Here’s one to keep an eye on. We’ve written a fair bit about John Tanner, the chief of the voting rights section at DOJ. This is the guy who thinks voter ID laws are inherently unfair to whites because–and you have to follow the logic here carefully–the elderly are less likely to have ID cards, minorities have less access to health care and therefore die younger, the elderly are thus disproportionately white, and, if you’re still following, voter ID laws therefore actually benefit minorities.
That logic from the federal officer in charge of protecting minority voting rights prompted Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) to call for Tanner’s resignation. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) followed suit yesterday. Sen. Ted Kennedy is now asking that AG-nominee Mike Mukasey conduct a review of Tanner and consider firing him.
That’s not the only eyebrow raiser from Tanner. He also inserted himself into the investigation of voting irregularities in Ohio after the 204 elections. Tanner is not a political appointee, but he still manages to do the bidding of those on the Republican side who view minority voting protections as a hindrance to GOP electoral success.
Next Tuesday, after DOJ essentially stonewalled allowing him to testify, Tanner finally goes up to the Hill for an appearance before a House Judiciary subcommittee. Might be a fun one to watch.
