As I commented in the last thread, an alternative explanation is that the White House is confident it can continue to govern even in the face Democratic control of Congress. Obviously, this means plans to trample the Constitution, but that's nothing new.
Posted by Marky at October 15, 2006 12:18 AMMarky,
I think you are mostly right, but trampling the constitution is not the method. To the Republicans, that is just what they do. They will maintain control because there are several nominal Democrats in each house of congress who will vote with the Republicans when it matters. We know who they are; they have been doing it for years and we should not expect them to change.
Posted by James E. Powell at October 15, 2006 12:50 AMThe American people are dead - you just don't know it yet.
Posted by Clark Kent at October 15, 2006 01:05 AMThe last three elections should have shown everyone that the Republicans are experts in voter fraud and intimidation. Why should this election be any different?
Assimilated Press
Read Authors Of Left Behind Books Become Pagans
One of the joys of black box voting is the ease with which the results can be programmed as needed.
To paraphrase Stalin who said, "I don't care who you vote for, as long as you vote for me."
At least 80% of U.S. voters will use some form of black box voting equipment next month. This is truly insane.
I am always forced to recall the images of the Bush dynasty: Poppy, Cackling granny Babs, Little Boots and Pickles, all dressed in their finery, huddled around the fire place in the TX governor's mansion and a camera crew asking them how they felt about losing Florida.
Said Poppy:
"That's impossible."
Yes indeed. Losing Florida was impossible.
Posted by Christopher at October 15, 2006 03:29 AM
"The American people are dead - you just don't know it yet."
Yes, you are right. We are just waiting for someone to light our pyre.
That's where Commander Cuckoo comes in. He will be the funeral director.
Posted by at October 15, 2006 03:35 AMEven if it takes imposing martial law and suspending elections Bush is not going to risk losing control of Congress.
Posted by steve duncan at October 15, 2006 04:34 AMAt the time of the call on Florida 2000, Bush was ahead by two points. There was no fix in here, just wonderment how you could call for ALGORE when he's trailing in the race. How you could call for ALGORE with the polls still open. At the time of that interview, he was up by two points.
Posted by peter at October 15, 2006 04:36 AM"DELAND, Fla., Nov. 11 - Something very strange happened on election night to Deborah Tannenbaum, a Democratic Party official in Volusia County. At 10 p.m., she called the county elections department and learned that Al Gore was leading George W. Bush 83,000 votes to 62,000. But when she checked the county's Web site for an update half an hour later, she found a startling development: Gore's count had dropped by 16,000 votes, while an obscure Socialist candidate had picked up 10,000--all because of a single precinct with only 600 voters." -- Washington Post Sunday , November 12, 2000 ; Page A22
Sounds like the fix is already in.
Posted by ann at October 15, 2006 05:12 AMI think we'll see a Democratic deluge. It will take that to overwhelm any fraud. But I think the revulsion is real, and sometimes sheer numbers make a difference.
Vote.
Posted by nyc at October 15, 2006 05:43 AMWith the exception of Texas (the epicenter of Wingnutia), Democrats are positioned to regain both houses of the Congress.
U.S. House: 15 to 25 seat gains for Dems
U.S. Senate: 5 to 8 seat gains for Dems
If the exit polling on election at 5pm EST in such states as Pennsylvania show Santorum leading Casey by a margin of 6 points, then rest assured black box voting has performed as programmed.
Then we can all go home because the Republic is dead.
Posted by Christopher at October 15, 2006 05:58 AMThe fascists have stolen the last three election cycles, there's no reason to think that's going to change. They'll do whatever they need to to retain power and keep themselves safe from oversight and punishment. They don't think like normal people - human life, health and happiness mean nothing to them. We're living in the most dangerous period of our lives as the fascists are capable of any and all atrocities to maintain and further their agenda.
Posted by nolocontendere at October 15, 2006 06:25 AMThe simplest thing to do is stage a phoney terrorist strike on U.S. soil; blow something up, then, under the USA Patriot Act (the act Democrats rushed to sign even though most didn't bother to read it) the Feds can suspend the Constitution, cancel elections and the power Congress has will be ceded to the military.
Welcome to the United States of Bush.
Posted by Christopher at October 15, 2006 06:42 AMNow we know the motive and also the most likely method of these lying criminal thugs..but what enterprising investigative reporter will be the first to expose it? And let's not forget to be on the lookout for the classic Rovian maneuver of election vote stealing...have it also done in a democratic disctrict (you know one that is most likely going dem so he plants it to go overwhelmingly dem) or have a fake attempt exposed to be done in a republican district (you know like Rathergate) and then accuse the democrats of setting up republicans. All of this is done to obscure/confuse and plant as a red herring the more important election vote stealing done in close repug districts for Rove.
In the mean time, while all people are arguing over the election results and chaos erupts....Bush and the current crop of repug criminals in congress declare a state of emergency, and then appoint Junior dictator for life.
SADLY, I share the pessismism expressed here. Bush and Rove live in an "alternate reality" of their own making. They have managed to convince enough people that it must be retained. They are our MAFIA!!! Yes, if things don't change we ARE dommed...but getting that message to people who just can't be bothered with politics OR who believe ANYTHING these bozos have said for the past decade is frustrating. Remember, they said (with the Contract for America) that if they didn't do what they pledged to do we should THROW THEM OUT!! Tell me why that isn't being said over and over again?...OOPS, 911
Posted by Dancer at October 15, 2006 07:20 AMI think we'll see a Democratic deluge. It will take that to overwhelm any fraud. But I think the revulsion is real, and sometimes sheer numbers make a difference.
Vote.
Yep, and sorta like Gil Scott Heron sang (paraphrased and reversed):
"The revulsion will be televised."
Anjha, I left you a response under "Will the Democrats Win a Dozen Seats." Thank you. You also Seven of Six. Acceptance and love. Hard things to practice in this world today.
Posted by Judith at October 15, 2006 07:42 AMAnd this is interesting article (via Huffington Post) about the upcoming Ohio election which reinforces WaPo's article...last paragraph to me is very ominous.
We have well over 50 people on the ground whose job it is to help Ken win, to help Mike DeWine win and to help the congressional candidates win," he said. "We sent out 1.5 million absentee mail pieces, that specifically feature Ken Blackwell and the others on the ticket. We believe Ken Blackwell is an asset to Ohio and the whole turnout effort we have in place benefits Ken Blackwell on Election Day."
I thought Ohio was supposed to be one of the repug firewall states....now they are pulling resources from it...is that becauset the fix is already in place????
Steve Soto has the answers for the upcoming elections. I have read nothing that makes more sense. Being pro-active NOW is the only way to defeat them.
Posted by Judith at October 15, 2006 08:00 AMI'm as suspicious of the voting process as anyone. But how can they fix the November 7th vote if the polls on November 6th show massive Democratic gains?
The Republicans have lost a great deal of support from the mainstream media. The major news outlets may insist that their exit polls are correct.
Republican abuses of the voting system are well known. Don't they fear a complete loss of credibility as a party if they play the Debold card again?
"We believe Ken Blackwell is an asset to Ohio and the whole turnout effort we have in place benefits Ken Blackwell on Election Day."
Emal, well that sums it up nicely, doesn't it. They may as well have said "and the whole turnout effort we have in place benefits Ken Blackwell in helping steal the election."
Posted by Judith at October 15, 2006 08:16 AMI think a larger perspective may be helpful. The United States and, indeed, all industrialized societies face a fundamentally unsolvable problem. Our economic model, including fractional reserve banking, perpetual government debt, rising equities markets, etc., require unending economic growth to remain viable. It is my view that the US and indeed the world is bumping up against the carrying capacity of the planet, especially with regard to the growing demand/supply imbalance of fossil fuel energy sources.
Peak Oil, defined as when the production capacity of oil reaches its maximum is in sight. New oil projects coming on line have not kept pace with depletion of existing fields for some time now. Production capacity is at about 85 million bbd. I will be interested to see is world oil production will keep pace with demand growth. If total average production in 2006 drops below that of 2005, then one must conclude that we are at the crest of the Peak Oil production bell curve.
What I am saying is that once this reality becomes widely accepted, all world fiat currencies will devalue relative to commodities and massive economic contraction is guarantied. So, the game becomes for the government to borrow or print as much currency as they need without concern for paying it back. The dollar is doomed.
There will be no return to a "pre-911" world. The leaders of the US have decided that military control over energy transit choke points and resource rich areas of the globe will continue under the guise of "The War On Terror". This is how they are planning to deal with resource depletion; to forestall the inevitable economic collapse for as long as possible.
It's not a question on if, but when. Perpetual economic growth that is necessarily dependent upon ever increasing supplies of cheap energy is simply not possible. It matters not how many billions of barrels of oil in the form of tar sands, heavy crude and deep water conventional oil are in the ground. It is the slow rate of extraction and processing that leaves these alternatives inadequate to avert the meltdown.
More information is available at the following link: http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=8677389869548020370&q=smoke%20oil%20and%20mirrors
I'm as suspicious of the voting process as anyone. But how can they fix the November 7th vote if the polls on November 6th show massive Democratic gains?
Because they can. They can claim the polls are incorrect or that voters say one thing but when they vote, they do another. They got away with it before, so they know they can do it again. Most Americans don't even bother to vote, so it isn't as though they would be met with masses descending on Washington. Color me cynical, but at least I still vote.
Posted by ann at October 15, 2006 09:21 AMReminders:
We all know that Diebold's CEO was a big Bush fundraiser in 2004, and pledged to deliver Ohio. OK, Ohio didn't use Diebold in any significant way back then, but the conflict of interest was laid bare: the CEO of a huge voting machine maker cared a lot about who won the U.S. Presidential election.
The other big voting machine vendor in the U.S. is Election Systems and Software, ES&S. ES&S claims on its own website that its equipment has counted 56% of the votes in the last four Presidential elections. The company's own website amply documents that they help counties maintain voting systems. Diebold's site documents the same.
ES&S is owned in large part by the Republican-leaning newspaper The Omaha World-Herald and by a investor group called the McCarthy Group, in which Sen. Chuck Hagel owns a stake to this day. See this 2003 article from The Hill, a mainstrean paper aimed at Capitol Hill insiders.
And who tests the voting machines? See Johns Hopkins computer security expert Avi Rubin's article "The Dirty Little Secrets of Voting System Testing Labs". The only people who really test the machines are testing companies with incestuous relationships with the vendors.
Oh yes, the vendors often do "Ballot Programming" for the counties, helpfully configuring the voting machine ballot for each unique election.
Bush and Rove have every justification for their apparently surreal confidence.
Posted by Tinfoil Hat on a Level Head at October 15, 2006 09:25 AMIf the Republicans are set to simply steal the election by "stuffing the ballot box/machine" they certainly are covering their bets by spending a bundle on races for the House and Senate. They have abandoned some races, are dropping huge $$$ on close races, surely calculated to keep the Dems from a majority in either house of Congress.
Delay Pal-Swiftboat King-Bob Perry's 527s are just into some House races with big money. This is only after the assorted Republican organizations have put huge $$$ in targeted races.
No doubt, The Republicans will steal races where they can, and the Democrats will do that, too. It is the American way.
I think your entirely right ,Brisa.The loss of our economic hegenomy led us use to our military hegenomy.A ploy that is clearly not working.
When it's over the U.S. will be a second-world economy. And some third world economies will reach second-world status. Lots and lots of debt will have to be forgiven.
Our only hope is that progress will raise all boats.
"Perpetual economic growth that is necessarily dependent upon ever increasing supplies of cheap energy is simply not possible."
I believe the word to use is inexpensive rather than cheap.
As the price of petroleum goes up, other, better, and truly inexpensive (cost-wise as well as environmentally) will become desireable.
The transition will be painful for many, especially those who have banked their lives/careers on the petroleum industry, and may require political, economic and, perhaps, physical violence to complete.
We are well engaged with the phase we are quite good at, the physical violence phase. I believe the political phase has already started, also, though obscured with things like WOT, etc. Not sure about the economic phase, though the politicals are already using aspects of it ( volatile end-user prices ) to accomplish political goals (Repuke re-elections).
The intensity of the violence will corolate inversely with people's willingness or directly with people's unwillingness to change. We can make it easy or tough. Our call.
Posted by Sky-Ho at October 15, 2006 09:37 AMI feel so sorry for all of you. Do you truly believe the things you're saying or do you just enjoy writing fiction?
Posted by CommonSense at October 15, 2006 09:37 AMThis is just my overly verbose breakfast rant. Feel free to ignore.
Several good points. I try to be optimistic, but with massive and provable statistical anomolies, no real change has occurred as of yet.
Kevin, makes the point I have made here a couple of times in the past 2 years. There is going to be a degree of voter fraud and black box fixing. However, I think that, in most places, without risking being blatant I think they can only swing it around 3% to 5%.
They can only fix the close races.
4 years of fighting Black Box voting has produced virtually no results for us...even in the face of significant amounts of evidence. Change will happen it just may take 2 more voting cycles, so the only way to combat this is exit polling as well as election observers... got a video camera? train it on every machine and everyone who touches the machine and memory cards.
...jeez this is absurd. The fact that we having non-verifiable elections is simply astounding. Safe, verifiable electronic elections are easily attainable
Also, remove any profit motive from any voting system. Any company that does produce voting machines must do so at cost.
When the Democratic Party was in its prime, when FDR and Harry Truman and John Kennedy were among its leaders, the American people trusted that party to defend the nation and to govern rationally. As I read the comments on this website from the disgruntled, the angry, the uninformed and the intolerant, throwing fits, finding conspiracies everywhere, all from people who call themselves Democrats, I don't wonder why my old party party has fallen into such disfavor with the people. The current irrational mob bears little resemblance to the party of then.
Posted by mhr at October 15, 2006 10:09 AMmy old party party has fallen into such disfavor with the people.
your new party's not doing too well, either. don't let the door hit you in the ass.
Posted by benjoya at October 15, 2006 10:13 AMand speaking of decline, the GOP has gone from eisenhower to nixon to reagan to commander codpiece. if that's not an argument against evolution, i don't know what is.
Posted by benjoya at October 15, 2006 10:15 AMSomething else to consider.....The use of fossil fuels to power mechanized agriculture has allowed us to use 9 units of energy to produce one unit of food. With the use of fertilizers derived from natural gas, yields have been increased to feed a world population of 6 billion or so. There is no energy density equilalent to oil...period. By necessity, as fossil fuels deplete, food production will suffer. Significant world depopulation will necessarily follow.
The Bush administration is not concerned with how many Iraqis are dead as a result of the US occupation becuase, in the not so long run, they will starve anyway. I don't believe the US will ever leave Iraq. It is our leaders who want to be able to decide who gets energy and who doesn't. Military conflict with China and/or Russia seems likely at some point, hence the goal of total military dominance. The ultimate fate of the native population of Easter Island might provide insight into our future.
Renewable energy makes sense with a sustainable economic model, but will not support a suicidal system based on everexpanding over-consumption. Hard times lie ahead and the goverment is now in position to use decidedly un-democratic means to control the wide spread social unrest that is likely to ensue.
Posted by brisa at October 15, 2006 10:27 AMBrisa, energy density is really needed only by transportation vehicles. While fossil fuels (and from the tenor of your comment, you appear to be focoused on liquid fossil fuels) are now necessary for fertilizer and other agricultural chemicals, this industry does not need fossil fuels at all in the final analysis. Any source of energy and the availability of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen will provide the building blocks necessary. In truth, one could use the effluent CO2 and H20 from a fossil fuel plant to produce fertilizers, if one had access to solar, wind or tidal power at an economical cost. The energy density doesn't matter for this purpose. Current cost factors govern. We should be asking our leaders if they want the entire planet to be reduced to current African living standards before anybody stirs to do anything.
Posted by PrahaPartizan at October 15, 2006 11:49 AMDamn you - you've found us out again. Yes, you are correct. We intend to steal the election, actually ALL of the elections from this day forward.
After all, there is no other way to explain Republicans winning elections, is there Einstein?
Posted by Denny K at October 15, 2006 12:19 PM"energy density" is the new catchphrase. I was hoping that it wouldn't catch.
Problem is that it is mostly used nonsensically. Real energy density conversations get complicated very quickly. For most practical discussions on sustainable energy systems, leave "energy density" in the notebook
Posted by Simp at October 15, 2006 12:47 PMDo you truly believe the things you're saying or do you just enjoy writing fiction?
CS, just so we can be clear get it on record. You believe that unverifiable, electronic voting is completely clear of corruption and vote fraud? You are perfectly fine with an electronic, black-box system in which there is no way to recount or verify that votes are tallied accurately?
just askin...
Posted by Simp at October 15, 2006 12:54 PMIf only the Big Mustache were alive today! How he would gladly shake Rove's hand and congratulate him on such a fine effort.
Posted by evagrius at October 15, 2006 01:06 PMBoth parties have declined in terms of leadership and ideals, I'm sorry to say.
The Democrats have a few leaders with Big Ideas.
The GOP has NONE.
Advantage Dems.
Posted by God Of War at October 15, 2006 01:20 PMThanks all for the comments on peak oil, our unsustainable growth "model" and the effect of "cheap" fertilizers.
While we now have a few politicians (mostly Dems) who will speak about the reality of climate change, does ANYONE in government mention the theory of peak oil, and what it means for our economic and energy future? I haven't heard them.
It's as though our leaders think the leading academic theory of the future of fossil fuel is a crackpot crank conspiracy, and that if you just keep drilling deeper and deeper, you just find more and more.
Posted by euzoius at October 15, 2006 01:34 PMbush says no withdrawal of troops while he's president. only dems disagree. vote accordingly
Posted by benjoya at October 15, 2006 03:45 PM"After all, there is no other way to explain Republicans winning elections, is there Einstein?"
Don't forget pandering to the Religious Right ,Denny.
Posted by Kevin at October 15, 2006 04:12 PMThe ballots have already been counted. Republicans kept the majority in a squeaker. It'll all be announced Wednesday morning after the election. Nothing more to see here, move along.
Posted by steve duncan at October 15, 2006 07:20 PM"Don't forget pandering to the Religious Right"
Kevin, their pandering may be a thing of the past, especially with the book on how Bush used them comes out this week.
Posted by Judith at October 15, 2006 07:42 PMIf you think R's are prepared to steal this election then you are actually crazy and need to be locked up.
Posted by Greentree Street at October 16, 2006 11:37 AM"their pandering may be a thing of the past, especially with the book on how Bush used them comes out this week."
Yea Judy ,the book "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction"
A couple of months ago,the Right ran "flag burning" and "gay marriage" up the flagpole but they didn't wave so they went back to the "war on terror".
Posted by Kevin at October 16, 2006 01:15 PMIf you think R's are prepared to steal this election then you are actually crazy and need to be locked up.
da. such a thing could never happen. lock up those crazies!
Posted by josef stalin at October 16, 2006 01:54 PM