The Free Press -- Independent News Media

Fri May 16 2008

Departments
Election Issues

Keep the Republic
by Robert C. Koehler
March 27, 2008

The ground feels a little soft, but we’re going to stand it.

Premise one: Having a fair election — all votes counted, all who are eligible and want to vote allowed to vote — is far, far more important, even in 2008, than who wins.

Premise two: Fair elections are not a given. They never have been, but things are worse now than ever before because of a perfect storm, you might say, of factors that have converged in the new millennium: officialdom’s seduction by unsafe, high-tech voting systems; the seizure of power by a party of ruthless true believers who feel entitled to rule and will do anything to win; a polite, confused opposition party that won’t make a stink about raw injustice; and an arrogantly complacent media embedded in the political and economic status quo.

The result: Benjamin Franklin’s worst nightmare.

"Well, Doctor, what have we got — a Republic or a Monarchy?"

"A Republic, if you can keep it."

As Franklin, who uttered those words in answer to a citizen’s query as he left the final session of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, saw with clarity, we don’t have an easy form of government. Rather, it’s a complex, unstable yoking of disparate forces, many with a blind urge to dominate. Only by keeping them in relative check do we maintain our relative freedom and, most importantly, our right to participate in our macro-destiny: that is, to have a say in, to help determine, the country’s direction.

Without an intense degree of citizen involvement at the structural level — down there amid the gears and cogs of universal enfranchisement — our government will soon default to something far simpler: one that is of, by and for whoever seizes power.

I know, just thinking about this is terrifying. The stakes are too high. We have no context for contemplating the possibility that the United States is anything but "the world’s greatest democracy," which surely explains why most of the media, including a phalanx of progressive publications that ought to be on hair-trigger alert about vote suppression and manipulation, have ignored or dismissed the glaring danger signals.

These signals include, among much else: obscenely long lines in many African-American and student precincts on Election Day 2004; bogus voter challenges and purges; vote-flipping ("I pressed Kerry and Bush lit up"), weird vote totals (more votes counted than cast, undervote totals that defy common sense) and an array of other "glitches" in precincts that use electronic voting machines; and huge discrepancies between exit poll results and vote totals that, in other parts of the world, would instantly cast doubt on the validity of the election.

It all comes down to the first few words of Dorothy Fadiman’s about-to-be-released documentary, "Stealing America: Vote by Vote," spoken by investigative journalist Greg Palast: "The nasty little secret of American democracy is that not all the votes get counted."

It has been my privilege to be part of two new documentaries — Fadiman’s, and David Earnhardt’s "Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections," which is currently in theaters and available on DVD — that focus on the disquieting irregularities (see above) of the 2004 and subsequent elections. Both movies, by presenting the issue in Americans’ medium of choice, and by creating a context for the possibility of election fraud that transcends Chicken Little and reminds viewers of our nation’s long history of citizen struggle and vigilance, raise the hope that today’s crisis will resonate with a large segment of the public and lead to widespread anger and awareness . . . and maybe something that doesn’t go away. A demand for paper ballots, perhaps. A citizens’ movement.

Recognizing and capturing that "something" was, I think, the unstated goal of a recent two-day brainstorming session I attended in Palo Alto, Calif., that Fadiman organized among people long involved in the issue.

After a lot of anguished back-and-forth, we came out of it with a mission statement that was almost Zenlike in its quiet resonance: To encourage citizen ownership of transparent, participatory democracy.

The vision here, coiled in each word, is of a nation full of election monitors, demanding answers, standing tough when they are rebuffed or told, no, this information is not public (computer voting-machine source codes, exit poll data); or no, the public isn’t allowed here (vote-count premises); or sorry, we didn’t anticipate such a large turnout (not enough voting machines, not enough ballots).

"This really is the serious business of our lives," said Ion Sancho, election supervisor of Leon County, Fla., a fair-elections hero and one of the participants. "My goal is waking people up. My tactic is to put myself in the middle of the road and say" — to anyone who would suppress or interfere with the vote — "hey, you’re going to have to hit me."

These are just words unless you sign on with your life.

---
Robert Koehler, an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist, is an editor at Tribune Media Services and nationally syndicated writer. You can respond to this column at bkoehler@tribune.com or visit his Web site at commonwonders.com. © 2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Email this article to a friend

Don't forget to check out articles from 2007 and 2008

Election Issues

"Did the Limbaugh effect also flip Michigan?"
May 14, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Obama-Clinton funny math: Guam update"
May 4, 2008
David Swanson

"Did the US Supreme Court deliver the Indiana Primary to Hillary Clinton?"
May 2, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Did the US Supreme Court just elect John McCain?"
April 30, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"The 2008 election will be stolen"
April 19, 2008
David Swanson

"The done deal"
April 18, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"Letter to Hillary: remember when John McCain slimed your daughter"
April 17, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Fire and race"
April 3, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"Keep the Republic"
March 27, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"What it's all about..."
March 25, 2008
Sheila Samples

"Can SuperDelegates stop the scorched earth campaigning?"
March 24, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"An election without meaning"
March 23, 2008
Peter Phillips

"We have a dream"
March 23, 2008
Phil Tajitsu Nash

"Hope, change, and pissing in the wind: "Of Obama, Democrats, and the Power Elite""
March 19, 2008
Patrice Greanville and Jason Miller

"Ohio's voting machines are now an official crime scene"
March 17, 2008
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

"Did Republicans give Hillary her victory in Ohio?"
March 8, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Primary day at the polls in Columbus, Ohio"
March 5, 2008
David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor

"Obama & Clinton: who's more likely to confront global warming?"
March 4, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"If you think Karl Rove is evil, make phone calls today"
March 4, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Obama's talking points"
March 1, 2008
Gregg Gordon

"Adventures in inaudible audio with Senator Barack Obama"
February 27, 2008
David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor

"Attention all voters: this is a must-see video"
February 26, 2008
Free Press staff

"On the campaign trail in the Buckeye State stalking the candidates: John McCain"
February 24, 2008
David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor

"Will Clinton's advisors tell her the hard truths?"
February 22, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"How much damage will Clinton do before she folds?"
February 22, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"The Hillary nutcracker"
February 21, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"Behind Obama's wave of victories: the more they know him….."
February 17, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Hillary's hawks -- How Obama's and Clinton's advisors mirror their stands on the war"
February 11, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb, introducing a Stephen Zunes article

"Poll shows John McCain faces tough road in gaining conservative support"
February 11, 2008
Richard A. Viguerie

"The Obama Factors"
February 11, 2008
Todd Huffman

"Vote against Clinton"
February 4, 2008
David Swanson

"Why this Edwards voter Is now backing Obama"
February 2, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Liveblogging Obama v. Clinton v. CNN"
February 1, 2008
David Swanson

"It's all about Hillary, not her party"
January 29, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"The South Carolina you won't see on CNN - South Carolina primary colors: black and white?"
January 26, 2008
Greg Palast

"Conspiracy theorist"
January 24, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"Hillary Clinton's sleaze parade "
January 20, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Bob & Harvey's 3-Step "Ohio Plan" for fair and reliable voting and vote counts"
January 16, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman

"Media misses story: Obedwards wins New Hampshire"
January 11, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Primary concerns"
January 10, 2008
Robert C. Koehler

"Clear evidence of widespread vote fraud in New Hampshire"
January 10, 2008
Paul Joseph Watson

"The Kudzu Effect: The Voting-Industrial Complex chokes our democracy"
January 6, 2008
Sheri Myers, Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

"Still true to ObEdwards: Why I keep donating to both Edwards and Obama"
January 6, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb

"Clinton campaign office re-occupied by peace activists on day of Iowa voting"
January 4, 2008
Mike Ferner

Read Articles by Year:
2007 2006 2005 2004
2003 2002 2001 2000