NOVEMBER 2
According to the best estimates of journalist Greg Palast with TomPaine.org, John Kerry will go into Election Day already robbed of a million or more probable votes due to illegal vote tampering, faulty voting machines and questionable or illegal voter purges being systematically supervised by Republicans in most of the crucial swing states and Colorado. (You really should read his article at:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/110204V.shtml
It shouldn't matter - Kerry should win handily anyway. Of course we should all be concerned that every election brings a greater subversion of our supposed democracy, but for a moment let's set aside all the punditry, "analysis", those confusing polls and almost everything you may have heard about the upcoming presidential election. The biggest single factor that goes almost unmentioned in the daily news coverage is that 2004 has seen an almost unprecedented surge in voter registration. With all the new voters presumably going to the polls--none of whom would ever be counted as a "likely voter" using common polling terminology--it seems that this country is itching for a change. If people were generally satisfied with the way things are, complacency would rule. There wouldn't be a surge of new voters. Turnout would remain low and the incumbent would return for a second term. The climate and the public discourse in this country does not support this idea. People may not know what kind of change they want, they may not agree on how to go about it (when do we ever?), but a-change is gonna come and most likely that change means that, eventually, John Kerry will be elected President of the United States.
A pause for silence in respect for those still angry that when Al Gore was elected President of the United States, his chance to serve was taken from him by the Supreme Court, vote tampering and his own bitterness...
The Democrats are also doing better than expected in several Senate and House races, giving them a chance to gain a couple of seats in the House and actually tie up (or regain control) of the Senate. Even if Bush steals another election, he'll have less of a "mandate" than he had in 2000 and a weary, suspicious legislative branch will be less likely to roll over and be buggered by the Administration than they have for most of the last four years.
Now, let me be clear, the election of John Kerry won't automatically turn the U.S. into a peaceful land of milk and honey. We remain more fractured and divided than any time since the peak of the Civil Rights Era. We will still have large numbers of troops in harm's way in Iraq for now and for the forseeable future. A newly energized and ever more resourceful al-Qaeda and their supporters will use their resentment over Iraq and Bush's policies to plot more heinous attacks against American interests. There will still be no peace in Palestine in the forseeable future. The gap between the rich and the poor will continue to widen while special interests in the medical and insurance lobbies work to ensure that no real universal health coverage will come to fruition.
So what? This is still the most important presidential election of our lifetime. If Bush is put into office for four more years, the damage his administration will do to our national values, our security, our civil liberties, our right to choose what to do with our bodies, our treasury and our future may be devastating and irreversible. Not everyone feels the way I do. But a lot of people know more is at stake than ever before and that's why they are cueing up for hours to vote early, registering for the first time, making their plans around their trip to the voting booth tomorrow. This one's for all the marbles folks, even if things won't seem a whole lot different come January 20th, 2005--or 2006. Somewhere the line must be drawn in the sand that says, "no more!"--
No more tacit support of Enron style corporate scandals!
No more plundering of the environment at our children's expense for wealthy tycoons!
No more troops being "remaindered" in Iraq and then sent into harm's way without the protection and ammunition they need!
No more smirking, self-satisfied, shallow policy making by evangelical neocons who have no regard for history or modern geopolitics!
No more sabotage of public schools, social security and Medicare!
No more Ashcroft, no more Rumsfeld!
No more, quoth the raven, nevermore...
If you haven't voted yet, you've got to do it tomorrow. If you don't, than any dark future that befalls us is certainly deserved by you.
Peace...
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/110204V.shtml
It shouldn't matter - Kerry should win handily anyway. Of course we should all be concerned that every election brings a greater subversion of our supposed democracy, but for a moment let's set aside all the punditry, "analysis", those confusing polls and almost everything you may have heard about the upcoming presidential election. The biggest single factor that goes almost unmentioned in the daily news coverage is that 2004 has seen an almost unprecedented surge in voter registration. With all the new voters presumably going to the polls--none of whom would ever be counted as a "likely voter" using common polling terminology--it seems that this country is itching for a change. If people were generally satisfied with the way things are, complacency would rule. There wouldn't be a surge of new voters. Turnout would remain low and the incumbent would return for a second term. The climate and the public discourse in this country does not support this idea. People may not know what kind of change they want, they may not agree on how to go about it (when do we ever?), but a-change is gonna come and most likely that change means that, eventually, John Kerry will be elected President of the United States.
A pause for silence in respect for those still angry that when Al Gore was elected President of the United States, his chance to serve was taken from him by the Supreme Court, vote tampering and his own bitterness...
The Democrats are also doing better than expected in several Senate and House races, giving them a chance to gain a couple of seats in the House and actually tie up (or regain control) of the Senate. Even if Bush steals another election, he'll have less of a "mandate" than he had in 2000 and a weary, suspicious legislative branch will be less likely to roll over and be buggered by the Administration than they have for most of the last four years.
Now, let me be clear, the election of John Kerry won't automatically turn the U.S. into a peaceful land of milk and honey. We remain more fractured and divided than any time since the peak of the Civil Rights Era. We will still have large numbers of troops in harm's way in Iraq for now and for the forseeable future. A newly energized and ever more resourceful al-Qaeda and their supporters will use their resentment over Iraq and Bush's policies to plot more heinous attacks against American interests. There will still be no peace in Palestine in the forseeable future. The gap between the rich and the poor will continue to widen while special interests in the medical and insurance lobbies work to ensure that no real universal health coverage will come to fruition.
So what? This is still the most important presidential election of our lifetime. If Bush is put into office for four more years, the damage his administration will do to our national values, our security, our civil liberties, our right to choose what to do with our bodies, our treasury and our future may be devastating and irreversible. Not everyone feels the way I do. But a lot of people know more is at stake than ever before and that's why they are cueing up for hours to vote early, registering for the first time, making their plans around their trip to the voting booth tomorrow. This one's for all the marbles folks, even if things won't seem a whole lot different come January 20th, 2005--or 2006. Somewhere the line must be drawn in the sand that says, "no more!"--
No more tacit support of Enron style corporate scandals!
No more plundering of the environment at our children's expense for wealthy tycoons!
No more troops being "remaindered" in Iraq and then sent into harm's way without the protection and ammunition they need!
No more smirking, self-satisfied, shallow policy making by evangelical neocons who have no regard for history or modern geopolitics!
No more sabotage of public schools, social security and Medicare!
No more Ashcroft, no more Rumsfeld!
No more, quoth the raven, nevermore...
If you haven't voted yet, you've got to do it tomorrow. If you don't, than any dark future that befalls us is certainly deserved by you.
Peace...
posted by Reggie E. Scott at 5:11 PM
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