Judge: Tea Party Non-Profit Poll-Watching Illegal

Adelante · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:30 am

I posted this in the TP thread, but it seems like it could be an important election law ruling.

Houston Chronicle

Quote:

Judge rules tea party group a PAC, not a nonprofit

A Travis County district court judge ruled this week that a Houston-based tea party group is not a nonprofit corporation as it claims, but an unregistered political action committee that illegally aided the Republican Party through its poll-watching efforts during the 2010 elections.

The summary judgment by Judge John Dietz upheld several Texas campaign finance laws that had been challenged on constitutional grounds by King Street Patriots, a tea party organization known for its "True the Vote" effort to uncover voter fraud.

The ruling grew out of a 2010 lawsuit filed by the Texas Democratic Party against the King Street Patriots. The Democrats charged that the organization made unlawful political contributions to the Texas Republican Party and various Republican candidates by training poll watchers in cooperation with the party and its candidates and by holding candidate forums only for GOP candidates.

Changes in law cited

The group filed a counterclaim challenging several provisions of Texas campaign finance law, including the state's restrictions on corporate contributions to candidates, officeholders and political committees, and disclosure requirements that apply to political committees.

Sterngard Friegen · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:32 am

Meroni?

borealis · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:54 am

Sterngard Friegen wrote:

Meroni?

Hmmmm. Wonder what kind of damage a few county clerks could do to Defend the Vote? Paging David Orr. Paging David Orr.

Shagnastie · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 12:55 pm

It's always refreshing to get news like this from home. With over 4000 Rick Perry appointees (including judges) in office and over 25% of those contributors to his campaigns, it's awfully hard to get reasonable decisions on just about anything that matters.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rick-per ... d=14324227

borealis · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 1:01 pm

Shagnastie wrote:

It's always refreshing to get news like this from home. With over 4000 Rick Perry appointees (including judges) in office and over 25% of those contributors to his campaigns, it's awfully hard to get reasonable decisions on just about anything that matters.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rick-per ... d=14324227

And gives a legal precedent for besieged legitimate political groups to defang dysfunctional anti-vote orgs. I do hope the Tea Party becomes extinct just like the Know-Nothings did. The TP is simply a ressurected form of the KNs except it is stained.

Shagnastie · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 1:02 pm

Forgot to make the point that Travis County courts are pretty liberal as Texas courts go and this ruling could easily be overturned by the more conservative courts to which this would be appealed.

GreatGrey · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 1:04 pm

Sterngard Friegen wrote:

Meroni?

Close.

The "True the Vote" people in Houston is what Sharon has modeled her whole enterprise after. I forgot the woman's name in Houston, but I seem to remember Mertooni interviewing her.

DaveMuckey · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:39 pm

GreatGrey wrote:

Sterngard Friegen wrote:

Meroni?

Close.

The "True the Vote" people in Houston is what Sharon has modeled her whole enterprise after. I forgot the woman's name in Houston, but I seem to remember Mertooni interviewing her.

Catherine Englebrecht

I'm not sure of the date on this link: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/msnbc-tv/46784820/#46784820

Shagnastie · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:00 pm

ZorbasLeGreque wrote:

Everytime I see German names as birthers / nuts I feel guilty for this kind of export ....

Don't feel bad, Z-Man. Tens of thousands of Germans migrated to Texas between 1850-1900. Their descendants are still there, all around the Austin area. Solid citizens ... Adm. Chester Nimitz was from Fredericksburg. They still maintain some of the best little beer-and-sausage gartens you could ever stumble into and crawl out of. :-bd

If you're ever "down that way", try some of the Spoetzl Brewery products. Zum Wohl!

borealis · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:13 pm

Shagnastie wrote:

ZorbasLeGreque wrote:

Everytime I see German names as birthers / nuts I feel guilty for this kind of export ....

Don't feel bad, Z-Man. Tens of thousands of Germans migrated to Texas between 1850-1900. Their descendants are still there, all around the Austin area. Solid citizens ... Adm. Chester Nimitz was from Fredericksburg. They still maintain some of the best little beer-and-sausage gartens you could ever stumble into and crawl out of. :-bd

If you're ever "down that way", try some of the Spoetzl Brewery products. Zum Wohl!

"

Offtopic :

Zum Wohl" is used as a toast when drinking wine or hard liquor. "Prost" is more appropriate for a beer toast. And it's considered terrible manners to toast with water.

Shagnastie · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:23 pm

"

Offtopic :

Zum Wohl" is used as a toast when drinking wine or hard liquor. "Prost" is more appropriate for a beer toast. And it's considered terrible manners to toast with water.

[/quote]

Offtopic :

Danke ... nicht bin ein Berliner! (?) So what would be the correct toast with the real national drink of Texas ... ?

borealis · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:26 pm

Shagnastie wrote:

"

Offtopic :

Zum Wohl" is used as a toast when drinking wine or hard liquor. "Prost" is more appropriate for a beer toast. And it's considered terrible manners to toast with water.

Offtopic :

Danke ... nicht bin ein Berliner!(?) So what would be the correct toast with the real national drink of Texas ... ?

[/quote]

Offtopic :

I would hope you're not a donut.
And I don't speak Texese.

Jez · **Posted:** Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:48 am

borealis wrote:

Shagnastie wrote:

"

Offtopic :

Zum Wohl" is used as a toast when drinking wine or hard liquor. "Prost" is more appropriate for a beer toast. And it's considered terrible manners to toast with water.

Offtopic :

Danke ... nicht bin ein Berliner!(?) So what would be the correct toast with the real national drink of Texas ... ?

Offtopic :

I would hope you're not a donut.
And I don't speak Texese.

[/quote]

Offtopic :

A Belch...
Dr Pepper is notorious for inducing them.

borealis · **Posted:** Fri Mar 30, 2012 6:28 pm

ZorbasLeGreque wrote:

"Nimitz" is not a German name - but a slavic expression for a German. His forefathers must have been Germans who moved to a slavic speaking country and generations later to Texas;

The act which is called "zu-prosten" in German (clinking the glasses and saying "Zum Wohl" (outdated) or "Prost" or "CinCin" or just smiling) is called "trinquer" in French (from German "trinken").

Offtopic :

Z: I realize Germany isn't as strict as it used to be, but my German grammy and professors in Germany taught me what was considered proper toasting protocol decades ago. I was told to never use zum wohl while drinking beer. And I don't want people to think Shag is a donut.

Shagnastie · **Posted:** Fri Mar 30, 2012 7:34 pm

Offtopic :

Hey, if JFK was a donut, I'm proud to be one, too.

June bug · **Posted:** Fri Mar 30, 2012 9:17 pm

Shagnastie wrote:

Offtopic :

Hey, if JFK was a donut, I'm proud to be one, too.

LM K · **Posted:** Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:52 pm

Has God Bless twitted or blogged or anything else about this?

borealis · **Posted:** Fri Mar 30, 2012 11:04 pm

LM K wrote:

Has God Bless twitted or blogged or anything else about this?

If you refer to the not so Divine Miss M, she hasn't twitted anything mockworthy this week. :((

I would like to know if any of our favorite lawyers here might like to take on DTV??

Falsehoods unchallenged only fester and grow.

Judge: Tea Party Non-Profit Poll-Watching Illegal

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