The New Black Panther Case is Not ‘Small Potatoes’

Hans von Spakovsky / July 28, 2010

Abby Thernstrom is my friend and we usually agree on voting matters, but I have to say with due respect to her that her view of the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case is wrong for a number of reasons, from her characterization of the evidence in the case to a misunderstanding of the applicable legal standards.

On the other hand, Commissioner Thernstrom seems to have backed off somewhat on some issues in her latest posting at National Review. Whether or not this is because of the sharp criticism by Andy McCarthy, it is hard to tell, although I have to say I agree with Andy’s analysis. What isn’t hard to tell is that she seems to be backtracking toward her position of December 2009, that the NBPP matter constituted “blatant voter intimidation.” She makes a number of concessions in here piece, among them: (more…)