AP Touts 'Nonpartisan' Group -- Headed by Clinton's Speechwriter

As long as we’re in the habit of wondering about those "nonpartisan" groups being touted by reporters, what about AP reporter Deborah Hastings writing about the fight over voter fraud and requiring voters to show some form of ID? As the Supreme Court considers an Indiana law, touted as the strictest law in requiring a photo ID, Hastings writes "If the law is upheld, voting rights advocates fear it will encourage conservative lawmakers across the country to enact equally restrictive measures."

Hastings repeatedly suggests the battle is between conservatives and nonpartisans. The prospect of the Supreme Court upholding Indiana "worries voters’ rights groups." Such as?

"If it's upheld, we're certainly concerned that these same issues will resurface" in other states, said Justin Levitt of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University....

The Bush administration has endorsed the measure before the Supreme Court, saying it is necessary to prevent fraud — specifically, to prevent voters from impersonating someone else at the polls, according to an amicus brief filed by the U.S. Justice Department.

Yet nonpartisan organizations including the Brennan Center, which studies voter issues, know of no one in the country who has been prosecuted for such a crime. The federal government does not keep such statistics.

"There are tens of millions of people in this country who don't have this type of identification. It's hard for middle-class people to understand that," said Michael Waldman, the center's executive director.

But is the Brennan Center truly "nonpartisan"? Or is it more liberal and Democratic? Hastings never explained the simplest piece of biography to the reader: Michael Waldman was Director of Speechwriting for President Clinton from 1995 to 1999. He even wrote a book about it called POTUS Speaks. Before that, he worked for Ralph Nader.

Readers should notice that a "nonpartisan" label is a little weird for a group named after a liberal hero like Supreme Court Justice William Brennan. It ought to be a dead give-away that the reporter is engaged in the art of ideological camouflage.

(Hat tip to Im-a-U2-fan: how about that U2 in 3D?)