Will the GOP election theft machine do it again in 2008? by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman October 19, 2007
With record low approval ratings for the Bush/Cheney regime and the albatross of an unpopular war hanging from the GOP's neck, do you think that a Democratic presidential candidate will win the White House, get us out of Iraq, and end our long national nightmare?
Think again – the mighty election theft machine Karl Rove used to steal the US presidency in 2000 and 2004 may be under attack, but it is still in place for the upcoming 2008 election.
With his usual devious mastery, Rove has seized upon the national outrage sparked by his electoral larceny and used it as smokescreen while he makes the American electoral system even MORE unfair, and even EASIER to rig. Thus the administration has fired federal attorneys when they would not participate in a nationwide campaign to deny minorities and the poor their access to the polls. It has spent millions of taxpayer dollars to install electronic voting machines that can be "flipped" with a few keystrokes. And under the guise of "reforming" our busted electoral system, it is setting us up for another presidential theft in 2008.
Thus it should come as no surprise that our exclusive investigations into the firings of eight federal prosecutors who refused to execute Rove’s plans for massive disenfranchisement of Democratic voters reveal a pattern of illegalities and fraud aimed at reducing the number of minority, poor and young voters at the core of Democratic support. In the wake of major news breaks, two felony convictions have come from the rigging of the illegal Ohio 2004 vote count and recount that gave George W. Bush a second illegitimate term. Stunning new admissions from county election boards that illegally destroyed voter records will almost certainly lead to new convictions. And the multi-million-dollar electronic voting machine scam that made possible the biggest electoral frauds in US history is under massive new attack, with key states moving to scrap the machines altogether in a desperate attempt to restore American democracy – but with the job far from done.
Rove, Ney and the undead
Indeed, the Rovian theft engine is far from dead. The media groundwork has already been laid out for the Republicans to claim that hordes of illegal aliens have registered to vote. The Bush administration has been caught ordering public agencies – possibly in violation of the law – to cease registering voters. In an April, 2006 speech to the Republican National Lawyers Association, Rove openly alluded to the strategy of demanding photo ID and purging voter roles of poor, minority voters just as had been done in 2000 and 2004. And, as always with Bush/Rove, there is much more beneath the surface.
All that has happened to challenge the GOP death grip on the American vote count has been reported in the pages of Hustler and on the internet at freepress.org, bradblog and elsewhere, and is being seized upon by a national grassroots movement determined to restore American democracy next year.
Nowhere has that movement been more in evidence than with the high profile firestorm surrounding Bush administration Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ firing of eight federal prosecutors without legitimate cause.
Evidence continues to surface from throughout the United States about this blatant Bush abuse of executive power. But we have traced the roots of the firings to an obscure Congressional hearing held at the statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, on March 21, 2005, and to a shadowy GOP operative named Mark F. "Thor" Hearne.
The hearing was conducted by none other than former US Rep. Bob Ney (R-18th OH). The once-powerful Ohio Congressman (who is now behind bars) was the godfather of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), the national boondoggle that mandated electronic voting machines for the American electoral process.
That the machines would cost taxpayers billions was a big plus for Ney. They would come from Diebold and other companies that poured money into Republican coffers. Thanks largely to the manipulations of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, these e-voting machine companies would help guarantee the GOP’s ability to steal elections.
Ney’s hearing featured a marquee appearance by J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Secretary of State responsible for delivering Ohio’s decisive 2004 electoral votes to Bush. Blackwell was a key operative for the Bush election campaign in Florida in 2000 and co-chaired the Bush-Cheney 2004 re-election campaign in Ohio.
"Haul butt!"
Congressional protocol required that Ney allow Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Cleveland) to question Blackwell. Soon Blackwell and Jones were yelling at each other in a legendary exchange that ended with Jones telling Blackwell to "haul butt" out of the chamber.
Not quite so high profile was the ensuing testimony by Hearne, who identified himself as the head of the American Center for Voting Rights. Hearne is a long-time GOP dirty trickster, with a Rovian rap sheet dating to the 1970s. He did not explain that the ACVR had a post box in a Dallas mall, but no office, few staff, a board stacked with GOP operatives, no grassroots mailing list or much else to confirm the functioning of a real organization. Nor did Ney clarify that Hearne had served as election counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaign, and had founded ACVR the previous month, at the urging of Karl Rove.
While I'm signing in one of the poll workers asked casually how was I doing. I answered "I'd be doing a lot better if I wasn't voting on this machine." and went on to ask if there was a push to get machine that give people something in-hand to show what their vote actually registered.
Naturally I got the "ah you got nothing to worry about" and I was lead over to look at a tape that was done that morning showing a zero next to all the candidates names. I suppose he thought that was going to placate me. I explained that doesn't do a thing. That's your tape. Where's mine? Where's the tape I can take with me to show who I voted for actually was placed for the person I voted for? Because of all the articles I've been reading about these touch-screen machines, beyond innocent glitches, are easy for those that wish to manipulate can do so rather easily. By now I'm getting the dirty looks and more unassuring answers.
I'm sure you may have read Greg Palasts's "Armed Mad House". If you haven't do so for Palalsts does a masterful job of explaining in great detail what this article also exposes - the fix is not only in, it's gotten stronger.
If we have truly fair, uniform verifiable elections we wouldn't have the wars we have, we'd have health care, affordable housing for everyone, streets that are safe to walk and drive down, bridges that don't collapse, less crimes and more jobs, schools that actually educate and a host of other commonsense things we struggle for now.
My take, it will be Clinton against Giuliani and with an either or situation where we attack Iran or another "false flag" attack, the Rethugs "win" again and we continue our fast slide into fascist Hell.
by
Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 1418 comments)
on Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 12:16:50 PM
We're supposed to say, "Never again," but we're also supposed to vote.
If we vote on easily-hacked voting machines in rigged elections, we're not saying, "Never again," we're saying, "Okay, here's my vote -- steal it again."
I like Joel Hirschhorn's idea of boycotting rigged elections. There's a difference between not voting in an honest election (apathy), and not voting in a rigged election (mutiny!).
It looks like the Republicans have selected a Democrat, Hillary Clinton, to be our next president. The military-industrial complex has been donating more money to Hillary's campaign than to that of any other candidate, Democrat or Republican. The Republicans do select Democrats for the presidency every so often, particularly if they need one to pardon a previous Republican administration for war crimes, or if they have become so unpopular that the only way they can further their agenda is to have a Democrat do it for them. Of course it is always a Democrat who belongs to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderbergers, and other pro-war, pro-globalization groups that have the same agenda the Republicans do.
The only way that I can think of to just say no, is to just not vote.
by
Mark E. Smith (21 articles, 30 quicklinks, 100 diaries, 1325 comments)
on Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 12:25:52 PM
This is outstanding work. Thank you for this incredible, succinct summary of so much heinous treachery; a critical read no matter how unsavory the taste of such data with our morning coffee.
Your amazing investigation(s), in their own right, have given us so much insight and explanation as to what has happened in Ohio and other swing states--but your REPORTING on these investigations has given us a clean glean here, CRITICAL information, as we prepare for whatever is coming in 2008...or before.
I will forward/ circulate this article to many, as you have taken these complex and under-reported offenses to crystal-sourced fact. A great way to bring my mother up to speed and into the loop. (She's all science, that way.)
Great work. Can't believe you've managed to squeeze all this, the entire history/ origin of this national nightmare into such a tight read, in under 5~!
Way to go, gentleman. Thank you.
Fellow Moritified Citizen and Friend,
Jeannie Dean in FL-13
www.videothevote.org
by
Jeannie Dean (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 10 comments)
on Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 1:36:34 PM
I've heard these yahoos on the radio, and I have read their garbage. Utter crapola. I remember all too well when Wasserman was on the Michael Medved show back in 2004. Medved cleaned his clock.
by
Scott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 488 comments)
on Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 7:05:05 PM
Why don't you go back to freepers where you belong
You obviously don't come here with an open mind, so why don't you go back where you can read things you agree with and be happy.
Nobody could read Fitrakis and Wasserman's work and not be frightened about how corrupt and criminal the Republican party has become in matters of elections. Their evidence is OVERWHELMING and (other than the evidence that the Republican operatives in Ohio chose to destroy in direct violation of a Federal Court Order) quite extensive.
by
Charlie L (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 674 comments)
on Monday, October 22, 2007 at 12:54:57 AM
You are living in a state of denial. There can never be a secured vote on a computer. The key to securing entries on ATMs is identification such as a PIN. You cannot have an anonymous entry. Paper trails and secured processes at every stage plus random counts of a percentage of the vote are essential. It can be done. There are other democracies securing their votes.
by
Pat Williams (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 82 comments)
on Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 9:32:59 PM
Just how low can you go. The republicans doing what they go best. all these CRIMINALS in the republican remind me of washington in general. a bunch of no good corrupt organized crime. THE F.B.I. dont have to go after the MAFIA in america. you have it right here in our government. the republicans dont want to give up a good thing. it is a know fact that they are making Billions of dollars screwing america and there illegal war in iraq. also they minipulate the stock market. corporate america controls our government, and they dont want to loose billions of dollars.Cheney, Bush. and Rove are some of the biggest criminals in america. i dont know how the people of america can ever take back there country. the hole goverment should be tried for crimes.
by
vincent passiatore (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 167 comments)
on Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 10:28:02 PM
UNTIL THE CONTROL OF THE CFR,TC GLOBAL ELITE ARE FULLY EXPOSED THE UWITTING VOTERS WILL NO HAVE A DEMOCRATIC CHOICE, THE MASS MEDIA DECEPTION, AND THE FACT THAT ALL THE TOP TIER CANDIDATES FROM BOTH PARTY'S ARE EITHER CFR MEMBERS OR ARE FUNDED BY THE TC GLOBAL ELITE.WHERE IS THE CHOICE, JUST GOOGLE ANY CANDIDATES NAME AND CFR,AND THE PICTURE IS LOUD AND CLEAR. THE TROUBLE IS MOST AMERICAN VOTERS DO NOT HAVE THE TIME TO DO HOMEWORK ON THE CANDIDATES, AN RELIE ON THE MEDIA, AND THATS WERE THE DECEPTION COME'S IN. HERE'S ALL I CAN SAY IF THE AMERICAN VOTERS DON'T GET SMART ABOUT WHO THEY VOTE FOR, THEY BETTER GO TO NIGHT SCHOOL, WAIT FORGET THAT GO TO DAY SCHOOL BECAUSE THEY WON'T HAVE A JOB ANYWAY AND LEARN SPANISH.
by
RICHARD SHADE (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 460 comments)
on Monday, October 22, 2007 at 5:32:54 AM
"Anybody who thinks the US will hold clean elections deserve to have their citizenship revoked..."
Well, that's par for the course from the radical left. Disagree with their loony arguments, and they will hope to punish you, silence you, turn you into a second-class citizen, etc. Well, read it and weep: Unless your real name is Hugo Chavez or Kim Jong Il, you don't have the power to revoke anybody. And even if you really are Chavez or Il, you don't have that power over me.
by
Scott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 488 comments)
on Monday, October 22, 2007 at 12:19:24 PM
Just stop it. I happen to be a registered Republican. I don't know who you are and I don't care. You expose yourself here as an incendiary--the right to vote should be sacred to ALL Americans. Shame on you. Go away.
by
Jeannie Dean (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 10 comments)
on Monday, October 22, 2007 at 2:58:04 PM
I agree with Jeannie Dean. Fitrakis and Wasserman are journalistic and legal giants in Ohio. Thanks to both! It's almost inconceivable that so much outrage is passed over by mainstream media!!!!
What about this?
1. Require that voting machines mark each record as a unique ballot, supply a "receipt" to the voter, and for a limited time post a record of all ballots cast, so that a voter at any time, tracing the ID on the vote receipt, can search out his/her vote on the web, to check that it is properly recorded at the Board of Elections.
2. Require that only the permanent record - the paper ballot - be the official ballot. That the counting of the official ballots be done by independent groups of citizens (I think high school students would be ideal.) That the counting be done at the precincts, beginning immediately after the closing of the polls. That there be citizen witnesses - at the very least, one representative for each candidate for office.
3. That the precinct result be posted at each precinct, so that each candidate can count his/her own vote.
The machines are glamorous. They are easy to use. They could be used to verify the hand count. They can give "receipts." And, with complete anonymity for the voter, they can post every ballot. I think they could be useful - so long as we don't use them to count a single vote. And besides, it could answer the problem of what to do with these silly, new fangled machines that we've paid so much for. (Unless they all have to be air-conditioned!)
by
MyTwoCents (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 36 comments)
on Monday, October 22, 2007 at 8:52:21 PM
The right to vote is indeed a sacred right for all Americans. That's why I thought Delia's comment deserved to be mocked. It was foolish. That's where the shame lies.
by
Scott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 488 comments)
on Monday, October 22, 2007 at 11:26:07 PM
17 comments
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