Sat May 18 2013
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.




Recent Election Issues Articles

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




Read Election Issues Articles by Year:
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000



FREE PRESS EMAIL UPDATE


Donate to the Free Press Election Protection Fund to help us investigate and monitor election fraud in this year's election.


Donate to The Free Press The Free Press Store

FOLLOW US ON
twitter
facebook


SEARCH THE FREEPRESS




1021 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43205 | 614.253.2571 | truth@freepress.org
All content © 1970-2012 The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer