It all goes back ...

To 1968:

...

Some worry that if Barack Obama loses and there is suspicion of foul play in the election, violence could ensue in cities with large black populations. Others based the need for enhanced patrols on past riots in urban areas (following professional sports events) and also on Internet rumors.

Democratic strategists and advocates for black voters say they understand officers wanting to keep the peace, but caution that excessive police presence could intimidate voters.

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'Cause you know how all them black folks get when they're pissed off. Quite unlike the Young Republicans of 2000:

More than three decades apart, two political riots influenced the outcome of U.S. presidential elections. In 1968, protests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago hurt Democrat Hubert Humphrey and helped Republican Richard Nixon eke out a victory. On Nov. 22, 2000, the so-called “Brooks Brothers Riot” of Republican activists helped stop a vote recount in Miami -- and showed how far George W. Bush’s supporters were ready to go to put their man in the White House.

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As Digby says:

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My favorite thing about this is that they assume it's going to be Aftrican Americans rioting in the streets if they don't get their way.

Here's who they should be worried about:

Photographer Joe Eddins and I headed over to the closest one and found a steady line of voters hoping to cast ballots early. Most seemed to be Obama supporters and several had come from the rally. Nearly all the voters were black.

Also at the polling site was a group of loud and angry protesters who shouted and mocked the voters as they walked in. Nearly all were white.

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All I heard yesterday afternoon (as I was working on the house, I had CNN on as background noise) was accounts of bad behavior from the Rethugs, maily harassing early voters. I heard about voting machines flipping votes from Dem to Rethug. I believe the police are looking at the wrong group of people.

Off to work ...

And an addendum: I think this is why we're having so much trouble in Iraq and Afghanistan. The military is a backward-thinking organization as well. They're always fighting 'the last war' instead of preparing for the new challenges of the 21st Century. Yeah, they got new gizmos but the tactics are the same.