mod=google_news_blog


http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk-elections/article/univision-pulls-ads-telling-hispanics-not-to-vote-in-midterms/19680954



Okay, so over the past few weeks we're beginning to get a clearer picture of who the Republicans want to take "their country" back from:

Blacks

Latinos

Hispanics

Asians

Muslims

Jews

Gays and Lesbians

Immigrants (legal and otherwise)

Women

Liberals

Moderates

the poor

the middle-class

Scientists and researchers

did I miss anyone?