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Departments Election Issues
Did the “Liberal Media” Get the 2004 Election All Wrong?
by Gene C. Gerard
January 16, 2005
In the days and few weeks immediately following the election last year, the
media pronounced gloom and doom for the Democratic Party and its constituents,
such as gay rights advocates. Journalists and media outlets of the left and the
right, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and Newsweek,
among most others, announced that the Democrats were down and out, and that the
evangelical Christians and the Republicans were the rising power. They divided
the country into red states and blue states, and offered up glossy maps to show
that most states were red and therefore Republican strongholds.
The New York Times, in a special news analysis, announced that “President Bush’s
re-election
is the clearest confirmation yet that America is a center-right
country.” Newsweek was even bolder, reporting not only that the “GOP may be the
majority party for the foreseeable future,” but that “red-state Democrats are a
diminishing breed.” The media even succeeded in encouraging the venerable
Democratic strategist James Carville to say, in an interview only forty-eight
hours after the election, “We are an opposition party and not a particularly
effective one. The Democratic Party died Tuesday.”
Now that two months have passed, the dust has settled, and the election has
finally been concluded (Washington’s gubernatorial election was not decided
until December 30), perhaps it would be worthwhile to look at a few of those red
states. Did the media get it wrong, or at least exaggerate a bit? Were the
Democrats and their values trounced in the election?
Arkansas was one of those red states on election day. Bush won the state by a
healthy nine percent margin. Yet the state re-elected Democrat Blanche Lincoln
to the Senate by a 12 percent margin, and of the four House seats up for grabs,
Democratic incumbents won three, and by an average margin of 24 percent. And
while the state voted against same-sex marriage, last month the Arkansas courts
ruled that a state regulation banning gays from being foster parents was
unconstitutional. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy Fox ruled that a 1999 ban
by a state agency had nothing to do with protecting the health and welfare of
children, but was an attempt to regulate “public morality,” which is beyond the
agency’s power. Judge Fox also found that the children of gay parents are as
well-adjusted as any other children. Red, you say?
In Colorado, Bush won by a comfortable five percent margin. Yet the state
preferred Ken Salazar, a Democrat, over his Republican Senate opponent, Pete
Coors, by four percent. And of the seven House elections, Democrats won three,
and one was not even the incumbent, John Salazar, Ken’s brother.
Montana is presumably the most red of the Western states. Bush handily won there
by 20 percent. But a Democrat, Catholic rancher, Brian Schweitzer, won the
election for governor, the first time a Democrat has in 20 years. And in the
state legislature, the Democrats picked up seats, giving them control for the
first time since 1977. And on the ballot initiative to legalize the medicinal
use of marijuana, 62 percent voted in favor. Although the state voted to ban
same-sex marriage, last month Montana’s Supreme Court ruled that the state’s
public universities must provide health insurance benefits to gay employee’s
partners. Writing the majority opinion for the court, Justice James C. Nelson
noted that “sadly, many politicians and ‘we the people’ rarely pass up an
opportunity to bash and condemn gays and lesbians, despite the fact that these
citizens are our neighbors
and serve their communities in the same manner as
heterosexuals.” That doesn’t sound very red.
Although North Carolina, another so-called red state, voted for Bush by a 12
percent margin, the state also re-elected Democratic Governor Mike Easley by a
12 percent edge over his Republican opponent. And while they preferred
Republican Richard Burr for the Senate by five percent instead of former Clinton
Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, of the state’s thirteen House seats, Democrats
won six .
Bush won North Dakota by a 27 percent margin. Yet the state re-elected Byron
Dorgan, a Democrat, to the Senate by an even greater margin, 36 percent. And the
state’s only House seat was won by the Democratic incumbent by 20 percent. It
would seem as if the Democrats did pretty well for a red state.
In Texas, surely the most red of the Southern states, given that it is Bush’s
home turf, things were not as bad as one might have expected for the Democrats.
While Bush won by 23 percent, the Democrats won a third of the House seats. Of
those, two were by non-incumbents, no small feat in and of itself, given that
the state’s legislature gerrymandered the Congressional districts such that
Democrats were at a huge disadvantage. Even Bush’s own district in Waco went to
a Democrat. And in Dallas County, the residents elected a female, Hispanic,
openly-gay Democrat, Lupe Valdez, as sheriff.
West Virginia, where Bush won by 13 percent and the Republicans maintained
control of the state legislature, the Secretary of State, Democrat Joe Manchin,
won the governor’s election by 29 percent. Of the state’s three House seats,
Democratic incumbents won two, by 36 and 30 percent margins. And while neither
of the state’s Senators were up for re-election, it is worth noting that both
are Democrats.
In retrospect, it does seem as if the media’s announcement of the fall of the
Democratic Party was overstated. While John Kerry did not win the presidency on
behalf of the Democrats, they didn’t really do as poorly as was reported. It’s
true, they lost four Senate seats and a small handful of seats in the House of
Representatives. But they maintained the balance of power in many states, and
even gained control in others. Given that, why would the media, which as
conservatives are fond of saying is left-leaning, if not liberal, report
otherwise? Perhaps because the media just isn’t that liberal.
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Don't forget to check out articles from 2007 and 2008Election Issues
"An open letter to the Election Assistance Commission" December 25, 2005 John Gideon, Executive Director of VotersUnite.Org and Information Manager for VoteTrustUSA.Org
"Diebold hack proven in county test!" December 17, 2005 Glenn Yeagley
"Diebold Inc. in a tailspin after resignation of CEO and filing of a class action fraud lawsuit" December 17, 2005 VelvetRevolution.us
"Orr thinks machines make voting simpler, more secure " December 17, 2005 Mario Bartoletti
"Diebold "hack test" - Sec. State / Black Box Lawyer square off" December 10, 2005 Black Box Voting
"With new legislation, Ohio Republicans plan holiday burial for American Democracy" December 6, 2005 Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Important daily voting news" December 4, 2005 John Gideon
"Poll shock" November 24, 2005 Robert C. Koehler, Tribune Media Services
"Ohio's Diebold Debacle: New machines call election results into question" November 24, 2005 Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Diebold attempts to evade election transparency laws" November 20, 2005 Matt Zimmerman
"Supreme Court stabs another GOP knife into US democracy by upholding ex-felon vote ban" November 16, 2005 Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Has American Democracy died an electronic death in Ohio 2005's referenda defeats?" November 11, 2005 Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"What John Kerry definitely said about 2004’s stolen election and why it's killing American democracy" November 10, 2005 Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Scrap the "secret" ballot - return to open voting" November 5, 2005 Lynn Landes
"Clarification of NEDA's withdrawal of Ohio exit poll paper" November 5, 2005 Kathy Dopp
"Clarification of NEDA's withdrawal of Ohio exit poll paper" November 3, 2005 Kathy Dopp, National Election Data Archive
"Watergate-style money laundering indictments stoke Ohio's stolen election fires" October 28, 2005 Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Powerful Government Accountability Office report confirms key 2004 stolen election findings" October 26, 2005 Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Did you erase your own vote?" October 25, 2005 Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, www.VoteTrustUSA.org
"Why can't the left face the Stolen Elections of 2004 & 2008?" October 18, 2005 Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Carter/Baker Report can't face how the GOP stole America's 2004 election & is rigging 2008" September 20, 2005 Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Two Steps Forward, One Step Back" September 20, 2005 Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, VoteTrustUSA
"FEMA Chief Brown Paid Millions in False Claims to Help Bush Win Fla. Votes" September 19, 2005 Jason Leopold
"Ohio recount lawsuit set for trial; election workers indicted" September 4, 2005 Blair Bobier
"Ohio Governor's ethics violations expose money trail to stolen 2004 election" August 30, 2005 Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Diebold's failure in California" August 7, 2005 John Gideon, Information Manager, www.VotersUnite.Org and www.VoteTrustUSA.Org
"Did the GOP steal another Ohio Election?" August 5, 2005 Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Conyers-Kaptur seek special counsel for Noe probe" August 4, 2005 John Conyers, Jr. and Marcy Kaptur
"Dramatic new charges deepen link between Ohio's "Coingate," Voinovich mob connections, and the theft of the 2004 election" July 29, 2005 Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"None dare call it stolen - Ohio, the election, and America's servile press" July 24, 2005 Mark Crispin Miller, summarized by Mary Anne Saucier, Columbus, Ohio
"Civic Engagement and the Restoration of Community from a voter activist’s view" July 19, 2005 Terri Zins
"My report from Hocking County, July 5, 2005: An update on Sherole Eaton's unfolding Story" July 7, 2005 Victoria Parks, Ohio Backbone Campaign
"Handbook for Ohio Voter Activists, Version 2.0" July 7, 2005 Various activists
"Direct testimony: Presented to Election Assessment Hearing" July 4, 2005 Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Log Cabin Republicans in Ohio" July 4, 2005 Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"With a limp election theft report, Dems prove why they're unworthy" June 28, 2005 Harvey Wasserman and Bob Fitrakis
"Voting problems and uncounted votes in Lucas County, Ohio" June 28, 2005 Justine Smith
"The DNC 2004 Election Report: An indictment of incompetence" June 25, 2005 Steven Rosenfeld and Bob Fitrakis
"Corporate control of the election process" June 22, 2005 John Gideon
"Introduction: Did George W. Bush steal America's 2004 election?" June 16, 2005 Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Voter Confidence Committee Calls For Rejection of CA Special Election" June 16, 2005 Dave Berman
"Activists from 25 states lobby for paper ballots on June 9 and 10" June 10, 2005 VoteTrustUSA.org
"Fear of riffraff" June 10, 2005 Robert C. Koehler, Tribune Media Services
"Electoral Politics and the War: Lessons from 2004 and What the Anti-War Movement Should do in 2006" June 8, 2005 Kevin Zeese
"Optical scan machines hacked in Florida" June 2, 2005 Black Box Voting
"Does ES&S really want to sell the Automark machines?" May 28, 2005 John Gideon
"Attack on election board whistleblower and leaked Blackwell threats re-fire Ohio's election theft scandal" May 23, 2005 Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Franklin County, Ohio Election Procedures – April and May 2005" May 6, 2005 Paddy Shaffer
"Carter Gets It – But Will His Electoral Commission?" April 24, 2005 Kevin Zeese and Linda Schade
"Voter Perceptions and Political Deceptions: Federal, Ohio and Knox" April 24, 2005 Mike Swinford
"Electoral reform groups call for James Baker's resignation from electoral reform commission" April 17, 2005 Ilene Proctor
"National Conference on Election Reform Opens with Civil Rights Panel" April 13, 2005 Abigail Thorton
"View from Another Planet" April 13, 2005 Josh Mitteldorf
"Democrats! Paper “Trails” Aren’t Good Enough. Count The Damn Ballots!" April 12, 2005 Lynn Landes
"Democrats, Paper ‘Trails’ Aren’t Good Enough; Count The Damn Ballots!" April 1, 2005 Lynn Landes, Online Journal Contributing Writer
"Scientific Analysis Suggests Presidential Vote Counts May Have Been Altered" March 30, 2005 US Vote Counts
"As Blackwell Says, Ohio’s in 2004 was a National Model" March 24, 2005 Steve Rosenfeld, Bob Fitrakis, and Harvey Wasserman
"Understanding the difference between paper ballots and paper audit trails" March 20, 2005 Gary Beckwith
"Save Our Democracy" March 16, 2005 John Irwin
"Republicans maneuvering to get Voting Rights Act killed" March 10, 2005 Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
"Legal filing highlights Blackwell's hypocrisy in Ohio recount case" March 7, 2005 Blair Bobier
"Selma 40 Years Later" March 6, 2005 Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
"Exit Poll Madness - Analyst Steve Freeman & Company Offer False Choice" March 4, 2005 Lynn Landes
"Libertarians To Testify in Ohio House: Modernize Ohio's Election Laws" March 3, 2005 Robert Butler
"The New Voting Rights Movement Begins Here Today" March 2, 2005 Steven Rosenfeld
"Voting in America" February 28, 2005 Bob Babson
"The Mighty Texas Strike Force" February 28, 2005 Nick Mottern - Documentary News Service
"Blackwell presidential election sanctions briefs" February 22, 2005 Various individuals
"Representative Conyers and others file amicus brief in Ohio Supreme Court" February 17, 2005 Dena Graziano
"Congresswoman Tubbs Jones Outraged at Blackwell's Failure to Appear During House Administration Hearing" February 12, 2005 Office of Rep. Tubbs Jones
"Ohio Attorney-General's attack on election protection attorneys draws mountain of documentation on state's stolen election, including new study on exit polls" February 3, 2005 Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Prominent Statisticians Refute 'Explanation' of 2004 U.S. Exit Poll Discrepancies in New Edison/Mitofsky Report and Urge Investigation of U.S. Presidential Election Results" January 31, 2005 Bruce O'Dell
"The last man to concede..." January 29, 2005 Sheila Samples
"Report on Washington DC, January 6, 2005" January 25, 2005 Avram Friedman
"Arkansas in 2004: Did Bush Really Win?" January 24, 2005 Max Standridge
"New links" January 23, 2005 Free Press staff
"Voting Problems and Uncounted Votes in Lucas County, Ohio" January 23, 2005 Justine Smith
"Plan B: Parallel Elections & Signed Ballots" January 20, 2005 Lynn Landes
"Open Letter to Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro from Representative John Conyers, Jr." January 20, 2005 Representative John Conyers, Jr.
"Open Letter to Warren Mitofsky and Larry Rosin from Representative John Conyers, Jr." January 20, 2005 Representative John Conyers, Jr.
"Ohio's GOP Attorney General launches revenge attack on Election Protection legal team" January 19, 2005 Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"What are they hiding in New Mexico?" January 18, 2005 Warren Stewart, National Ballot Integrity Project
"In the Shadow of Dr. King, counting the vote remains a civil rights issue" January 17, 2005 Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Did the “Liberal Media” Get the 2004 Election All Wrong?
" January 16, 2005 Gene C. Gerard
"'COUNT EVERY VOTE. EVERY VOTE COUNTS'" January 16, 2005 Mary Anne Saucier
"Moss v. Bush moves on and movement continues" January 13, 2005 Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Rally Continues Drive for Democracy" January 9, 2005 Mark Huntress
"Estimated vote count in Ohio" January 8, 2005 Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"January 6 Washington, D.C. rally report" January 8, 2005 Nick Mottern
"Together, we moved three mountains" January 8, 2005 Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"What the election challenge means" January 8, 2005 David Swanson, ILCA
"Progressive Democrats lead historic voting rights protest as Congress ratifies flawed 2004 Electoral College tally" January 7, 2005 Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Arnebeck letter to Congress re Presidential Electoral Challenge" January 6, 2005 Clifford O. Arnebeck, Jr.
"Senator Barbara Boxer, D-CA and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-OH contested the election" January 6, 2005 Free Press staff
"The "Crime of November 2": The human side of how Bush stole Ohio, and why Congress must investigate rather than ratify the Electoral College (Part Two of Two)" January 5, 2005 Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff" January 5, 2005 U.S. Rep. John Conyers and staff
"Seven key reasons why the vote must be challenged at the electoral college" January 3, 2005 Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
"Ten preliminary reasons why the Bush vote does not compute, and why Congress must investigate rather than certify the Electoral College (Part One of Two)" January 3, 2005 Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Verified election contest petitions and documents in Ohio Supreme Court " January 2, 2005 The undersigned
"Distribution of voting machines by county in Ohio" January 1, 2005 Andy Shifflette
"Did We Bounce An Election?" January 1, 2005 Warren Stewart, votersunite.org
"Presidential election congressional hearing transcript" January 1, 2005 Congresspeople Waters, Tubbs-Jones and Conyers and others
Selected articles from 2004
"Ohio's official non-recount ends amidst new evidence of fraud, theft and judicial contempt mirrored in New Mexico" December 31, 2004
"Impossible Phantom Votes in New Mexico
" December 30, 2004
"The 2004 Presidential Election: Who Won The Popular Vote? An Examination of the Comparative Validity of Exit Poll and Vote Count Data" December 29, 2004
"Ohio GOP election officials ducking notices of deposition as Kerry enters stolen vote fray" December 28, 2004
"Another third rate burglary" December 25, 2004
"Hacking the vote in Miami County" December 25, 2004
"Update from the Ohio Frontlines" December 24, 2004
"Lawsuit Before the Ohio Supreme Court" December 24, 2004
"Kerry votes switched to Bush and ballots pre-punched for Bush" December 24, 2004
"Uncounted votes in Cuyahoga County" December 24, 2004
Related Journal articles:
"GAO report documents how easy it is to hack the vote" November 15, 2005
"J30 Election Reform Coalition" March 21, 2005
"The Un-mighty New Hampshire Jam Force" March 21, 2005
"Petro sanctions democracy" March 21, 2005
"Progressives helped concede election by conceding the moral high ground" March 21, 2005
"We will not concede, or get over it, but we shall overcome" January 23, 2005
"From Selma to Palm Beach to Columbus" January 23, 2005
"Movement Heroes" January 23, 2005
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