Sunday, October 31, 2004
Democracy on the Ropes
Right-wingers are pushing the line that ‘If Bush wins, it’s because of the war on terror; if Kerry wins, it’s because of massive fraud by the Democrats. As we know, such a strategy works, as the media then talk about mutual “accusations” by the parties.
Polls generally show a dead heat. Additionally they show that Kerry has lost 7% of Gore voters, Bush has lost 11% of those who supported him in 2000. Then there’s the new registrants. Do note that at this point in 2000, Bush was ahead of Gore by 2 points in the Zogby tracking poll, by 4 points in the ABC/Washington Post tracking poll and by 9 points in the TIPP tracking poll. Now, all but the TIPP say it’s a dead heat. [Also, Zogby predicted a Kerry win Thursday night on The Daily Show.]
November Surprise: Osama showed up on his own and the affect is minor, but would tend to aid Bush. That’s why they let it play before they had carefully reviewed it for “coded messages to followers” as they usually do. "We want people to think 'terrorism' for the last four days," said a Bush-Cheney campaign official. "And anything that raises the issue in people's minds is good for us."
A senior GOP strategist added, "anything that makes people nervous about their personal safety helps Bush."
He called it "a little gift," saying it helps the President but doesn't guarantee his reelection. http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/247753p-212149c.html
But, additionally rumors on Sunday have been of Tommy Thompson announcing the legalizing of “drug re-importation” from Canada. Of course, “details” will not be known till after Tuesday, so…
Then, there’s the cheating. [see previous blogs] And,
An Observer investigation in the United States has uncovered widespread allegations of electoral abuse, many of them going uninvestigated despite complaints of what would appear to be criminal attempts to manipulate voter lists.
The allegations, which come just two days before Americans go to the polls in one of the most tightly contested elections in a generation, threaten to plunge Tuesday's count into a legal minefield and overshadow even the elections of 2000.
The claims come as both Republicans and Democrats put in place up to 2,000 lawyers across the country to challenge attempts to manipulate the vote in swing states.
Although allegations of misconduct have been levelled at both parties recently, the majority of complaints that have been identified in The Observer' s investigation involved claims against local Republicans.
The claims, made by the BBC's Newsnight, follow alleged attempts by Republicans to illegally suppress the votes in key states. Republican spokesmen deny these allegations.
One of the more serious claims is that no action has been taken in a complex fraud, where more than 4,000 Florida students were allegedly conned into signing a form which could lead them to be doubly registered and void their votes. The Florida Law Enforcement Department has told the complainants that it is too busy to investigate.
In Colorado too, Democrats are complaining about an attempt to remove up to 6,000 convicted felons from the electoral roll, at the behest of the state's Republican secretary of state, Donetta Davidson, despite a US federal law that prohibits eliminating a voter's rights within 90 days of an election to give time for the voter to protest. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1340190,00.html
So, all things considered, Kerry should win the popular vote by about 50% – 48.5% and take the electoral count by winning New Hampshire and Ohio or Florida, offsetting the possible loss of New Mexico and Wisconsin or Iowa.
It’s gotta happen… The progressing coup must be rolled back.
The Jersey Girls. 9/11 widows Kristen Breitweiser and Monica Gabrielle’s statement re the Bin Laden tape.
We cried when we saw the tape on Friday of Osama Bin Laden. He's tanned and healthy. He does not look desperate or scared. He does not look like a man on the run.Three years ago, President Bush promised us he would capture Osama Bin Laden--Dead or Alive. He didn't do that.The man that murdered our husbands, is back terrorizing our country again. The videotape of him has brought us back to 9/11. We feel threatened. We feel vulnerable. We are scared.Our question to President Bush is: Why didn't you catch him when you promised us you would? Why is this mass murderer--this madman-- still out there making videotapes and terrorizing our country three years after you promised our country that you would make us safe from him? President Bush, why cant you keep us safe from this madmen?
What’s Happening, Iraq: It’s Getting Worse…and worse
The truth is, neither [Bush nor Kerry] is fully reckoning with the reality of Iraq — which is that the insurgents, by most accounts, are winning. Even Secretary of State Colin Powell, a former general who stays in touch with the Joint Chiefs, has acknowledged this privately to friends in recent weeks, Newsweek has learned. The insurgents have effectively created a reign of terror throughout the country, killing thousands, driving Iraqi elites and technocrats into exile and scaring foreigners out. "Things are getting really bad," a senior Iraqi official in interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's government told Newsweek last week. "The initiative is in [the insurgents'] hands right now. This approach of being lenient and accommodating has really backfired. They see this as weakness." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6370525/site/newsweek/
-R
Right-wingers are pushing the line that ‘If Bush wins, it’s because of the war on terror; if Kerry wins, it’s because of massive fraud by the Democrats. As we know, such a strategy works, as the media then talk about mutual “accusations” by the parties.
Polls generally show a dead heat. Additionally they show that Kerry has lost 7% of Gore voters, Bush has lost 11% of those who supported him in 2000. Then there’s the new registrants. Do note that at this point in 2000, Bush was ahead of Gore by 2 points in the Zogby tracking poll, by 4 points in the ABC/Washington Post tracking poll and by 9 points in the TIPP tracking poll. Now, all but the TIPP say it’s a dead heat. [Also, Zogby predicted a Kerry win Thursday night on The Daily Show.]
November Surprise: Osama showed up on his own and the affect is minor, but would tend to aid Bush. That’s why they let it play before they had carefully reviewed it for “coded messages to followers” as they usually do. "We want people to think 'terrorism' for the last four days," said a Bush-Cheney campaign official. "And anything that raises the issue in people's minds is good for us."
A senior GOP strategist added, "anything that makes people nervous about their personal safety helps Bush."
He called it "a little gift," saying it helps the President but doesn't guarantee his reelection. http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/247753p-212149c.html
But, additionally rumors on Sunday have been of Tommy Thompson announcing the legalizing of “drug re-importation” from Canada. Of course, “details” will not be known till after Tuesday, so…
Then, there’s the cheating. [see previous blogs] And,
An Observer investigation in the United States has uncovered widespread allegations of electoral abuse, many of them going uninvestigated despite complaints of what would appear to be criminal attempts to manipulate voter lists.
The allegations, which come just two days before Americans go to the polls in one of the most tightly contested elections in a generation, threaten to plunge Tuesday's count into a legal minefield and overshadow even the elections of 2000.
The claims come as both Republicans and Democrats put in place up to 2,000 lawyers across the country to challenge attempts to manipulate the vote in swing states.
Although allegations of misconduct have been levelled at both parties recently, the majority of complaints that have been identified in The Observer' s investigation involved claims against local Republicans.
The claims, made by the BBC's Newsnight, follow alleged attempts by Republicans to illegally suppress the votes in key states. Republican spokesmen deny these allegations.
One of the more serious claims is that no action has been taken in a complex fraud, where more than 4,000 Florida students were allegedly conned into signing a form which could lead them to be doubly registered and void their votes. The Florida Law Enforcement Department has told the complainants that it is too busy to investigate.
In Colorado too, Democrats are complaining about an attempt to remove up to 6,000 convicted felons from the electoral roll, at the behest of the state's Republican secretary of state, Donetta Davidson, despite a US federal law that prohibits eliminating a voter's rights within 90 days of an election to give time for the voter to protest. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1340190,00.html
So, all things considered, Kerry should win the popular vote by about 50% – 48.5% and take the electoral count by winning New Hampshire and Ohio or Florida, offsetting the possible loss of New Mexico and Wisconsin or Iowa.
It’s gotta happen… The progressing coup must be rolled back.
The Jersey Girls. 9/11 widows Kristen Breitweiser and Monica Gabrielle’s statement re the Bin Laden tape.
We cried when we saw the tape on Friday of Osama Bin Laden. He's tanned and healthy. He does not look desperate or scared. He does not look like a man on the run.Three years ago, President Bush promised us he would capture Osama Bin Laden--Dead or Alive. He didn't do that.The man that murdered our husbands, is back terrorizing our country again. The videotape of him has brought us back to 9/11. We feel threatened. We feel vulnerable. We are scared.Our question to President Bush is: Why didn't you catch him when you promised us you would? Why is this mass murderer--this madman-- still out there making videotapes and terrorizing our country three years after you promised our country that you would make us safe from him? President Bush, why cant you keep us safe from this madmen?
What’s Happening, Iraq: It’s Getting Worse…and worse
The truth is, neither [Bush nor Kerry] is fully reckoning with the reality of Iraq — which is that the insurgents, by most accounts, are winning. Even Secretary of State Colin Powell, a former general who stays in touch with the Joint Chiefs, has acknowledged this privately to friends in recent weeks, Newsweek has learned. The insurgents have effectively created a reign of terror throughout the country, killing thousands, driving Iraqi elites and technocrats into exile and scaring foreigners out. "Things are getting really bad," a senior Iraqi official in interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's government told Newsweek last week. "The initiative is in [the insurgents'] hands right now. This approach of being lenient and accommodating has really backfired. They see this as weakness." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6370525/site/newsweek/
-R
