Clear Channel caves to leftist thugs, takes down anti-voter-fraud billboards
http://twitter.com/#!/keithboykin/status/260368297499955201
As Twitchy has reported, Clear Channel recently came under fire from leftist bullies for giving space to anti-voter-fraud billboards in Wisconsin and Ohio. Liberals claimed these billboards were racist, intimidating, and in violation of voters’ civil rights. Clear Channel had initially refused to dismantle the billboards and said they would remain through Election Day. That was then.
The media giant now says that the signs will be taken down and replaced with ones that read: “Voting is a right. Not a crime.” Never mind that the original billboards never contradicted this new message. They stated correctly that voter fraud — not the act of voting itself — is a crime. Nevertheless, lefties would not be satisfied until their opponents’ voices were silenced, and now, it seems they’ve gotten their wish.
Liberals rejoiced at the muffling of free speech:
A WIN-Know those Voter warning billboards in black communities owned by Clear Channel who’s partially owned by Bain?They will be coming DOWN
— NYgrooveX (@NYgrooveX) October 21, 2012
Justice prevails. Clear Channel will remove 30 racist billboards in Cleveland.cleveland.com/metro/index.ss… #Ohio #VoterIntimidation
— Connie Schultz (@ConnieSchultz) October 21, 2012
.Mitts Bain Owned Clear Channel has Egg On Its Face – Its Voter Fraud Billboards only reinforce GOPRNC Own Voter Fraud! Oops Down They Come!
— Jon Hardie (@pocojuan) October 22, 2012
“@ariberman: Clear Channel agrees to take down menacing ‘voter fraud is a felony’ billboards targeting minority voters in OH & WI”Hooray !
— crankydem (@crankydem) October 21, 2012
There is hope! RT @connieschultz: Justice prevails. Clear Channel will remove 30 racist billboards in Cleveland. cleveland.com/metro/index.ss… #Ohio
— Rachel R. (@missrrachel) October 21, 2012
Voting rights victory! Clear Channel agrees to take down billboards intended to intimidate voters. #votersuppression lawyerscommittee.org/newsroom/clips…
— Inez Friedman-Boyce (@inezf_b) October 21, 2012
We’ve beaten back voter suppression! Clear Channel will take down intimidating billboards. ow.ly/eE3a9 #votingrights
— Lawyers’ Committee (@LawyersComm) October 21, 2012
GREAT NEWS! Thanks to YOU the “Voter Fraud” billboards seen in Ohio and Wisconsin are coming down. ow.ly/eEgmp
— Election Protection (@866OURVOTE) October 21, 2012
Thanks to YOUR actions, the “Voter Fraud” billboards seen in Ohio and Wisconsin are coming down. Way to go! ow.ly/eEgmp
— Election Protection (@866OURVOTE) October 21, 2012
Squeeky wheels work: RT @dane101: Voter fraud billboards to come down, Clear Channel to replace w/ voting rights msg: dlvr.it/2MLRlv
— EPWisco (@EPWisco) October 22, 2012
Victory! Clear Channel is taking down the “Voter Fraud Is A Felony!” billboards in Cleveland! is.gd/Xtr5re
— Truly S. (@hotincleveland) October 22, 2012
Clear Channel to take down voter intimidation billboards, great work everyone! cleveland.com/metro/index.ss…
— CommonCause (@CommonCause) October 21, 2012
We will not stand for voter intimidation! “Voter ID billboards coming down” via @politico politi.co/TsoEIR
— Gwen Moore (@RepGwenMoore) October 22, 2012
Holy schitt! Clear Channel did something good! (after they did something super-schitty.)thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/1…
— Sean Gallagher (@seagalla) October 22, 2012
@truethevote clear channel pwnd yall lmao.. Those billboards ya put in black and latino neighborhoods!
— J-Instinct (@JayInstinct) October 22, 2012
Lefty group Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued a press release this morning:
Washington, D.C. – Civil and voting rights groups today commended Clear Channel Corporation for agreeing to take down a number of billboards placed in predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhoods in Cleveland, Columbus, and Milwaukee. The groups had mounted a campaign over the past week to persuade Clear Channel to take down the billboards, which warned of criminal penalties for voter fraud and were designed to stigmatize and intimidate minority voters. The billboards were anonymously financed.
…
“This is an inspiring victory for the communities that fought back against these billboards,” said Barbara Arnwine, president and executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Free speech is a right of all Americans, and citizens used their voice to organize and oppose this targeted suppression tactic. Clear Channel did the right thing by responding to the outcry.”
“Clear Channel’s decision to take down the intimidating billboards is a victory for free, fair and accessible elections,” added Brenda Wright, Vice President for Legal Strategies at Demos. “Norton Outdoor should follow suit and stop promoting fear tactics that discourage eligible Americans from exercising their right to vote.”
Conservatives were disgusted by Clear Channel’s shameful moral buckling:
Dems INSIST on fraud, bully Clear Channel | Billboards touting penalties of voter fraud to be removed via.fox6now.com/2bobKgj
— Tamra Varebrook (@TamraTellsIt) October 22, 2012
The cowardly Clear Channel forces an end to the entirely factual billboards warning that vote fraud is a crime. jsonline.com/news/milwaukee…
— Ryan Drexel Rawson (@ryandrexrawson) October 21, 2012
Telling people a crime is a crime is POLITICAL hate speech… who knew? #wiright #tcotjsonline.com/news/milwaukee…
— BadgerVoters (@BadgerVoters) October 22, 2012
@repgwenmoore @politico How is stating the “LAW” voter intimidation? As a Rep YOU should b BACKING what the “LAW” is. Shame on you AGAIN.
— Patricia Prasser (@pprasser_) October 22, 2012
Clear Channel reneges: gives “family foundation” ultimatum on voter fraud billboards.620wtmj.com/blogs/charlies…
— Charles Sykes (@SykesCharlie) October 22, 2012
Family that paid for “voter fraud” billboards feared for children’s safety if Clear Channel outed them.620wtmj.com/blogs/charlies…
— Charles Sykes (@SykesCharlie) October 22, 2012
Sykes said that he spoke with the man whose family was behind the original billboards. According to Sykes, Clear Channel told this man that he needed to either reveal his family’s identity or remove the billboards.
He and his wife briefly discussed the choice and quickly decided that they were not going to back down, even though he knew that he and his family would be subject to a firestorm of controversy and personal vilification. A quick Google search of voter fraud billboards yielded hundreds of thousands of hits. I suppose you could say that he and wife were naive: they had thought they were simply being good citizens providing important information about ballot integrity. They had trusted the integrity and their contract with Clear Channel. And now they had a decision to make.
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The head of the foundation read me a statement about his decision to go public and agreed to post it on this website. It was a powerful declaration of free speech, the importance of election integrity, and the responsibility of voters in civil society. He understood that this would become a national story and that it would affect both his family and his business, but said that he felt it was worth it. He said he would send it to me early Saturday.
But that night, his children expressed strong objections, fearing not only for their parents’s safety, but also for the safety of their grandchildren, who they felt might be put at risk by the forced disclosure of the family’s name and involvement in the billboards. Reluctantly, he and his wife concluded that they could no go forward with exposing their family.
The family is right to be concerned for their safety. The Left has proven over and over again that it’s not afraid to use vicious tactics to silence the opposition.
The plot thickens! Someone post reward for identity of Clear Channel billboards buyer, no doubt high-ranking Republican operative! #nerdland
— ThingsThatMakeUGoHm(@KaylaWildflower) October 21, 2012
Shame on those who claim to value free speech above all else painting a target on those who exercise it. And shame on Clear Channel for enabling these thugs.
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