GOP still blaming election outcome on voter fraud

>>> wrong lessons from this election. and they're still trying to suppress the vote. here's virginia's attorney general today.

>> obama lost every one of those states. he can't win in a state where photo i.d. is required, so clearly there's something going on out there.

>> your ton suggests you're upset with me. you're preaching to the choir. i'm with you completely.

>> he agreed completely. really? his office later had to come out and say he does, in fact, believe president obama won the election. and we've told you how wisconsin governor scott walker wants to end same-day voter registration . supposedly to relieve the burden on his poor, overworked poll workers.

>> they have volunteers who work 13-hour days, most cases are retirees. it's difficult for them to handle the kind of valiant of folks who come at the last milt. it would be better if registration was done in advance of voter day.

>> better for walker but not for the poll workers he's talking about. a top official in the city clerk 's association says walker's proposal would make it more burdensome, a logistical nightmare. in florida the scandal over the long voting lines continue to grow with a new report showing exactly why republicans passed a law last year scaling back early voting hours. the palm beach post says the law was, quote, intentionally designed by florida gop staff and consultants to inhibit democratic voters. they say the republican fraud concerns to advance only as subterfuge as the law's main purpose, gop victory. now all of florida 's democratic members of congress have sent a letter to the u.s. commission on civil rights demanding a federal investigation. joining me now is jim greer , former chair of the florida republican party . he's been telling us for months about this voter suppression . and he was a key source for "the post" article. thank you for joining me.

>> good to be here again, al.

>> are you pleased that more republicans are admitting they were deliberately trying to suppress the vote?

>> well, i'm pleased that for the first time people have shown courage by coming out and saying what jim greer has been saying as the truth. charlie crist came out, our former governor, and even a former gop consultant, who didn't want to be named, he said what i've been saying actually did occur.

>> now, we've got the " palm beach post " quoted a strategist from the early 2008 voting days. wayne bertsch said, when we started seeing the increase of turnout and the turnout operations that the democrats were doing early voting , it certainly sent chills down our spines.

>> well, i've told you before, the republican party and the strategists never liked early voting . republicans, they believe don't win in early voting . so, what they have to do is decrease, if not eliminate early voting as much as they could. and they did. and you saw what happened this last election.

>> now, when you look at this unnamed gop strategist, who says this about to the polls, the sunday before election, where ministers would encourage their parishioners to go to the polls, listen to what this strategist said. i know that cutting out the sunday before election day was one of the targets only because that's a big day when the black churches organize themselves. here's a direct, not only assault on a party, but on a race and denial of voting rights . i mean, there's nothing more un-american, undemocratic than this. and i'm talking democratic in the terms of democracy, not in terms of parties. luckily some of the ministers like the bishop and others down in -- victor curry and others turned that around the sunday before. but this was a direct strategy here, mr. greer .

>> absolutely. i told you political consultants and the strategists are the ones who put this type of legislation together. they put it together to keep voters that typically won't vote republican from getting to the polls. the republican party needs to change the way it does business. it needs to embrace minority voters. it shouldn't give up on minority voters. and it should play by the election rules. not change the rules every couple of years to benefit the republican party .

>> but even if --

>> the party --

>> -- they don't want to embrace minority voters. we're talking about them denying their right to vote. it's one thing if you have a strategy you don't want to go after people. it's another to deny them their rights.

>> there's no doubt about it. the way the republican party in florida , some of its current leaders, some past leaders, and even in other states operate is to win at all costs. if we can't win on public policy positions, let's keep people from getting to the polls, let's keep them from registering. let's keep power at all costs. that's what's gone on in florida . if there ever needed to be a federal investigation of the voting violations, the voting laws, it's here in florida and in some other states.

>> no doubt about it. now, former florida governor charlie crist was on my dshow days before the election. saying these long lines were voter suppression .

>> it's hard to interpret it any other way, reverend al. i think it is voter suppression . it's ridiculous. my heart bleeds for the people of florida . they ought to have the right to have this cherished, precious right to vote. a lot of people fought very hard for people to have that right. some died for it. we ought to respect it.

>> rick scott won't even answer the question, but former governor charlie crist was right. some died for it. some of us are not going to let people get away with it. jim greer , thank you for your time tonight.

>> thank you, al. it was a pleasure to be here.

>> we'll be right back. it's