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Departments Election Issues RFK and Rolling Stone nail Ohio's stolen 2004 election, but much more must be done The story of the stolen election of 2004 has FINALLY busted into the mainstream media, thanks to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Rolling Stone Magazine. We all owe them great thanks. Now we'll see if there's any further media follow-up. And if the Democratic Party actually DOES SOMETHING about the fact that America is about to be hijacked again in 2006, and then for the third straight presidential race in 2008. The massive article in this week's RS focuses on the impossible contrast between exit polls showing a clear and overwhelming Kerry victory versus bogus "official" vote counts giving George W. Bush four more catastrophic years in the White House. It also details some of the horrific intimidation, manipulation and outright theft used by Ohio's GOP Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell to deny hundreds of thousands of mostly Democratic voters their right to a ballot. And it discusses in some depth the fact that Diebold and other electronic voting machine and software producers make it possible for any inside operator to use a laptop and a few keystrokes to flip an entire election in a matter of seconds. It reminds us that the one good thing that can be said about George W. Bush is that the American people have never actually elected him president of the United States. And it gets much of what the GOP really did in Ohio and around the US to steal this last election. With four years to prepare after stealing Florida 2000, the Rovian Republicans engineered a strategy of death by a thousand cuts. Having seen it unfold here firsthand, we must sadly predict that we expect to see much of it again---with many new twists---in 2006 and 2008. And that new laws have been put in place to make it even harder to fight these vote-stealing strategies. In the meantime, two things: In 1960, Bobby Kennedy's uncle Jack won what was until then the closest election in US history amidst charges that the vote count in Chicago----and thus the presidency----had been stolen. No doubt many Foxist rightwing bloviators will bring this up as Kennedy makes the talk show circuit. But it's a lie. It is likely many graveyards voted in for JFK Chicago 1960. But many also voted for Nixon downstate. And though rightwingers have portrayed Nixon as a "great patriot" for (reluctantly) declining to fight that election's outcome, in fact he could have carried Illinois and still not won the presidency. JFK won the Electoral College that year 303 to 219. Illinois gave him 27 electoral votes. You do the math. Secondly, it has been a long, torturous crawl to finally have someone with real media clout report in depth on what has happened to our electoral process. From Florida 2000 to Ohio 2004 and 2005, Bev Harris's Blackboxvoting.org and a few other stalwarts such as Danny Schechter, Joan Seckler, Greg Palast, Mark C. Miller, Ron Baiman, Steve Freeman, Richard Hayes Philips, the EON film group, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rep. John Conyers, John Boniface, and a precious handful of unsung, hard core activists have kept the story alive. It is almost exactly two years since Motherjones.com ran our piece warning that Ohio was about to be stolen with Diebold and other electronic machines. Frankly, it was not until the week of the election that we could conceive of the full scope of what was being thrown at the American electorate to guarantee a Bush victory. In the course of reporting on what happened here in Ohio, relentless indifference and scorn has come from the Democratic Party and the media, including much of the left press. That must now stop. The future of American democracy depends how thoroughly those who believe in it take action on this vital piece of breakthrough reporting from RFK and Rolling Stone. And on the other evidence of what has been done to our right to vote and have those votes honestly counted. In the past month, some coverage has finally surfaced in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek and other big media outlets on the vulnerability of electronic voting machines. But we're still seeing just the tip of the iceberg. Most importantly, STRUCTURAL changes have been made to the electoral laws in Ohio and nationwide that virtually guarantee the ability of the GOP to steal our elections now and in the future. We will report on more of that in our next piece. But what we now know about the stolen elections of 2000 and 2004 must be acted upon in great detail, with great force. Otherwise, there's no reason to doubt that every one of these dirty tricks---and much much more---will be used again here and nationwide in 2006 and 2008, to guarantee that this horrendous GOP reign of terror and error will plunge ever deeper into the American soul. --- Harvey Wasserman and Bob Fitrakis are co-authors of HOW THE GOP STOLE AMERICA'S 2004 ELECTION & IS RIGGING 2008, available at www.freepress.org, as is their IMPRISON GEORGE W. BUSH: COMMENTARIES ON WHY THE PRESIDENT MUST BE IMPEACHED. They are co-editors, with Steve Rosenfeld, of WHAT HAPPENED IN OHIO? from the New Press. |
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Recent Election Issues Articles Renowned computer security expert agrees to meet California county supervisor's '1000 to 1' challenge to 'manipulate' Sequoia voting machine! 100 phantom votes found in one precinct; DelCo board of elections hinders investigation Think globally, protect the vote locally Will they or won't they: last chance for Democrats The vote protectors Ohio's 2006 vote count now includes a higher percentage of uncounted ballots than in 2004, and a statistically impossible swing to the Republicans The drama of empty numbers A monumental victory for the election protection movement Pick a number 2006 How they stole the mid-term election STOP Blackwell, what's that sign: Everyone look what's going down Parallel election midday report Tuesday's outcome may depend on the power of the election protection movement The power of a social movement can beat the GOP double Chickenhawks Check out We Count for a great TownHall confrontation between Vicki Lovegren of Ohio Vigilance and Michael Vu, Supervisor of Cuyahoga County BOE Official states electronic voting system added votes never cast in 2004 Presidential election; audit log missing Repairing the U.S. system of voting: 50 concrete steps Will a shocking new GOP court victory and Karl Rove's attack on Ohio 2006 doom the Democrats nationwide? Renoite sue Sequoia Voting Systems Severe election problems seen in ten states Direct material proof of massive election fraud in Ohio in the 2004 U.S. presidential election A talk with Mark Crispin Miller about what voters can do to prevent another stolen election Will Ken Blackwell find the ways to steal Ohio 2006 as he did in 2004? Important voter activism A loaves & fishes/Holy Ghost victory for the GOP in November? Why is the man who stole Ohio campaigning with a white supremacist? This cannot be Court victory lets preserved Ohio 2004 ballots tell new tales of theft and fraud as indictments and convictions mount Unfit for use in ANY democracy An open letter to Gov. Robert Taft and Sec. of State J. Kenneth Blackwell Coshocton County complaint Saving the ballot evidence from Ohio 2004 San Diego suit’s second hearing: Judge to rule next Tuesday on constitutional and jurisdictional questions New Zogby Poll: It’s Nearly Unanimous How the last presidential election awoke me from an unsound sleep PFAW's Neas praises advance of Voting Rights Act, Calls on Bush Administration to start enforcing the law Why Democrats don't count: lessons from the un-Gore of Mexico Resolution of no confidence in current U.S. elections An open letter from Ohio to the people of Mexico The stolen election of 2004 The Democrats must now say "We Do Not Concede" in the U.S. as it's being said in Mexico Project Vote, voting rights organizations, file to overturn restrictive voter registration rules BBV: Unredacted Hursti Diebold reports, photos released Ignore that man behind the screen, Dorothy Bob Fitrakis for Governor -- he is now on the ballot Alameda County supervisors embrace election fraud San Diego’s run-off election aggregate results are plausible A vote of no confidence: democracy left to languish in living rooms, garages Kennedy's challenge: Salon, Mother Jones & the tortured dialogue Warren County revisited Something smells fishy in San Diego! Response to Salon Magazine Analysis of Connally spreadsheet and other documents RFK and Rolling Stone nail Ohio's stolen 2004 election, but much more must be done Pick a card, any card Will the major media finally cover the electronic election fraud issue? The money pit: Diebold vs. America Worst security flaw ever - 3 states invoke Diebold emergency procedures Cranks and Kooks: Kerry won in '04 Ohio 2004 election thief grabs Gov nod while (surprise! surprise!) voting machines malfunction Hand counted paper ballots in 2008 Busheviks connected to New Hampshire phone-jamming scheme Are mainstream churches finally standing up to the GOP’s hateful “Christian” blitzkrieg? Thousands march in New Orleans for right for Katrina survivors to vote in the city’s April 22 election Shocking Diebold conflict of interest revelations from Secretary of State further taint Ohio's electoral credibility Faith-based voting Targeting the voters in Toledo Targeting the voters in Cincinnati Through a glass Darkely Is the Mainstream Media finally getting half the rigged voting machine story? Please help Clint Curtis Utah testing of the Diebold touch-screen reveals new problems Trust us Harman vs. Winograd, tough choice? Why did J. Kenneth Blackwell seek, then hide, his association with super-rich extremists and e-voting magnates? Did 308,000 cancelled Ohio voter registrations put Bush back in the White House? Statisticians recommend new measures to ensure vote count accuracy, release "Ohio’s 2004 exit poll analysis for novices” As Alito takes Supreme Court seat, Ohio GOP guts election protection The Harri Hursti hack and its importance to our nation Programmer Jeff Dean worked for chief of White House Plumbers unit Free Press Editor in Film at Sundance PA activists sue to vote on machines Important documents The gun is smoking - The gun is smoking - 2004 Ohio precinct-level exit poll data show virtually irrefutable evidence of vote miscount Recipe for hacking ES&S and Sequoia, Hursti-style What’s all the fuss about Diebold in Florida and California? New info may take out Diebold touchscreens Read Election Issues Articles by Year: |
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