November 24, 2011. Lansing. A second Democratic Party official in Michigan has pled ‘no contest’ to charges of creating a fake political party in an attempt to affect the outcome of local 2010 elections. The two men admitted to creating a slate of candidates under the Tea Party ballot line. The scheme, it was thought, would lure Republican voters away from GOP candidates, thus splitting the Republican vote between the traditional Republican Party and the fake Tea Party, insuring widespread Democratic victories.
The Oakland County Democratic leaders, Jason Bauer and Mike McGuinness, have both admitted to their involvement. Fortunately for voters, the scheme was stopped by the state Supreme Court before the election. McGuinness is the former Oakland County Democratic Party Chairman and was charged with two felony counts already. Bauer pled no contest to five felonies, including forgery, perjury and three counts of falsely notarizing candidate affidavits. Both men are expected to be sentenced in December or January.
Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson told the Detroit Free Press that the, “fake Tea Party was a clear effort to deceive and manipulate voters. We're fortunate it was uncovered before the election." Johnson, a Republican, was the Oakland County Clerk at the time. County and state Democratic Party leaders, including Oakland Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer, have denied any involvement or knowledge of the conspiracy.
The report went on to quote Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard when he announced the indictments back in March of this year. The “scheme” he called it, was “devised by a party leader in Lansing to put people on the ballot on the Tea Party ticket.” This isn’t the first time Democratic Party operatives have put phony candidates on the ballot under the Tea Party line. Accusations have swirled around states like Florida since the conservative movement gained notoriety.
Democrats counter that Republicans are guilty of the same dirty tricks. They point to the recent nomination of Alvin Greene as the Democratic Party candidate for South Carolina’s US Senate seat. With no web site and no campaigning, Greene won the Democratic Party primary. Democrats have accused Republicans of voting in their primary to pick the least qualified candidate. While South Carolina Democratic Party leaders have called for an investigation in that case, no action has yet been taken.
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