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OPINION

Data Mining and Elections

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
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The Obama administration has been collecting enormous amounts of communications and other data on Americans. The justification which is offered (and which is being accepted on both sides of the aisle) is the need to monitor this information to protect us in the age of modern terrorism.

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The most credible complaint we hear is that they’re gathering data on their political opposition. The IRS scandal gives weight to this thought.

But an overlooked motive will play a pivotal role in 2014: this data-mining effort, in significant part, is a vehicle for getting votes.

We’re told that no one is listening in on our phone calls, that only meta-data is being collected. But meta-data alone provides an ideal profile of your associations, affiliations and leanings.

From there it’s a few simple steps to deduce your personal preferences – and if you’re unregistered but likely to vote a certain way.

A lower-tech effort with the same purpose was pulled off last year in Arizona. A national left-wing advocacy group, Mi Familia Vota, sought to register new voters with as much certainty as possible that they would vote for Democrats.

Calls were made with the promise of home improvement store gift certificates if the respondent would answer a list of questions. The freebies never came. Instead, union members and paid activists canvassed and registered likely prospects in key congressional and legislative districts.

The results were dramatic. In the 13 offices where state-wide voting occurs, there’s not a single Democrat. But red-state Arizona’s congressional delegation, elected by district, was turned blue.

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A left-wing takeover was also achieved in Colorado, as detailed in a 2010 book, The Blueprint. That effort was funded by four mega-donors. But that funding will be dwarfed by what’s in store.

The Left’s Holy Grail is both Senate and House majorities in 2014, and a recent Investor’s Business Daily article by Betsy McCaughey, former Lieutenant Governor of New York and forceful critic of federal healthcare (Using ObamaCare To Create A Permanent Democratic Majority), details how Obamacare and your tax money will bankroll the process nationally: the health care exchanges will function as Democrat voter registration boards and a chunk of the dollars will be used for get-out-the-vote efforts.

And it’s not even necessary to target a great number of congressional districts – just enough of them in amenable areas to take over the US House. With that would go all the necessary federal levers of power.

In the current climate this may seem an unattainable goal. But the achievements in Colorado and Arizona are harbingers of what may lie ahead.

Some still assert that domestic data collection has thwarted multiple attacks.

But when the hardest of data was received from the Russians, this administration couldn’t keep its eye on the ball long enough to get a clue about the Boston bombings. Likewise the flashing lights prior to the Fort Hood massacre.

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In view of those failures, claims that this data is being used just for security ring hollow.

All incumbents want to retain power. But these anything goes, Alinsky acolytes now have access to data, and its electoral ramifications, which Nixon couldn’t begin to dream of. And this administration can’t be trusted not to use it.

There are questionable concerns being voiced about the Feds acquiring domestic SWAT vehicles or stocking up on ammunition. Folks with those worries are missing something more compelling – and sinister.

The Left is attempting a bloodless coup.

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