Karl Rove, in a speech to the Republican National Lawyers Association in 2006, thanked the group for their work in previous elections and called for voter I.D. laws.
“We have in some parts of the country, I’m afraid to say, beginning to look like we have elections like the ones run in countries where the guys in charge are colonels in mirrored sunglasses, it’s a real problem,” Rove said. “And I appreciate all that you’re doing in those hotspots of the country to ensure that the ballot is — the integrity of the ballot is protected because it is important to our democracy.”
He then went on to list as problematic many of the states where the George W. Bush Administration would soon fire U.S. Attorneys for failing to bring indictments against Democrats for voter fraud, amongst other reasons.
As you may recall, e-mails showed that Rove had wanted the Justice Department to make voter fraud allegations a higher priority.
“I am concerned about voter fraud,” Rove said, adding that it was “far more of a problem and widespread” than was acknowledged. “It always mystified me why the issue was not a higher priority for the Justice Department. I never got a satisfactory answer.”
Here’s a fuller transcript of Rove’s remarks tot he RNLA in 2006.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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