Remember when O.J. Simpson’s wife and her friend turned up dead in her Brentwood front-yard? How did you know O.J. was guilty? After all, he seemed like a nice enough guy, certainly not the type to nearly sever his ex-wife’s head off with a knife. Well, I knew he was guilty because of his attitude. He pretended to give a shit about who the real killers were, but he was utterly unconvincing. Sure, there were other factors, like the cut on his hand and the blood in his car and house. But he didn’t act like a man who had just had a stranger kill the mother of his children. He acted like he was the one who killed her. So, what am I to make of this?
Some Republican strategists are increasingly upset with what they consider the overconfidence of President Bush and his senior advisers about the midterm elections November 7–a concern aggravated by the president’s news conference this week.
“They aren’t even planning for if they lose,” says a GOP insider who informally counsels the West Wing. If Democrats win control of the House, as many analysts expect, Republicans predict that Bush’s final two years in office will be marked by multiple congressional investigations and gridlock.
“The Bush White House has had no relationship with Congress,” said a Bush ally. “Beyond the Democrats, wait till they see how the Republicans–the ones that survive–treat them if they lose next month.” GOP insiders are upset by Bush’s seeming inability to come up with new ideas or fresh approaches.
Or this?
Cheney flatly rejected predictions by pundits that Democrats will take control of the House and Senate in November.
“We will retain control of both houses,” he said.
Sounds like bravado, right? But, what if it is not bravado? What if they mean it, and they know it? I bring this up now because the last time we had an election it turned out quite differently than we anticipated, and yet no one was really prepared to deal with the vast discrepancy between the results and the exit polls and expectations.
Why would the Bush adminstration not prepare for the potentiality that they will lose one or both houses of Congress? Is it because such a fate is unthinkable to them? Is it because they have a plan to make sure that does not happen? Or is it just one more example of their criminal incompetence?
All I know is that they are behaving like I would expect them to if they were criminals. Just like O.J. did.
This time they will not get away with vote theft, for SURE.
A massively, horrifyingly violent October Surprise is the only thing that I can see working.
Their last resort new reality.
Or…they are absolutely in denial.
I can think of no other alternatives.
We shall see.
Strap yourselves in.
Three weeks and counting.
Let us pray.
AG
These guys have been working on vote stealing for three elections now that we know of. They may well feel they have it down to a science this election.
Frankly, if the Democrats aren’t ready to dispute every questionable election in court this time, tben Rove will have his perpetual Republican majority – in votes and money, not people.
Why not? They’ve gotten away with it up till now.
Of course if they try vote theft again this time the discrepancy with the polls will be much more significant than before, but I’m sure they’ll already have a bogus explanation worked out. The question is whether the Dems will roll over and play dead like Kerry did in 2004. And what the media will do. But we’d better be prepared for this eventuality.
Some kind of action that just confuses and confounds and then steal the vote while everyone is dumbfounded!
I thionk I agree, and we don’t agree on alot of other things. Too many independent elections to control, and something else. The tipping point. The junta has governed by fear; when people stop being afraid the opportunists jump ship. That’s what is happening now. I’m optimistic. But not overly, since opportunitists always jump ship.
Or, the Powers that Be have a plan.
I am not sure I believe this. More like, it’s possible:
When the PTB let the Foley scandal break into the media, when the Princeton Diebold-hacking video showed up (of all places!) on Fox News, this was the plain sign telegraphed to all–and certainly readable in the White House–that the Bush Team’s time was up.
How will they go? Nixon was allowed to resign (yes he was pressured, but the point is) with a $60k/yr pension and a free pass on ALL his crimes, both known and undiscovered.
Do Bush/Cheney go out in a Blaze of Glory (nuclear bombs and all)?
Or, more likely, do they cut a deal?
The PTB now need a Democratic government. Not the kind of Democrats we like, but DLC. As the American economy melts down this winter and next spring, the PTB will want a government that can be advertised as WILLING TO INTERVENE in the troubles of the economy. The government is going to need to–it will be that bad. Just as Bush/Cheney stole an election, they can also THROW an election. Hold with the policies that used to favor, but are now embarrassing, the Repugs. The Repugs lose the contested seats.
With a Democratic majority in Congress, Bush will be sent to the Hague to stand trial, and the many crimes and scandals of his administration will be investigated, right?
We wish.
All I can say, children, is that this girl lived through Watergate, and as hard as it was (and is) to believe, nothing like that happened, nor is about to happen.
We did get, and will get, a bit of a show. Foley will face some real trouble–I expect jail for him–but the investigation into his backstory will somehow just bog down. (Remember, about half of Congress has known for years what he was doing with those kids. NONE of that will come out.) There will be a few trials for bribers and pay-off takers. Somewhere in all of this Bush/Cheney will go. And then there will be this announcement in the media that THE SYSTEM WORKED–after Nixon resigned they actually SAID that–and a new day will be declared, and a new administration will be installed.
BUT. Somehow they will forget to repeal the PATRIOT Act–perhaps they will amend it to add some bogus watchdog committees to “make sure” the law is not being “misused.” But the law itself, which was only created to be misused, will be let to stand. Ditto most of the rest of the absurd and grotesque legislation of the last six years. A few things (maybe “legalized” torture?) will be CEREMONIOUSLY chucked. But the rest? Remember, the PTB WANTED that legislation, so it is going to stay. The bankruptcy laws, for example, are not going to change back.
And Bush and Cheney? If they take the deal, neither will stand trial nor do time. They will leave politics, and the public’s consciousness.
The next phase will be implemented, by Democrats. The War for Oil will continue, and from the looks of things now, the focus will shift to Afghanistan. The State Department will be refurbished, and real attempts will be made to soothe and reassure the Europeans, who of late have been wondering if we are bonkers. Placated, they will join side on a quieter–but probably more intense–war for the Earth’s remaining resources.
Now where’s my knitting?
Madame DeFarge
The old “For the good of the country” pitch.
A changeup.
Just as it’s always been.
AG
Reminds me of how confident Bush was aout winning Florida in 2000.
If the Repubs retain control, there better be millions in the streets over it. Maybe everyone should start planning to take the day after the elections off, just in case?
It is ominous-sounding, but could be they just think the voters will greet them with flowers and candy. We’ll see.
Has anybody cross-tabbed the polls against the districts using Diebold?
In other words, what if every Diebold machine in the United States is a hacked zombie of the RNC–is that enough to overcome the apparent Democratic tidal wave?
Seems to me that’s the central question, and I haven’t seen it discussed anywhere.
An organization as big as the Democratic party put money and personnel behind voter fraud prevention back in 2001, 2002, 2004, then maybe we’d be able to track the voting/e-voting/exit polls fraud. But NO, the Dems wanted the status quo.
Fucking Kerry had a huge war chest waiting to dispute any election fraud, but he decided to whimp out just like Gore did, because they were probably threatened with a Wall Street collapse for insecurity in the US government. Shit, we got CheneyCo. instead, and that’s not destabilizing?
Ok, enough cynicism. Point being that most of us are working ourselves to death already (productivity!!!) so that volunteering in the evening is just not an option. No, Black Box Voting and PFAW and other such organizations just didn’t grow large enough to be watchdogs across the country. We thought that was the role of government, to be impartial, but it’s purely partisan now, partisan-Republican in most instances.
Our country is no longer a democracy. It was a black day when Congress allowed Habeas Corpus to be destroyed.
I can HEAR that being said to Small K kerry in ’04.
Business as usual.
Since JFK’s murder, at the very least.
Look around.
A LOTTA good that’s done us!!!
AG
Whaddya think all that NSA wiretapping was all about. He was probably threatened into backing down based on info the rethugs picked up from their snooping. There must be a lot of people under the gun. I can’t believe 15 dem senators (or however many it was) all voluntarily voted for the torture bill.
Exactly. There are multiple reasons Kerry let go.
also available in orange.
Republican “scrubbing” of voter roles, or Republican poll taxes, Diebold, fewer and older voting machines and poll workers in Democratic precincts leading to long lines and waits to vote, illegal phone campaigns apparently run by Mehlman out of the White House designed to overwhelm Democratic get out the vote efforts, rumors of terror attacks of various colors all might make Bush overconfident. Or maybe Bush will declare (after a Rove inspired and led actual terror incident) that the country is in too much danger for an election and postpone it for two years until he can’t be impeached.
I don’t think he can postpone the election. People might not notice sub rosa voter disenfranchisement and the might question whether those of us who think elections were stolen are wearing their hats too tight, but they’ll notice if the elections are called off.
What they’ll do after they notice, well that’s an open question.
Personally, I’m hoping that the margin of victory is so large and the geographical distribution so widespread that they can’t possibly steal the entire thing.
But the American people mostly like to sit on their couches and suck in whatever drama comes across their TV. They’d love the vast discrepancy of the exit polls versus TV news’ “official” figures, and go “gee. . . ” I agree that the only way Dems will take the House or Senate is by overwhelming #’s, but those #s have to come from the MEDIA, not from polls. And if the outrage is committed, the people will just go back to their overproductive jobs and worry about paying their bills and debt, not much else.
Call me pessimistic. Go ahead.
Cheney’s made a deal with Israel, in my opinion — Israel strikes Iran late this month, and America/NATO jump in to flatten Iran and Syria when they retaliate.
For two weeks, war fever and Diebold will rule over our electoral process, and the GOP will plausibly, will just barely retain both Houses of Congress. Just barely is 99% of the law, to this crew.
Gawd yes, it will all go to holy shit in all directions very promptly afterwards, but by then Cheney will have even stronger single party rule AND a totally cowed Democratic party — forced to spend the week before Election Day talking about “supporting our President in time of war” for fear of losing votes themselves.
Some severe cracking down may be necessary domestically, but other than that, away we go, with no functioning democracy in place or in sight. This Administration will spend the next two years — and as many more as they please — reshaping the nation and the planet to serve their enduring glory, legacy and patrimony, insofar as they are capable.
May I suggest statues in every major intersection?
Fresh. Steaming. Piled about this high.
–
Gosh Antifa, I want to give you a 4, but I don’t because I just don’t want to see such a scenario! I agree with you a 100%. This is a possible, plausable scenario, since we’re dealing with maniacal bastards capable of setting off nuclear bombs.
Very deeply sad, deeply sad.
Voting machine fraud works in close elections, but with the polls running the way they are, it’s hard to imagine they can pull that off this time.
Better to make the election irrelevant. They’ve always had their eye on the real prize — regime change in Iran. My guess is they’ll go for it, either before the election or shortly after, and all we can do is watch the Doomsday Scenario unfold in slow motion.
The neocons really are determined to go out in a nuclear blaze of glory, whether triggered by American nuclear bunker busters, or perhaps the Pakistani government falling and losing control of its nukes in the messy aftermath of an attack on Iran. We’re entering a period that is far more dangerous than the balance of terror of “mutual assurred destruction” deterrence of the cold war, dangerous as that was.
Why so little outrage — including none from our leading liberal political figures? Perhaps because, judging from things like the reaction to the TV show Jericho, more and more folks seem to think nuclear war is survivable with just a little grit and determination — just another kind of war. It’s a huge collective failure of memory.
Some thoughts about an increasingly oblivious world poised on the edge of the abyss: Dr. Strangelove, please keep an eye on your toys. The grandchildren are getting forgetful.
This is one of the scariest things I’ve read in a long time.
Stolen election?
Terrorist attack?
Military action against Iran?
Suspended election?
I’m feeling a horrible sense of dread.
Like BooMan said several posts ago, I ain ‘t counting the votes before they are stolen or something like that.
I know what 5 letters spell out that famous brand of voting machines, D . . . . . d that tests showed can be hacked without much effort.
I know the Cheney administration cannot afford or allow contol of the House or Senate to pass over to Dems.
I’m hopeful moderate GOPers will be too fed up to hold their noses and vote. And btw, we’ve already given both cheeks.
Was it not during the 2000 elections when the exit poling was so far off from the final result that the media (or someone) thought that the methodology was incorrect? I felt then and I have since that the electronic voting was rigged to favor the Republicans.
I do not trust any of the Diebold “type” of electronic voting machine. Period.
Mark Crispin Miller has many examples in his book, “Fooled Again.” He never got MSM reviews; there was criticism that “it was old stuff,” and “why did he wait so long to write the book?” It took some time to gather all the documentation of the vote fraud and manipulation.
As a matter of style, there are WAY too many phrases in parenthesis in this book. It made reading for understanding almost impossible, for me at least!
Otherwise, this book is a compendium of nasty treatment at the hands of the GOP.
I agree, a pre-ordained outcome. The GOP has been framing this issue for the past three months – the mid-terms are decided on local issues and not the national polls. Not so surprising this has also been repeated by the media. After the Novemeber debacle, they can point back and say that they have been saying it all along. No investigation needed.
I agree, I would prepare for massive vote fraud. I think the question is what will you do in response? If the election results come in and the Republicans keep control of Congress through voting irregularities, how will you react? I would personally start planning your actions right now so that you have a coordinated plan of action ready to go right away…
When Speaker Tom Foley lost re-election in 1994 that was a real shock. Will 2006 be a landmark election equaling 1994? Right now the USA smells like a fetid swamp; serviced by indifferent money grabbing businesses; and led by an incompetent government.
Either Bush/Cheney are delusional or they have a Plan.
I’ve been thinking scary things since seeing Cheney’s comment. They don’t intend to lose and there is no way they can win unless they change the situation. Ergo…
Go here
http://www.dmocrats.org