RUSH: Rick Leventhal, Fox News, reporting from Philadelphia.
LEVENTHAL: I don't even know where to begin, but we have reached a polling place in the city of Philadelphia. One of the two Black Panthers who was allegedly blocking the door of this polling place is standing right over here, who then accused us of intimidating voters because we were here with a camera and a microphone. He didn't answer questions, but other people here have confirmed that another person in Black Panther attire was holding a nightstick and apparently the concern was that they were intimidating people who were trying to go inside to vote.
RUSH: Black Panthers in Philadelphia
intimidating voters. They are trying to steal Pennsylvania 'cause they don't have Pennsylvania, and Fast Eddie Rendell warned Obama of this for the past week. Here is a citizen's account of what's going on in Philadelphia. Rick Leventhal asked the citizen, "What's going on here?"
CITIZEN: We got a phone call that there was intimidation going on, and so as I walked up to the door, two gentlemen in Black Panther garb, one of them brandishing a nightstick, standing immediately in front of the door. As I walked up, they closed ranks next to each other. I'm an Army veteran, that doesn't scare me, so I walked directly in between them, went inside and found the poll watchers. They said they'd been here for about an hour and they told us not to come outside because a black man is going to win this election no matter what.
RUSH: Black people are going to win this election no matter what. Black Panther guard intimidating people. Leventhal says to another citizen, "This is the first time I have heard of Black Panthers being stationed outside of a polling place. This one gentleman who is still here, is he a poll watcher?"
CITIZEN: Sure. He can wear whatever he wants. You know.
LEVENTHAL: The other person, the other Black Panther was not, is not allowed to be standing here with a nightstick in his hand.
CITIZEN: Right, you can't stand with a nightstick anywhere. A nightstick is a weapon and, you know, obviously you can't stand with a weapon tapping it menacingly in your hand, under any circumstances.
RUSH: But he is. Or he was. Amanda Carpenter reporting at the Townhall.com today: "GOP Election Board members have been tossed out of polling stations in at least half a dozen polling stations in Philadelphia because of their party status. A Pennsylvania judge previously ruled that court-appointed poll watchers could be not removed from their boards by an on-site election judge," citing their minority status as a cause. "It is the duty of election board workers to monitor and guard the integrity of the voting process. "Those on site are describing the situation as 'pandemonium' and there may be video coming of the chaos. Some of the precincts where Republicans have been removed are: the 44th Ward, 12th and 13th divisions; 6th Ward, 12th division; 32nd Ward, Division 28. 'Election board officials guard the legitimacy of the election process and the idea that Republicans are being intimidated and banned for partisan purposes does not allow for an honest and open election process,' said McCain-Palin spokesman."
Philadelphia was roiled in controversy in 2004. You might remember this because of rigged voting machines that showed nearly 2,000 votes for John Kerry, who served in Vietnam, by the way, before the polls had even opened. A man used also a gun to intimidate poll workers at Ward 30, Division 11, in 2004, and the Black Panther guy saying, "Black people are going to win no matter what." But despite all this, I don't know, folks. Gut feeling, whatever, I think Pennsylvania is actually going to end up looking pretty good before the day is out. Snerdley's got this look of just utter shock and disbelief on his face, and it just tells me Snerdley what a prisoner you have become to the templates and Drive-By, and you think all this cheating is gonna work and so forth. Philadelphia is Philadelphia. We know what's going to happen in Philadelphia and we know what's going to happen in Pittsburgh. But this state, Pennsylvania is more than just Philadelphia and Pittsburgh anymore.
By the way, check this. This is from the Associated Press-Obama, and it's one of these stories about turnout: "Record Number of Voters Expected to Deluge Polls." It's by Deborah Hastings, AP-Obama: "Long lines and malfunctioning machines greeted election officials on Tuesday as polls across the country were deluged by people wanting to vote in this historic race between black Democrat candidate Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell urged voters to 'hang in there' as state and country officials braced for a huge turnout in that hotly contested state. More than 160 people were lined up when the polls opened at First Presbyterian Church in Allentown. 'I could stay an hour and a half at the front end or three hours at the back end,' joked Ronald Marshall, a black Democrat."
I thought the election was not about race. And if you're going to tell people Obama's black, why not mention that McCain's white? But they didn't do that. So here's the hope and change. If you're going to vote today in Philadelphia, let me tell you what the hope and change is. If you bought into this Obama notion of hope and change, the hope and change is that you don't get killed. The hope is that you don't get beat up by a Black Panther with a nightstick trying to vote against change. Really, though, is there much change in that circumstance?
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: This is an interesting sound bite. This is a YouTube video of an unidentified man who says he's media from the University of Pennsylvania, approaching a Philadelphia polling place and has an exchange with two Black Panther members holding nightsticks at the door. Now, part of this video also is a citizen calling CNN and saying, "Why aren't you covering this?" But when we listened to it, that was sort of confusing. You'd have to know that's what was happening. So we've edited that out, but this is the YouTube video of an unidentified guy claiming to be media encountering two Black Panther members holding nightsticks at the door to his polling place.
REPORTER: Hi. I'm here at 1221 Fairmount in Philadelphia, and this guy has a billy club right here. So do you have any problems here? What's going on? Everything okay?
BLACK PANTHER #1: Everything's fine.
BLACK PANTHER #2: What's the problem?
REPORTER: I'm just making sure.
BLACK PANTHER #2: Why are y'all taking pictures?
BLACK PANTHER #1: 1221 Fairmount --
REPORTER: I'm here. I'm just a media guy, and that's all I'm doing. I'm with University of Pennsylvania.
BLACK PANTHER #1: Do you have any identification for dat?
REPORTER: No. Who are you with? Sorry.
BLACK PANTHER #1: Security.
REPORTER: Okay. I'm not -- I have a poll watcher certificate, so I can go inside.
BLACK PANTHER #1: I wonder why you come up taking pictures.
REPORTER: What?
BLACK PANTHER #1: I'm just wondering why everybody is taking pictures, that's all.
REPORTER: Okay. I think it might be a little bit intimidating that you have a stick in your hand, that's why. You know? I mean, that's a weapon, so that's why I'm a little worried.
BLACK PANTHER #1: Intimidating to who?
REPORTER: I mean, I am a concerned citizen, and I'm just worried that you might be intimidating.
BLACK PANTHER #1: To help people.
REPORTER: Okay.
BLACK PANTHER #1: That's why we here.
REPORTER: Okay, but you have a nightstick in your hand.
BLACK PANTHER #1: You got a camera phone!
REPORTER: I have a camera phone, which is not a weapon.
RUSH: Black Panthers polling places, Philadelphia, as Obama tries to steal the election in Pennsylvania today. Alsip, Illinois, this is Al. IT's great to have you on the program. Hello.
CALLER: Hi. How you doing, Rush?
RUSH: Very well, thank you.
CALLER: Thank you for taking my call. Yesterday they had the funeral for the Hudson family, her mother, brother, and nephew.
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: It was a tragedy, you know, and I'm not trying to diminish that at all. But just as tragic is the fact that over 430 Chicago public schoolchildren have died already in the streets of Chicago this year. There's been more children die on the streets of Chicago than have died in both Mideast conflicts. This is his neighborhood. We have the war in the streets right here, and this is the community that he organized. This is his neighborhood. This is Obama's neighborhood, and it's just the media never reports any of that stuff.
RUSH: Well, of course the media is not reporting it. Why would you expect the media to report anything that is going to be harmful to Obama? You know, in fact, I answered a question from a caller earlier. He said, "How long is it going to be before the average Obama voter gets mad and says, 'What's this? We didn't vote for this!'" You know, I could be wrong, too. I don't know but I think there are a lot of guilty white people voting today for Obama, just to make themselves feel better, thinking they're ending a period in history.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: This is Rick Leventhal talking to Black Panthers in Philadelphia today.
LEVENTHAL: Did you tell that gentleman that you were tired of white supremacy, or did your colleague say that?
BLACK PANTHER: I don't know what you talking about. I don't know why you coming up here and making it look like we're doing something wrong. We are just standing here right now, just serving our people.
LEVENTHAL: Okay. That's terrific. Is there any reason in particular why you're wearing that uniform?
BLACK PANTHER: All this harrassment and all that there is not necessary.
LEVENTHAL: Well, I -- I didn't mean to harass you. I'm just here to ask you a question, that's all.
BLACK PANTHER: You are harassin' me. I don't know why you're here at the polling place with the camera in the first place!
LEVENTHAL: Well, it's our constitutional right to be at the polling place to record the --
BLACK PANTHER: I don't want you recording me. How about the community doesn't want you recording them! People come to vote, and they come to vote in a people -- peaceful atmosphere. They don't come to have somebody put -- taking cameras and microphones and putting it in they (sic) face.
LEVENTHAL: Well, do people come to vote expecting to see someone would with a nightstick out front? Was that...?
BLACK PANTHER: Nobody here has a nightstick, and so I don't know what you talking about.
LEVENTHAL: Well, there was a person with a nightstick. We have video of it.
BLACK PANTHER: I don't care about what was. I'm talking about what is.
LEVENTHAL: Okay, well, that person was escorted out of here by the police, correct?
BLACK PANTHER: I -- I don't know what you talking about.
LEVENTHAL: All right. Well, we have video that shows the person with the nightstick standing right next to you on this very curb.
BLACK PANTHER: You have me telling you that you had no authorization to be here at this polling place. That's what you got.
RUSH: That's the Black Panthers talking to Rick Leventhal at Fox. I mean, they're in the process of trying to steal this state, folks, in Pennsylvania, and they're not going to do it.
I thought the election was not about race. And if you're going to tell people Obama's black, why not mention that McCain's white? But they didn't do that. So here's the hope and change. If you're going to vote today in Philadelphia, let me tell you what the hope and change is. If you bought into this Obama notion of hope and change, the hope and change is that you don't get killed. The hope is that you don't get beat up by a Black Panther with a nightstick trying to vote against change. Really, though, is there much change in that circumstance?
