The rampant corruption of the right wing political establishment has consolidated power, but not competence. In fact, incompetence serves it purpose and as public opinion polls now show, the American public is rejecting Bush and the ideology of conservatism.
This message and more from speakers at opened the Campaign for America's Future (CFAF) "Take Back America" Conference. Robert Borosage, Co-Director of CFAF, kicked off the event highlighting the collapse of George W. Bush's and the DeLay Congress's"catastrophic conservatism" -- the war in Iraq, privatization of Social Security, trickle-down economics, the Big Oil energy policy -- and the GOP's splintering coalition. Continuing the rally, Stanley Greenberg drove Borosage's points home with a powerful presentation of his firm's recent public survey (to be released soon and posted here at OpEdNews). Mr. Greenberg, CEO of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and co-founder of the Democracy Corps, cautioned however that the collapse of the right wing's support is no guarantee that progressive candidates will prevail in the coming election, although the public largely embraces the left's ideologies and initiatives -- such as community over individualism and self-reliance, and multi-lateralism over military intervention. The good news is that independents share progressive values and will support a change in direction for America if the democrats can build and communicate a platform based on these ideals.
But how can progressives reach these independents and the other disillusioned, disappointed, and disenfranchised voters? Biko Baker, activist with the National Hip Hop Political Convention, shared his organization's recent success registering new, young voters and minorities in the last election. Democrats and progressives must build a relationship with the community and it must be ongoing...not clustered around primaries and general elections. The wedge issues are progressive issues -- global warming and the environment, the privatizing of public education, and the growing fascism of the current conservative leadership.
�The progressive ideology embodies the policy of decency and sanity which speaks to the generosity of the American people. They are not conservatives, THEY ARE EXTREMISTS,� declared Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation as Session One of Day One concluded. Indeed and a rousing start to �Take Back America!�
Amanda is a managing editor at OpEdNews and has worked with Rob Kall on the site since 2004. A retired research ethnographer specializing in organization and technological innovation and strategic business development, she now resides in Georgia where she builds and restores wooden and fiberglass boats with her husband, Tom, a retired electrical engineer. Amanda grew up in the Commonwealth of Kentucky on the 9AA that runs along the Ohio in an area that gave the world Larry Flynt, the Clooneys, Roy Rogers, Tommy T. Hall, Jesse Stuart, Henry Clay, and some of best bootleggers the Feds never caught.
Amanda Lang, PhD - Virginia Tech '93; US Army Veteran, E-5, 52D20
Today, June 12, 2006, the Secretary of State for the state of Florida held its' first and probably only hearing on the Secretary's proposed rule that no constitutionally and independently elected county Supervisor of Elections may test the accuracy, hackability, etc. of any of his or her county's voting machines without the prior authorization of the Secretary of State, the latter determining the individuals who shall conduct the testing. In the land of the hanging chad, the local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat, recently acquired by USA Today, sought to bury the story on page 3 of the local section, and managed also to violate the famous five W's of journalism by refusing to include in its' coverage the place and time of the hearing.
Tallahassee lies within Leon County, where the elected Supervisor of Elections, Ion Sancho, has attained national status in his fight to prove the paperless voting machines are rigged. Sancho's prior testing of one model of only three companys' machines the Republican controlled state government has made legal for purchase in Florida proved that it was easily hacked and votes easily changed. As a result, all three companies refused to sell to Sancho, costing Leon County millions of dollars in lost federal matching funds and associated expenses. Sancho the hero was quickly turned into Sancho the villain by the Secretary of State and a chorus of Republican syncophants.
As to the rule change, which Sancho vows to fight, he commented, "Hutzpah is the word that comes to mind." Jenny Nash, speaking for the Secretary of State, explained the rule was intended to make the testing process more transparent, and that the rule gives supervisors a roadmap because if they find any vulnerabilities they "are required to develop a plan to mitigate those."
One thing is for sure. The intent of the rule is transparent. And since Republicans are fighting this hard for these machines, I can see no other conclusion than that democracy has ended in America.
All quotes were from the Tallahassee Democrat article.
by
W.M.L. (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 318 comments)
on Monday, June 12, 2006 at 4:46:32 PM
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