In all seriousness, I have been asking myself that very question for a few months now. And since this issue has been getting more and more press lately, (in addition to the phenomenal compilation done with respect to the 2004 election “irregularities”), I wanted to gauge the thought process, the general feeling, the potential reaction that is necessary, warranted, required, feasible, etc. if we have a repeat of 2000, 2002 or 2004.
Before we take this into “pitchfork and torch” territory, or into tin foil hat territory (although I think there is enough evidence to not treat this as such – at least not the potential), I want to lay out a few things here. And yes, I realize that I am doing this at my own peril, but I want to have this be as constructive a discussion as possible.
There are so many questions to be asked – there are so many variables to consider, but to not have any thoughts as to what the reaction would be if we wake up on November 8 and find that double digit leads have mysteriously vanished overnight, or that exit polls were “so far off” because republicans didn’t want to say that they voted the way they did, or that voting machines were “selectively available”, or whatever else can happen on November 7 (and even afterwards with the counting of the absentee ballots, etc.) would be a bit shortsighted.
It is clear that this is a very winnable election in a potentially historic manner. It is also very true that we have a lot to do before November 7. And it is true that a lot can happen between now and then. But from where things stand now, the polls are showing major Democratic gains in a number of races, a number of races with widening leads for Democrats and a number of races that are much closer than you would have thought a few months ago.
While the vaunted republican ground game and voter targeting is something that is to be envied at times, it still is a midterm election where motivated voters make the difference. So while there is plenty of disincentive for republicans to stay home, we still can’t take it for granted. And I am going to take out of this equation any “October surprise” – because to speculate based on another variable just isn’t want I want to do here.
But this diary is not about motivating us and others to vote – I will leave that to people who are much better at writing about that issue than I am. What I want to do is (seriously, please) ask what we are prepared to do if the following scenarios occur (almost like a pre-action item):
Republicans, including MD Governor Ehrlich are calling for paper ballots over the electronic voting machines. A number of people, including the most recent example of Princeton professors show how easy it is to hack the Diebold machines and spread a virus to change votes without leaving a trace. This is even picked up by Fox News (I guess just in case the Democrats do win). So we know that this is getting out there to way more people than in 2004.
Polls continue to show Democratic candidates leading, some by wide margins, up until election day. Then, suddenly, a five to six point lead becomes a seven point loss, virtually overnight. Exit polls, which have been used in this country to show how accurate the elections are (at least through 2000), and are even used (and cited by the US) in many other countries to prove the validity of elections, show a very difficult to explain discrepancy to the actual results (which may or may not be changed by CNN, Fox, AP, etc. like in 2004).
“Irregularities” and instances of voter disenfranchisement or suppression are reported all over the country – whether it be provisional ballots, voting machines switching the votes, more votes for a candidate than there are voters, voting machines not working or available, phone jamming, or whatever else it may be. The vast majority of these “irregularities” favor one party. The vast majority of the “close” races all break for the republicans, despite an abysmal view of the current Congress, as well as the seemingly overwhelming desire to see Democrats win their races.
The republicans retain control of the House and the Senate by one or two seats. The mainstream news outlets once again bury the stories (although I think that if the exit polls are close to the actuals – whatever that may be – then this wouldn’t be as much of a story to bury, regardless of who wins).
These are all fairly likely to happen in some way, shape or form. Whether they all occur (as they did in 2002 and 2004) is a different issue altogether. The political environment is worse than 2004 in terms of the general view of Bush, the republicans, Congress, the economy, Iraq, the “war on terror”, the environment, corruption, cronyism – you name it. A “narrow victory” that has a similar (bullshit) explanation to the one we got in 2004 should not suffice. It should and will not explain anything. It will look more suspicious.
But many Americans have shown their overwhelming ability to be gullible and believe what they are told by their government, no matter how stupid, no matter how unreliable, no matter how unfounded or unsourced the lie or explanation is. And many Americans may just say, “well, the Democrats couldn’t win in this environment”, or “Rove and the superior ground game just won out in the end” or whatever other drivel is shoveled at us.
Well, then what? What do we do?
Clearly, sitting back and yelling to each other isn’t going to work. Unlike 2004, I think that there will be a much more organized and unified voice, since this is not really a “taboo” topic anymore. However, I don’t know that anything short of mass protests and demonstrations in many many American cities will get press or attention. Plus, I don’t know if it would matter much in terms of changing anything.
That all being said, I do think that there will be more reception from (certain) media outlets (not just Olbermann) to report on this. Will the races be challenged? Even if we support Democratic candidates to the fullest, will they demand a recount? Will they (or we) demand an investigation into the votes? Will these calls, cries and demands go unnoticed, unanswered, or only addressed with a half-assed effort from those who we are calling out to? What will Democratic Party leaders do? Will they demand an investigation? Will they shut down Congress? Will they disappoint us?
And for whatever we can do – how do we do it (whatever “it” may be)? Who would we write letters to? Who would we call? Where would we march? Will anyone go to bat for this country (other than us)?
It is a horrible scenario to think about, and hopefully it won’t happen. I, personally, am at a loss for answers, although I will be pissed as can be. What if the republicans do win, and they win in a similar manner to 2002 (Georgia, for example) and 2004? What if things don’t “pass the smell test”? There will be a whole lot to overcome for us to overcome the propaganda and the wave of explanations, excuses and other nonsense.
How will we do it?
in orange
I welcome anyone willing to question the conventional wisdom on this subject. The truth is that we don’t know what will happen this time around. In 2002 and even 2004 people were reluctant to claim fraud. If (when?) it happens this time, I hope they will be able to set aside those blinders.
The problem is that a media narrative is already being established with the stories of Bush and Rove’s optimism, the vaunted GOP GOTV effort, etc. Here’s the latest media meme from Barron’s: The GOP will win because they have more money:
So the stage is being set for a miracle comeback by the Republicans and the retention of one party rule. Just wait.
The Democratic Party has enough money to contest elections across the nation. It’s there seats to lose to fraud, why not go and get them back? Kerry and Gore and the Wall Street A-holes behind them prevented them from fighting the fraudulent results.
Did the Dems learn something yet? I mean, there was NO WAY they should have lost the 2004 election.
I’m not sure, but I really don’t know that there would be enough popular will to hit the streets and protest a stolen election and I think the Republican’s know that. If they steal another election, what is the worst that can happen? The Democrats will probably complain, demand an investigation and all sorts of procedural things, but if the Republicans steal enough to hold Congress, there’s absolutely nothing they can do. The Supreme Court will approve any election result, no matter how corrupt. What are the options at that point? I think Jefferson’s reaction would be rebellion.
This may not mean anything, but it’s interesting…
From the State Department’s 2005 annual “performance report card” (reference):
For longer term trends in passport applications, go here. Basically there’s a slow steady increase from 1974 to 2000, then flat from 2001 to 2003 (post 9-11 fear of travel?) then from 2003 to present almost a doubling of the annual rate of increase of passport applications.
I’d like to think this was attributable to expats, but actually is based on new travel restrictions about to go into effect.
The “Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative” (WHTI) will require all U.S. citizens, Canadians, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and citizens of Mexico to have a passport or other accepted secure document to enter and re-enter the U.S. by January 1, 2008.
Currently, U.S. citizens, Canadians and some citizens of other countries in the Western Hemisphere are not required to present a passport to enter or re-enter the U.S. when traveling within the Western Hemisphere.
[taken from http://www.nbta.org/Government/WHTI.htm ]
I put this question out there in response to the ABC story about electronic voting machines.
There is quite the discussion going on at Big Orange, if you are interested……
the candidates themselves. Anyone who wants to be a leader in this country should demonstrate that they can lead. This means that you contest the election. This is the primary test.
I had an odd thing happen to me this weekend. I received a letter from the State Attorney General’s office saying that a routine survey of election registrations revealed that my records did not have my birth date. I have been living at my current address for twenty years and been registered to vote in the state for thirty-five. They reassured me in bold that the lack of a birth date would not interfere with my ability to vote, but that I needed to submit my birth date on the enclosed form.
Now here’s my question – if the lack of my birth date is not going to interfere with my voting, why are they sending this notice out two weeks before the election?
Given everything that has happened in this country, I felt somewhat – not intimidated, exactly, but – targeted somehow. This despite the fact that the state executive is a Democrat. (It may be that all this is just administrative cluelessness rather than bad behavior on the part of the state, but it sure doesn’t feel good.) I live in a comfortable suburb and am fairly knowledgable, but if I felt this way, how might someone from a targeted demographic feel about receiving a letter like this.
So what did I do? I sent an email to the state chapter of the ACLU. At their website I found that they’re working on having lawyers at the county courthouses to help people secure their right to vote on election day.
I made several copies of the form. I sent the original filled in and signed back to the AG’s office.
I’m planning on having a copy of this letter plus my passport with my on election day in case of any problems.
Any other suggestions about what to do about this?
The thing that bothers me – that has bothered me since the 2000 election is the sluggishness in response to this issue. It’s as if we’ve all be sleepwalking through the destruction of our democracy.
I think that is all you can do. I just moved to a new state, and have all of the info (at least I think I do) with respect to voter registration, etc.
But I am going to bring my license with me, and whatever else. And if I get any hassles I am going to raise quite the stink over there…..
good luck—
You ask a good question, Clammy.
What will we do?
First of all we need to pressure all Democratic candidates with questionable results to take whatever procedural steps are necessary for a recount. That means getting on the phones the first thing on the morning after the election. It means calling Dean, Emanuel, Schumer, whomever.
In the areas that are most questionable we need to be all over the media. Call, email, petition. Demand that they investigate and tell the story.
We need to hear from groups such as the National Lawyers Guild if there are any legal steps that can be taken, injunctions to be sought, whatever we can think of.
We need to be willing to donate to pay for the costs of recounts and court actions.
We need to have some central reporting place where problems can be tracked.
We need to spread the word, via the internet, as to what organizations need support and how we can help.
We need to expose the issue — even if it pisses off people on both the left and the right.
We may need, to hit the streets, engage in civil disobedience, call a national strike.
The voter suppression issue is the hardest to deal with after the fact. About all we can do about that is to try to make it harder to pull off in the future.
And I may even be willing to buy a pitch fork.
Here’s a link to a new group which is working to set up a system for rapid response and actions of various kinds … It’s called Election Defense Alliance.
They need some financial help … and of course, volunteers
http://electiondefensealliance.org/election_day_rapid_response_0
Riots! If we’re worth anything at all, there should be riots! Shit, the GOP did it in Florida in 2000, why shouldn’t we storm our local election commissions when/if they skew the vote?
RIOTS!
There’s more likely to be a strong reaction if people half-expect that the Republicans will try something. To repeat a comment I made yesterday, an effective message would be:
They’re desperate enough to try anything.
This invites the question “Why?”, and the answer is “They’re afraid of prison”, and this leads back to the ongoing corruption story:
What do they fear? — That we’ll expose their corruption.
How have they covered it up? — The corrupt Republican congress.
Why are they desperate? — To stay out of prison.
Why prison? — Their corruption is criminal.
Why think they would try? — They’ve gotten away with so much corruption.
Could they succeed? — Only if we let them get away with more corruption.